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What can I do with my degrees?



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amother
Emerald


 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 8:59 am
I have both a BA and MA in English literature. I need to be able to work with what I have, not go for further schooling- I would be fine with working in a field where down the line I might need to get another masters in order to advance, but for right now, I need to be working. I need something intellectually stimulating and that has the potential for advancement. I'm not interested in teaching. Along with any suggestions, please include how to "break in" to the field.
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rachel6543




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 9:07 am
With your degrees what about a job in book publishing or editing? However I don't know anything about the industry or how to break in or advancement opportunities, but it's an idea to research more if it sounds appealing to you.

Another idea may be to look into a job in educational technology. You could get a 2nd masters degree in that. Those are where you are not teaching, but could help develop online training classes and educational materials. A masters in this industry can be done completely online.
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amother
Emerald


 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 9:13 am
rachel6543 wrote:
With your degrees what about a job in book publishing or editing? However I don't know anything about the industry or how to break in or advancement opportunities, but it's an idea to research more if it sounds appealing to you.

Another idea may be to look into a job in educational technology. You could get a 2nd masters degree in that. Those are where you are not teaching, but could help develop online training classes and educational materials. A masters in this industry can be done completely online.

Definitely something I've looked into, but extremely difficult to get in. I've never gotten so much as a job interview for anything I've applied to in publishing, and I know that's not unusual. If anyone has tips for how to change that, I'm all ears.
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groovy1224




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 9:39 am
amother wrote:
I have both a BA and MA in English literature. I need to be able to work with what I have, not go for further schooling- I would be fine with working in a field where down the line I might need to get another masters in order to advance, but for right now, I need to be working. I need something intellectually stimulating and that has the potential for advancement. I'm not interested in teaching. Along with any suggestions, please include how to "break in" to the field.


Can your grad school get you in touch with any career placement opportunities? What are your fellow graduates doing with their degrees?

My mother had the same credentials, and ended up just doing office work because it was hard for her to find anything with them.

I know you said you're not interested in teaching, but what about maybe teaching in a college? It's different than teaching in a high school or similar, and you may find working with college students very intellectually stimulating.
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amother
Emerald


 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 10:11 am
Most of the people I went to school with are teaching. That was my original plan too, but it didn't work out. I can't teach college because that requires a PhD. And even if I had a PhD, it is insanely difficult to get college teaching jobs and most available jobs are adjunct positions that don't pay enough to make a living.
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SixOfWands




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 10:32 am
Have you considered book indexing?
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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 10:36 am
amother wrote:
Definitely something I've looked into, but extremely difficult to get in. I've never gotten so much as a job interview for anything I've applied to in publishing, and I know that's not unusual. If anyone has tips for how to change that, I'm all ears.


What about a frum publisher? Lots of english languages magazines and publishers. I'm sure the pay is not great but they may need your skills.
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cm




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 10:37 am
If you are organized, adept with computers and have good interpersonal skills, office work could be both personally rewarding and an entry-point into whatever field you find interesting. Secretaries can go on to become paralegals, health care administrators, managers, etc.

Executive administrative assistants are usually very well-educated, and "executive assisting" has become a profession of its own - worth looking into.
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amother
Emerald


 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 11:56 am
Frum publishers have been no different than secular ones IME. Book indexing is not a salaried position, you are basically an independent contractor. I am interested in administrative jobs for a non profit or healthcare system, but it has to be something room for advancement. I have applied to a few such jobs. 2 led to interviews but I did not get the job.
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Moonlight




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 12:51 pm
I have two relatives with this degree - one works in McGraw Hill and one in RandomHouse. They started on the bottom and have worked themselves up there pretty quickly.
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MagentaYenta




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 12:52 pm
amother wrote:
Frum publishers have been no different than secular ones IME. Book indexing is not a salaried position, you are basically an independent contractor. I am interested in administrative jobs for a non profit or healthcare system, but it has to be something room for advancement. I have applied to a few such jobs. 2 led to interviews but I did not get the job.


Did you have any internships that could lead to job experience?
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amother
Copper


 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 12:58 pm
Moonlight wrote:
I have two relatives with this degree - one works in McGraw Hill and one in RandomHouse. They started on the bottom and have worked themselves up there pretty quickly.


I did the same- I quit teaching and found a position as an editor. But it was for a different subject, so English might be harder to come by. And B"H it happened to be at a time when a main publishing compan in my area was doing some major hiring, so that worked out well for me. But I really enjoy educational publishing. I would search Monster.com or Indeed.com for "English Editor," and see if anything comes up in your area.
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amother
Emerald


 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 1:07 pm
I would love educational publishing, but can't seem to get looked at for even an entry level position. My only work experience is teaching English.
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amother
Floralwhite


 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 1:13 pm
If you want a complete different field a service coordinator for EI needs just a BA
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TwinsMommy




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 1:14 pm
my husband's college major was English. He got a masters in ed and taught for a while. Now he's a parapro---- 1:1 with a student. For para, you don't need a masters.
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amother
Indigo


 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 1:14 pm
amother wrote:
If you want a complete different field a service coordinator for EI needs just a BA

I believe it is a human service related field.
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amother
Copper


 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 1:15 pm
amother wrote:
I would love educational publishing, but can't seem to get looked at for even an entry level position. My only work experience is teaching English.


Sorry, I edited my original post, but see you already responded- I said "I would search Monster.com or Indeed.com for "English Editor," and see if anything comes up in your area."

But if you applied already, I guess you're already past that step. Do you have any interest in and are you any good at Math or Science? I think those editing jobs probably have a smaler pool of candidates, and much of the job might use English skills more than Math/Science.

For side or short-term income, you can try test writing. Again, Math/Science might be easier to find than English, but not necessarily. Maybe look at sites of companies like Scholastic or Collegeboard to see if they have any fitting jobs available. (But I guess this all depends on what companies are in your area, unless you want to work remotely- but that would probably be freelance/contract work.)
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octopus




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Mar 02 2017, 5:48 pm
*sigh* you would probably make an amazing librarian. But I think you need a degree in library science. Maybe it's worthwhile to call your local library and find out what kind of credentials you need?
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3232




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Mar 03 2017, 4:00 am
I believe that's a good candidate for a licensed play group??? Am I right?
Would you consider running a program or being a director in a child care center?
You can PM if your interested
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