English majors – MEMORANDUM

Finding Your Niche: Hidden Careers for Professional Writers

girl with thought bubbles — Finding your niche

By Elizabeth Slatsky

Professional writing brings game-changing opportunities to English majors. PW classes equip students to take the skills they learned in their literature and creative writing classes and bend them to match a certain career field that is right for them.

Almost every organization needs writers. Because of the wonderful flexibility of professional writing, there are numerous jobs out there for a writer who is willing to branch out into other fields of study. You simply has to find where your fit in; you have to find your unique niche.

What do I mean by finding your unique niche? People are usually interested in a wide range of different topics and skills. Your niche is a place where writing and another interest intersect to form a career that will be the perfect match for you. Below I have provided three job examples. Each is different, yet they all incorporate English into other experiences and interests.

Customer Experience Manager

Did you enjoy working as a barista at a local coffee shop in college? Do you have a thing for customer service? Toby’s Estate [now Partners Coffee], a coffee shop located in Brooklyn, New York, is looking for a Customer Experience Manger. These managers take care of the overall experience of customers as well as the staff. Toby’s Estate’s job ad mentions that these managers do a variety of different jobs including handling “complaints and customer feedback” and organizing “social media requirements for Marketing and tak[ing] photos.” A previous job you enjoyed in a certain field is just one way to lead to a future career.

English assignments prepare students to appeal to multiple audiences since professors often have different standards and preferences. Professional Writing is no exception and, in fact, exemplifies this ability. Regarding the example above, someone who has worked in a coffee shop or a similar environment can combine the variety of skills they learned on the job with their college experience to get a job that is just right for them.

Advertising Art Director

Do you enjoy art and writing? Advertising Art Directors channel their artistic side as well as the different skills gained from four years of writing experience. Amazon’s job advertisement requested a portfolio that “demonstrates big, campaignable thinking that can extend into any medium.”

An English major who is experienced in different forms of art would have the perfect portfolio for this job. This career is an example of someone who might take a hobby or a minor in a specific field and turn it into something they can do for the rest of their life.

Though English classes give students a general idea of how to appeal to different audiences, professional writing classes provide students with a more precise understanding of editorial concepts. For instance, Digital Document Design, a class at UAB, focuses on developing documents and learning programs. Additionally, someone talented in art or graphic design would find themselves better prepared for such fields.

Communications Director

Are you passionate about a nonprofit organization? Active in your faith community? Then something similar to a Communications Director at Ingleside Baptist Church in Georgia could be an option. A communications director is in charge of all the organization’s communications with those outside of their organization. This could be on social media or through emails. The job ad stated having a passion for their ministry and possessing “excellent written and verbal communication skills” was important. This is an example of how to channel a passion for a certain belief or nonprofit into a potential career.

Community outreach can be as competitive as marketing a product to a specific group of people. Good writers are needed to create successful content that will appeal to the church’s intended audience. However, these organizations also need people passionate and knowledgeable about their work to f ill these positions. Here is where a writer interested in the organization’s work could shine in a job application.

These are only a few of the possibilities for English majors. So go explore the internet! Your dream job could be right under your nose.

Professional Writing as a Major for Pre-Health Students

University Hall, courtesy of UAB Image Gallery

By: Wyatt

If you’re like me, you came to undergraduate school wanting to be a doctor of some sort, whether that’s as a dentist, optometrist, surgeon or physician. If you’re even more like me, you grew frustrated when your initial advisers wouldn’t tell you what the best major is in relation to that goal. As a senior who’s gone through the application process for optometry school, I can finally confirm that there is no right answer for this conundrum, but Professional Writing has worked well for me.

Something other than Biology?

Like many other pre-health students, I initially opted for a Biology major due to the crossover with my prerequisites and because I found the Discovery Channel fascinating as a kid (and still do). As you have probably learned by now, it’s nothing like the latter. As for the former, the crossover was a little bit too convenient. If I continued as a Biology major, I would have ended up in a position with enough empty credit slots to decide between tacking on a minor or branching out with my major.

