What do you do with a BA in English?

While living in New York, I had the opportunity to see quite a few Broadway shows.  I love Broadway - the lights, the excitement, the small and intimate theaters.  Times Square and Theater District is one of the most overwhelming and fantastical places you could visit for entertainment. Among the many Broadway shows I saw was the musical Avenue Q - actually, I saw the show not once but three times.  It was that good. 

If you haven't seen the show, I'll set the scene.  The production cleverly intertwines actors with puppets who are the main characters.  The opening scene is one I could relate to far too well - not for the fact that it starred a puppet but because of what the puppet had to say. The main character, a young puppet-man supposedly the age of 21 enters stage left and belts from the top of his lungs "what would you do with a BA in English" to a very catchy tune.

I have to admit, the first of the three times I saw the show I laughed immediately.  How bluntly honest and true - what do you do with a BA in English? Staring up at the stage, the words settled in.  Hmmm, this is what I achieved after four years of college: a BA in English.  The premise of Avenue Q is that this recent graduate has moved to New York City and is trying to figure out his purpose in life.  I suddenly felt there was a striking and eerie similarity the stuffed doll was going through to my experience when I graduated.

I remember when I was in college, my friends and I would worry, even stress about what our major was going to be.  After all, you dedicate about two solid years (after the pre-requisites are fulfilled) to studying just one subject.  After those two years, you walk a field in cap and gown and then are thrust onto the main stage of life and its time to find a job.  Now this is no easy task, and especially not now, but to find work where you can showcase the many skills you learned during school. So what the heck do you do with that BA in English?


During the search for my first job, I remember I had mentors and advice given to me by parents.  Time after time I was assured that your major in school does not define what work you will do.  This is a hard thing for a recent graduate to swallow.  Turns out, this is true. I was extremely lucky to have a friend who helped me get my first job.  What would I do with that BA in English? Learn to be an Investor Relations Account Executive.

I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would in fact be a part of the "world of finance".  I remember the first day of my job like it was yesterday.  I woke up in my "cute" albeit small NYC apartment which I shared with three other roommates.  After a shower and dutifully putting on my uniform of a nice pair of slacks, a blouse and my new high heel shoes, I walked down the four flights of stairs and out the door meeting the illustrious city with every ounce of gusto I could muster.  After a twenty minute trip down town on the subway, I would emerge from the tunnel with the masses of Wall Street employees all ready to start our day and of course, hungry to make some money. I'll be the first to admit, when i started in my job I didn't know what market cap meant.  Clearly, there was a very sharp learning curve...


After three years as at the IR firm I now find myself in a very different city once again re-evaluating what I can do with a BA in English.  I often think about my friends and prior colleagues.  I have friends that were business majors, economics majors, sociology majors, psychology majors, fellow English majors and pretty much any other major you can think of.  We all embarked into the work force armed with the tools we gathered in college unaware that we were all about to enter another phase of even greater learning.  I suppose it isn't always the case that the career path you choose mirrors that one subject you diligently studied and buried yourself in books with for two years. 

I find myself again floating in uncharted waters.  Seven weeks in to owning our own business, each day holds something else to learn, figure out and get through.  I'm exploring and finding new perspective on what it is and what it means to work towards a career.  Seems to me it is a journey that continues throughout life - one that twists and turns and I'm not sure you ever reach a final destination but rather keep learning, evolving and looking for that next "career".  I'm sure along the way during this new phase I have embarked on, I'll find a few other things I can do with my BA in English.