Job Hunting After a Literature Degree: A Comedy in Three Acts
Priyamvada Jha
Editorial Assistant at National Book Trust of India | Passionate about Literature, Publishing, and Creative Writing | Skilled in Content Editing and Proofreading
Act 1: The Dream
You’ve spent three glorious years studying English Literature, wading through the depths of Shakespeare, waltzing with the Romantics, and maybe even suffering through a few too many post-modern poets. You leave college with your head held high, convinced that society will recognize your intellectual prowess. After all, you’re not just any graduate—you’re an English Literature graduate from Hindu College! The literary world's elite. You're armed with metaphors, sonnets, and a burning desire to correct anyone who confuses "there," "their," and "they’re."
Act 2: Reality Hits
The job market, however, does not seem impressed by your ability to analyse Hamlet’s existential crisis. Your job hunt begins to feel like your own personal tragedy, with more plot twists than a Victorian novel. The interviewers seem intrigued by your passion for literature but then proceed to offer you positions that seem more fitting for a reluctant Dickensian clerk. You realize you might be trading your "elitism" for entry-level salaries that barely buy you a hardcover of Pride and Prejudice at the local bookstore.
And the best part? When someone innocently asks, "Why didn't you just do an MBA?"
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Act 3: The Irony
Here’s the thing about being a Literature grad: you were once the intellectual class, discussing Kafka over chai. But now, you're proofreading product descriptions for hand sanitisers or writing punchlines for greeting cards. The job offers roll in, but the paychecks? Well, they’re a little less "Shakespearean tragedy" and a little more "high school romance gone wrong." You quickly learn to laugh, because what else can you do when your friends in other fields are calculating interest rates and you're pondering whether to "Oxford comma" or not?
Conclusion:
The job hunt for Literature graduates might be a comedy of errors. Still, at least we have something no algorithm, no software update can replicate—wit, a love for language, and the ability to turn our struggles into stories that even Shakespeare would appreciate.
#LiteratureGraduates #JobHuntStruggles #CareerJourney #GraduationToReality #CareerHumor #LinkedInHumor
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1 周This post makes me giving up in studying literature
MSN, FNP-C, APRN, OCN l Oncology Nurse Practitioner
5 个月Loved it! ??
Author | Editor | Project Manager at Westchester
5 个月I disagree. 1. Pure science grads may feel the same after graduating. That does not mean one should not do pure science or go for research. Ditto with literature and the arts. But guess what? It's the same for MBA too. Not all MBA grads are placed and many struggle, especially those who later setup successful startup ventures on their own. 2. How you apply yourself has nothing to do with the field you are graduating from but with your own intelligence. 3. I know literature grads (including yours truly) who have earned very well and have been highly employable, well-paid and successful. Satisfaction is within you, not outside you. Don't further stereotypes. It helps nobody.