A special article:

Career Opportunities after BA / MA in  English Literature

There are ample career opportunities for BA / MA English candidates. 

Take academics. India needs lakhs of English language teachers. There are a good number of English training centres which regularly need teachers to teach the English language.

The demand is just not in India but all over the world.

Recently the Government of Maharashtra received over 7500 proposals for setting up English medium schools. Now imagine the number of English teachers these schools will need immediately. This need will keep growing.

As more and more students are aspiring for higher education every high school is now turning into a junior college. There is a serious shortage of lecturers for the English subject. One comes across thousands of MA degree holders in other disciplines but not even hundreds in English.

The syllabus often includes a paper on English language teaching.

If you are planning to do B. Ed. with English as a method then doing MA in English will be very rewearding as it will expand your opportunity basket. If you secure minimum second class in MA you can definitely get into a junior college (for XI^th and XII^th). Note that English is a compulsory subject for all faculties.

Also, most of the universities have Communication Skills in English as a compulsory subject for undergraduates (FY BA/B.Com.). This expands teaching opportunities for MA English degree.

The 6^th Pay commission has made salaries attractive and at par with the corporate sector.

If you study well for BA/MA in English then cracking the SET / NET will not be a difficulty. If you clear SET / NET then there are excellent opportunities to teach at the senior college level. Most important is that one must secure minimum clear 55% marks. It is seen that most of the students who study under distance education mode do not get quality notes and guidance and prepare thoroughly. It is necessary to seek expert guidance for securing good class. A first class in BA / MA English is a lasting acquirement that keeps delivering value everywhere and every time.

Then there are excellent research opportunities.

Note that every year countries outside India need thousands of English language teachers. For example, recently the education minister of China came to India to recruit English language teachers offering excellent salaries and other facilities. If you can teach English you have opportunities all over the world. You need not be told that in today’s era of globalization and internet English is the lingua franca of the world. Command over English is the sure passport to higher career and business opportunities. Countries all over the world are scrambling to learn the Queen’s language.

Cambridge University offers excellent qualifications in English language teaching which are globally recognized.

A BA / MA in English with a good class opens many doors for you.

Now let’s see the opportunities in the corporate world.

Today businesses are becoming communication-intensive. In fact business means communication. Those who can communicate well will always be in the driving seats. They will always be in great demand everywhere.

Many people find it rather amazing that there are ample opportunities for BA/MA English degree holders in the corporate world.

Public relations is a sunrise field in corporate communication. It has emerged as an industry in itself creating its own sphere of influence. There is a good demand for those who can write well.

Advertising (copywriting) is another area of vast opportunities. If you can play with words and have good command over them then the sky is the beginning.

Writing for in-house periodicals is another huge area.

Internet has thrown open numerous opportunities. For example, there is a constant demand for those who can write for websites both general and specialized. One can create one’s own opportunities in this field.

Corporate training is another area full of opportunities for BA / MA English degree holders. Call centres always need good trainers. Marketing firms require regular English language training.

Creative writing is always open to those who can write well.

Careers in IPRF – Intellectual Property Rights and Law need sound command over the English language.

A BA  or an MA in English is the right launching pad for such careers.

There are many opportunities for self-employment. If you are enterprising you can start your own language training centres. Value addition through various specialized courses (cognition, study skills, etc) can open up many entrepreneurial opportunities. You can teach English online. You can start your own academic class taking care of the English subject.  Private coaching that pays well can be an excellent beginning.

Of course, one should study thoroughly and go beyond the university exams to acquire mastery over the English language. One should cultivate one’s language. Studying literature is a sure way of taking one’s command of the English language to the next level.

How to prepare for securing a good class in BA / MA English?

As mentioned above most of those who pass their BA / MA with English literature do not secure a good class which is a clear requirement for opening up many doors to careers. It is necessary to prepare thoroughly and systematically. Being merely exam focused is not enough. One should not go by the worn out  bunches of old notes (mostly Xerox copies) gathered from friends and past students. The study material is vast as one has to read a good number of books for additional reading. Most of the students study according to the past question papers of the University leaving many topics for optional. This is definitely the right approach. Selective study is one of the reasons why most of the students fail to secure a good class. It is true that for some subjects right study books are difficult to find. Even leading bookstores do not have them and most of the students depend on cutting and pasting information from various sites from the internet resources. One cannot understand Shakespeare or Wordsworth by studying couple of pulled out pages from some books. One should have one’s own perspective on the novels, poems, drama, etc. Subjects like stylistic analysis and literary criticism is rather technical in nature and needs thorough understanding. One thing is certain, BA and MA in English literature give you a grand opportunity fine tune your command of the English language.

Students pursuing BA / MA in English through distance mode do not get notes as in the case of Mumbai University. In fact such notes are difficult to provide as every student need to study on his own and prepare his /her own notes. Most of the students cannot attend contact lectures as they are working. Yet the University tries to provide all possible support. The key is to have a right attitude and approach towards studying literature. It cannot be studied like history or geography.

There are good libraries like the American Centre library and the British Council library which could be of good help. Studying ready-made answers instead of reading the novels, poems or the drama (the prescribed texts) will not help. Literature has to be a passion.

English is a global language, the mother tongue of the future. The Queen’s language will always stand in good stead if you master it well. Students of BA and MA English have an unparalleled opportunity here.

-          Prakash Almeida

The The author is director of EnglishFountain and gives guidance for BA and MA literature.  (www.englishfountain.com)  He can be reached at almeida.praksh@gmail.com                     (M) 8600178825 / 9325032547

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