In talking with the admissions committees of various optometry schools, I’ve learned that they have, frankly, gotten used to the endless tide of Biology majors applying each cycle. For you, this directly translates into more competition and an even greater need to stick out amongst the crowd. While there’s nothing at all wrong with the Biology major (and here at UAB, it has an excellent reputation), being able to make your folder stand out on the admissions table is the first step to being considered.

You’ve probably heard a lot about being “well-rounded,” and it’s more than a platitude. Everyone who applies to a health school will have finished the same prerequisites, but if you have an entirely separate field of experience from the rest, that’s a significant step toward differentiating yourself from the crowd. In many ways, acceptance to a health school is like getting hired for a job.

What are your options?

Put bluntly, there are many science prerequisites (enough for a chemistry minor by default in optometry), and the Core Requirements at UAB also demand dabbling in a plethora of fields. Ideally, this would translate into finding something that interests you, but it takes an early investment of time to manage your science prerequisites. It’s also difficult to squeeze in those Core Requirements right off the bat.

With that in mind, some research and introspection would be in order. The UAB Course Catalog is a great way to learn about the requirements of a field you’re curious about. The first thing to consider should be the number of credit hours required for the major you’re interested in. The smallest majors I’ve heard of at UAB are English, Philosophy, and History: all weighing in at 42 or fewer credit hours.

Chemistry is slightly less common than Biology, but not particularly unique when it comes to health school applications. Neuroscience might be the third most popular, based on talking to fellow applicants. Any major can be a viable path, of course—they simply might not all be particularly distinctive ones.

Why Professional Writing?

To quickly summarize the English major, a student can have one of four Concentrations:

Professional Writing
Literature
Creative Writing
Linguistics

Each influences the types of English classes you’ll take, though the major’s elective requirements translate into significant potential for exploring the other concentrations, depending on your interests. I wanted something I could, at some point, use—and whether it’s technical writing for referrals or professional communication for the business side of a practice, Professional Writing prepares its students. Mastering minutiae like the basics of usable document design or even composing a resumé are necessities you’ll have to learn eventually.

Fundamentally, I enjoyed English and I liked the prospect of including it in my coursework as an alternative to something like Inorganic Chemistry. The fact that it is directly relevant to my goals was the thing that led me to English rather than, say, Philosophy—which was also a compelling option at the time.

When and how to decide?

Earlier, I talked about the smaller size of the English major in relation to most others. This is crucial, as it means you have more flexibility in deciding. If you’re interested in Professional Writing, the introductory course is a non-committal way of testing the waters. I didn’t switch until right before my Junior year, so there’s still hope for those of you a bit farther down your path.

As with everything mentioned in this article, you are the one planning your path and should take the time to consider all aspects of this decision: your time, preferences, requirements and goals.

Growing Your Writing

By: Laura Jane Stallo

Many students only go to the Writing Center when they are required to as a part of their graded assignments, or when they are struggling with an essay. While the Writing Center does help students with both of those things, they do so much more.

The Writing Center currently offers two forms of tutoring for students, live and asynchronous. Michael Williams, a first-year undergraduate tutor at the UWC, explains the difference.

“Because of the pandemic, we haven’t been able to meet in the office,” Williams said. Much like the rest of the university, the Writing Center offers their services virtually through Zoom where students can schedule 30-minute or hour-long appointments with tutors.

During live appointments, the tutors will meet with students over Zoom and will walk through the essay with student. The tutors can help students with anything from “brainstorming” to showing students “what needs to be edited,” and "why," said Williams.

The process is slightly different with asynchronous tutoring. “It’s basically the same thing, except you don’t have that live feedback,” Williams said.

Students submit documents to the Writing Center, and the tutors “take that Word document or PDF, and we do our best to give feedback and give explanations along the way as if we were actually in a Zoom meeting.” Williams said.

Strengthening your own writing

When asked what some of the most common mistakes students make in their essays, Williams said they can be broken into two categories, “grammatical and structural.”

