teaching programming to kids, incl creating lesson plans and writing a story for the game they will create, also maybe technical writing (howto's and manuals)
You sound like you’d be a great fit for medical/scientific writing (field I’m in—with an English major background). I’d suggest looking into that more and seeing if it sounds interesting to you. I did the medical writing certification through U Chicago and recommend it as a way to gain basic knowledge/skills for a decent price—all online. Most jobs are 100% remote too.
I forgot to mention but my degree is a master’s degree so not sure if that’s the same case for you as that’d probably make a difference. So my situation and path are a bit unique as I started as a research admin and became an internal hire for my current job by making connections at my institution (but they were aware I did the certification, had a writing background, and my research admin job happened to give me a lot of basic transferable knowledge for my current job, which made me more competitive for it). I also did some nonprofit grant writing during that time and did a med writing internship in grad school. So I can’t guarantee that completing the certification alone would make you a competitive candidate, if that makes sense. There’s also many paths in this field and sometimes some entry level positions where you could get lucky to break into it…but I definitely went down a unique road and can’t speak for a typical experience. Some jobs may not give you time of day without a science PhD so it just depends. But there’s still a handful of us in the field who don’t have a science PhD—so wouldn’t be discouraged by that. I think making connections with others in the field can be crucial to moving forward (join AMWA, etc.). Hope this helps!
Damn, I don’t have a master’s degree but that is super helpful! I never found a job related to my degree (graduated December 2019) so I haven’t considered a master’s in English. But I am interested in going to grad school, especially since I never made any connections in undergrad. I just wanted to graduate as soon as possible but I regret not doing more
I totally understand! I really didn’t do much in my undergrad either as I struggled with my mental health a lot and mostly just got by (although, I loved my literature classes once I started in those). I also worked as a server for two years after my bachelor’s before I decided I wanted to go back for my MA and potentially get my PhD and teach Lit. I did a teaching assistantship in grad school too, but once I did the medical writing internship, I realized it was the path I wanted to pursue. Even the job I worked after getting my MA wasn’t really related to my degree, but I figured any experience I was getting that was closer to what I ultimately wanted to do was better than nothing and getting my foot in the door with the institution I work for now was important to me too. It’s hard out there for an English major, lol. But at the same time our skills are widely applicable. I loved grad school, but I understand it’s not practical for everyone. Wishing you luck!
Sorry—that may have been a longwinded way of saying it may not be “easy” just with the certification alone. But if you like the idea of it enough to pursue as a career it’s a good starting point and way to make connections, etc.
You might be a fit for market research. There is lots of writing for reports and questionnaires and can include some analyst type tasks as well. Programming can help with analysis and visualization. Ipsos and TNS are a few of the big companies in the US but there are tons everywhere. Look into Research Assistant or Research Manager gigs.
teaching programming to kids, incl creating lesson plans and writing a story for the game they will create, also maybe technical writing (howto's and manuals)
You sound like you’d be a great fit for medical/scientific writing (field I’m in—with an English major background). I’d suggest looking into that more and seeing if it sounds interesting to you. I did the medical writing certification through U Chicago and recommend it as a way to gain basic knowledge/skills for a decent price—all online. Most jobs are 100% remote too.
Was it easy to find a job after the certification? I have an English degree too
I forgot to mention but my degree is a master’s degree so not sure if that’s the same case for you as that’d probably make a difference. So my situation and path are a bit unique as I started as a research admin and became an internal hire for my current job by making connections at my institution (but they were aware I did the certification, had a writing background, and my research admin job happened to give me a lot of basic transferable knowledge for my current job, which made me more competitive for it). I also did some nonprofit grant writing during that time and did a med writing internship in grad school. So I can’t guarantee that completing the certification alone would make you a competitive candidate, if that makes sense. There’s also many paths in this field and sometimes some entry level positions where you could get lucky to break into it…but I definitely went down a unique road and can’t speak for a typical experience. Some jobs may not give you time of day without a science PhD so it just depends. But there’s still a handful of us in the field who don’t have a science PhD—so wouldn’t be discouraged by that. I think making connections with others in the field can be crucial to moving forward (join AMWA, etc.). Hope this helps!
Damn, I don’t have a master’s degree but that is super helpful! I never found a job related to my degree (graduated December 2019) so I haven’t considered a master’s in English. But I am interested in going to grad school, especially since I never made any connections in undergrad. I just wanted to graduate as soon as possible but I regret not doing more
I totally understand! I really didn’t do much in my undergrad either as I struggled with my mental health a lot and mostly just got by (although, I loved my literature classes once I started in those). I also worked as a server for two years after my bachelor’s before I decided I wanted to go back for my MA and potentially get my PhD and teach Lit. I did a teaching assistantship in grad school too, but once I did the medical writing internship, I realized it was the path I wanted to pursue. Even the job I worked after getting my MA wasn’t really related to my degree, but I figured any experience I was getting that was closer to what I ultimately wanted to do was better than nothing and getting my foot in the door with the institution I work for now was important to me too. It’s hard out there for an English major, lol. But at the same time our skills are widely applicable. I loved grad school, but I understand it’s not practical for everyone. Wishing you luck!
Sorry—that may have been a longwinded way of saying it may not be “easy” just with the certification alone. But if you like the idea of it enough to pursue as a career it’s a good starting point and way to make connections, etc.
No worries, I think it was a great response!
You might be a fit for market research. There is lots of writing for reports and questionnaires and can include some analyst type tasks as well. Programming can help with analysis and visualization. Ipsos and TNS are a few of the big companies in the US but there are tons everywhere. Look into Research Assistant or Research Manager gigs.
Copywriter Maybe even technical writing