“Comma splices tend to be an issue a lot,” Williams said, adding that most of the grammatical mistakes tend be the easiest to point out. “In a Zoom meeting, you can read the essay back to them and they’re able to catch it themselves.”

"Even the best wordsmiths are bound to make simple grammatical mistakes," Williams said.

“It’s important to know the difference between commas, semicolons and periods, and when to use them.”

If you are ever confused if your sentence is a run-on or if you should have used a semicolon or a comma, you are not alone, and the Writing Center is there to help you answer those questions and more.

When it comes to structural mistakes, Williams highlights the importance of reading the assignment guideline carefully. “There are some who don’t follow the assignment guidelines,” Williams said, with many students feeling unsure of what the professor is asking of them.

“It’s always good to read the assignment guidelines on your own, and if you still need help following the assignment guidelines, we can help with that,” Williams said.

Style Guides

The Writing Center is also equipped to accept essays and articles from any discipline or style guide. “As tutors we take in all kinds of papers from all kinds of disciplines,” Williams said.

“A lot of my students have been from remedial English courses,” though Williams has also had students from “The School of Business to engineering to psychology and even graduate students.” With such a variety in backgrounds, tutors are constantly learning about different rules and style guides.

“Most of us already know MLA, and that’s the typical style we teach in, but we’re still able to help with whatever style,” Williams said. Most students are familiar with the rules of which style they are writing in, but if the tutors ever encounter an obscure style guide they are not familiar with, most style guides have digital copies available all over the internet.

“We trust students enough that they are able to find the resource for us and that they we are able to go through it together, kind of like following the assignment guidelines, and we take that as a learning experience,” Williams said.

The tutors also get offers to attend training seminars held throughout the semester to learn more about specific style guides. “It’s the expectation that as a tutor, when you do have breaks in your work schedule, it doesn’t hurt to go through the instruction manuals,” Williams said.

Workshops

While most students take advantage of the Writing Center’s tutoring services, the center also offers workshops throughout the semester for students.

“The workshops are free and open to the public. Usually we’ll have a couple of senior-level tutors who help to conduct workshops, to help the community out with basic issues that we see,” Williams said.

The workshops are similar to mass-tutoring sessions, Williams said. During the Fall 2020 semester, the Writing Center offered three sessions: “Presentation on How to Find and Correct Your Errors,” “Presentation on How to Reflect on Your Writing” and “How to Manage Writing Anxiety and Writer’s Block.”

One of the biggest roadblocks and misconceptions that students have about the Writing Center is that it is only a place to go if you feel like there are problems with your writing, Williams said.

“Workshops and tutoring sessions can be for people of all levels – all disciplines,” Williams said, and emphasized that, “We’re helping you to evoke the best writer that is already in you.”

Working for the UWC

The Writing Center is a resource available to strengthen your writing through either one-on-one tutoring sessions or workshops. It can also be a place to gain a variety of skills and connections by working there.

“I’ve learned a lot and it’s definitely been one of my favorite experiences this semester,” Williams said.

“One of the most important things working here has taught me is the importance of different writing styles…working with a lot of different students from first-gen students to students who aren’t native English speakers has been really interesting.”

“As a tutor is has been a really good experience to read and hear a lot of different voices and hear a lot of different experiences and to look more into my own narrative voice,” Williams said, and “learning how to edit other people’s papers has taught me how to edit my own papers better.”

“One of the biggest things about working at the Writing Center,” Williams said, “is that we’re very friendly, we never want to put (the student) in a position where we’re very hard on you.”

“Before I came to the Writing Center, I was always the person that people came to when they needed help with their papers, so I was already used to being in that environment but being a tutor at the Writing Center has given me a lot more confidence in doing that and has also given me a lot more skills and resources with working with different students and different writing styles,” Williams said.

Whether you just want feedback on an essay or want to be on the other side of the screen, the Writing Center is an excellent resource to develop your writing, no matter your year or skill level.

Random Job Experience at Random Logic Games

By William McCormick

screenshot of random logic games apps — Random Logic Games apps

It is important for all college students to find an internship or job that they feel is relevant to their major. These can be important in helping someone find what they want to do with their degree post-graduation.

This is especially true for English majors, given how vague the career options for English majors can be and how varied the skills possessed by them tend to be. That is why in September of 2016, I applied for and accepted an internship with a local mobile game development company: Random Logic Games.

Random Logic Games is a game development company based in Birmingham, Alabama and founded by alumni of UAB. One of its alumni is even a former English major. Their games are, as the name implies, mostly logic and thought-based.

But why would the field of software/game development need English majors, and what could English majors really contribute to this field? At the time, reaching out to them for an internship seemed a bit odd and I did not believe I could really have a place at something even vaguely tech-related.

My main responsibility during this internship was writing up the descriptions of apps they published in the App Store or Google Play Store, and testing out the apps in question. There were also a few times when I was instructed to write and schedule posts for social media, or compile data for usage in one of the company’s apps.

This is a good example of what English majors could expect to be doing when coming into the software development field, unless they have some other form of experience that may be deemed more useful. Much of it fell into the realm of marketing, a field that many professional writers may find themselves thrust into.

This internship served as a good look into what English majors can contribute to the tech field. While they may lack the technical skills possessed by those who studied or specialize in the field, they can contribute their writing and reading skills to help those in the tech or software industries promote or improve their products. More English students should seek out these types of internships so as to get an idea of what they can do after graduation.

What About Marketing? Featuring an Interview with Alexis Brost

By Bailey McKay

Marketing textbooks

I frequently get asked what I plan on doing with an English degree. Or, what can I do with professional writing? When I answer that I want to work in the marketing field, more questions seem to arise. Many people do not see the connection between marketing and professional writing. However, English majors have a huge skillset to bring into marketing.

Meet Alexis

To explore this topic further, I interviewed Alexis Brost, the Marketing and Member Relations Coordinator at The Club Inc. Her duties include The Club’s quarterly newsletter, (concept, design, writing and photographs) communicating with outside media and sending all emails to members. Alexis graduated from Auburn with a Bachelors in English with a concentration in Literature. She has previously worked on the marketing and social media team for Books-A-Million.

A Piece of Advice

Alexis says her best piece of advice for future English graduates is, “Take a chance on ANY job that accepts a liberal arts degree. In a world that is changing in technology, people want instant and correct communication. English majors are highly attractive candidates for any career.”

What Skills Can Professional Writers Bring to Marketing?

Professional writers bring forth a unique skill set. Not only can they write and edit proficiently, they can also eloquently express themselves. Professional writers have the ability to be creative and think outside of the box; they have a diverse knowledge in reading, writing, rhetoric and many other areas. Lastly, professional writers can communicate effectively, making them a mediator between products and consumers.

According to Alexis, the majority of her English classes have come in handy in her career, but she says that her past Linguistic classes have helped her the most. In Alexis’s current job she has to use HTML coding and programs such as TextEdit, so she emphasized how important her computer classes were as well. (Shout out to Dr. Bacha and Dr. Basilico)

What’s the Takeaway?

I feel like there is a stigma when it comes to being an English major. We have so many positive qualities to offer, and our potential is limitless. When it comes to your career, be bold and take chances. Some things that don’t seem like they fit, like Professional Writing and Marketing, may just be what you’re looking for. HireABlazer is a good place to start looking for potential jobs, internships or job shadowing opportunities.

There’s More Than One Way to Become a Journalist

By Casey Marley

Reporting notes

I did not come to college with the intention of majoring in my native language. I knew I wanted to work with media, and I found journalism through working at and eventually becoming the editor of our campus newspaper. By learning the trade outside of the classroom, I found that my English classes were actually helping me more at my job than any other classes.

With hard work, your English degree can help you work towards your goal of becoming a journalist in ways you might not realize:

Core literature classes teach you how to examine and question.

By studying literature, you learn how to break apart and examine word choices, question an author’s motives, put pieces in context and simply ask questions. Not only will you start to see stories in daily life, but you learn how to question those in charge of your community—a curiosity that’s necessary to become a good journalist.

Those papers you write constantly will make you a great writer.

Journalists write constantly, so if you have an interest in journalism you need to have a command of the English language, the ability to produce multiple 500-word articles each day and an understanding of the editing process. By having professional rhetoricians and English scholars critique your work while in school, you become a skilled writer, the core component of any job in journalism.

The professional writing program gives you practical experience.

Do you want opportunities to become published and learn how to code? The Professional Writing program does just this. In “Writing for Popular Periodicals,” my final project required me to write an actual magazine article, which was later published. In “Digital Publishing,” UAB students learn how to apply their writing skills in an extremely marketable way: learning how to code HTML and CSS to build their own portfolio while building and managing the Memorandum website and newsletter.

Brandon Varner is the current Kaleidoscope Editor-in-Chief and Community Blogger for AL.com. The soon-to-graduate English major has proven that the Professional Writing program can prepare you for this career field.

“I think that I couldn’t have accomplished my goals without the professional writing program,” Brandon said. “The layout and design training I gained in the program has been invaluable in my time at Kscope, and through my position at Kscope I attracted attention from AL.com. I wouldn’t be where I am today without Dr. Bacha and the program at UAB.”

If journalism appeals to you as a Professional Writing student, you’ve come to the right place. The supporting community of faculty members and peers will help you in your career-discovery journey.

Publish Yourself – Create a Zine

By Adam Jones

Circulating your name amongst the realm of professional writers can prove to be difficult—especially if you’re lacking the necessary time to work as an intern. However, a simple (and cheap) method of publication that has risen back to the surface of the mainstream over the past decade is the pamphlet-style “zine.”

Stemming from works like Martin Luther’s 95 Theses and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, it is evident that zines are effective while, at the same time, allowing a writer’s personal brand to remain intact. And they are markedly easy to produce.

Generate content that matters to you.

Philly-based Maya Smith has recently tacked zine-making onto the list of their multiple creative talents. As a queer person of color, Smith has dealt firsthand with the oppressions that both black Americans and queer folk are faced with in our society. To educate their readers on how they (and others like them) feel, Maya is creating their zine, entitled black//queer, to show people what it’s like to be non-binary and of color in America.

“My zine is mainly about getting word about the lives of young black and queer or non-binary people out there,” Smith said via web interview. “I talk about my own experiences as well as what this means to me on a larger scale (like with other people and how I’m seen in the world, etc). I’m making it to put out there for anyone to see and read, really.”

Smith went on to explain that they have one more photo shoot to finish before the zine will be complete. Then, they will begin printing, binding and, finally, distributing (advertising their work at a cost of merely $5 per zine).

This simple, cost-efficient method of publication is ideal for any young writer that is stuck in the professional limbo of working towards an undergraduate degree. Examples of cool, popular zines can be found all over the web. In fact, eHow.com offers an excellent tutorial for first time zine-makers.

The World of Freelancing: Tips for Getting Started

by Sadie King

As technology develops, the idea of doing freelance work becomes a more viable and helpful career choice. Doing freelance work offers the opportunity to work in your own environment, choose your own projects, and have more flexibility in your work. Freelancing will only become more popular as technology continues to develop and business owners realize the options they have when it comes to people who freelance.

Many people with English degrees choose to go into freelancing because of its many different career options and the flexibility of those options. Freelancers typically have the luxury of working from home and working on their own time, not necessarily having to follow a 9-5 work schedule. Though this can be seen as a luxury, it also means that a person who is interested in doing freelance work must have self-discipline and the ability to manage their own time. Freelancers also have the ability to pick and choose their projects, passing over the ones that don’t interest them. Starting out, some freelancers may have to accept projects they aren’t interested in just to get their foot in the door of the freelance world and to have work to put on a resume.

Companies are beginning to see the convenience of outsourcing to freelancers for some of their jobs. For example, publishing companies are beginning to outsource things like copyediting and proofreading, finding the convenience of hiring someone to do the work freelance preferable to having someone in-house to do the work. As time goes on, more and more companies are beginning to hire people to do freelance jobs instead of hiring someone to work full-time.

Though doing freelance work may seem like the ideal way to work, it can be hard to get a freelance business up and running, and the freelance world is one where connections are key. These are some things that could help when starting a freelance business.

Pick a niche

The idea of being able to just say that you do freelance work and then pick up any job that comes your way, no matter the type, could sound tempting. That said, it’s better to choose one thing that you do, may it be copywriting, graphic design, copyediting, etc., and sell yourself as a master in one of those crafts. Examine what your strengths are and play to your own advantages. It’s easier to market yourself, a very important thing when it comes to freelancing, when you have a specific niche.

Make connections

Who you know, especially when first starting out, can be the most important aspect of getting your business started. People still in college have built-in connections in their peers, professors, and anyone they encounter and strike up a relationship with on campus. Being on a college campus offers opportunities to network that aren’t necessarily there once a person enters the work force. Choosing to do work for charities or even for free to gain experience can also be a way to start adding names to your list of connections.

Build a professional website

When businesses or people start looking for someone to do freelance work for them, the first place they are going to turn is the Internet. There are thousands of websites for people who do freelance work. It’s easy enough to get a website up and put content on it, but it can be harder to design a website that is going to impress a potential employer. It can be beneficial to hire a web designer in order to give your website a more professional look. When it comes to website content, be sure to include examples of your work and/or a link to your online portfolio. And as simple as it seems, check, double-check, and triple-check your site for spelling and grammar errors.

Always be looking for work

Because freelancing requires almost constant job searching, it’s important to know that you always have somewhere to get income when you need it. There are multiple job boards on the Internet that provide options for those looking for work. Most freelancing niches had websites that send out newsletters with information about jobs and tips for employment. They also have meetings and seminars that could be the perfect places to network and continue to gain connections.

Career Spotlight: Copywriting

People are bombarded every day with words that are meant to persuade them. Advertisements, flyers, and websites are all written and designed with a specific purpose in mind: enticement. Each word is chosen in hopes that when grouped together, they can attract the reader into buying something, doing something, or even not doing something. Copywriters are the force working in the background to make that enticement happen.

There are many job opportunities available for those who have an English degree with a specific interest in professional writing. Someone with the ability to write well and use proper spelling and grammar is desired by companies that depend on written materials. English majors spend a majority of their undergraduate careers learning to write in a persuasive manner. Most papers submitted by college students, especially those majoring in English, attempt to make an argument. This is, in essence, what a copywriter does. The ability to write copy for marketing and advertising materials requires the ability to use words to get across a specific message.

There are many different types of copy that copywriters are hired to write. Advertising agencies hire copywriters to write catchy slogans and advertisements for products or brands. Copywriters typically work as part of an entire creative team to put together ad campaigns that target and cater to a specific demographic. The goal of effective copywriting is to grab the reader’s attention through the use of enticing and well-written copy.

Copywriters tend to work in fast-paced industries and, because they are usually working with a deadline, need to be able to work under pressure. Someone interested in copywriting should be aware of trends and what is popular as they begin to create copy that will be compelling to the common readership. Research skills are also a necessity as it may sometimes be important to track down pieces of information that would make the copy more compelling and relevant. A copywriter needs to be able to take information and creatively turn it into an advertisement or piece of work that follows the idea of what the client wants.

The career path that leads to a successful copywriting job can vary. Getting an internship working as a copywriter is one way to start building a portfolio for when the time comes to start looking for full-time jobs. Freelance work is another option that gives a starting point for having completed work to add to a portfolio. The work of copywriters is everywhere. Copywriting is a career path that offers people the ability to work creatively with words to grab the attention of an audience.