LEC052007. Anagha Nair. Job Prospects of a student of M. A English

 Job Prospects of a student of M. A English

A language evolved from shedding inflections to connecting people across various borders, English has become the lingua franca. English was first taught as a subject in the graduation level in 1928 in England. The number of students opting English for their postgraduation has considerably increased during the past years. A reason for this could be the plenty of job opportunities awaiting an English graduate. 

English is the spoken language in many countries like U. S. A, U. K, Canada, Australia. It is taught as a second language in many Commonwealth nations including India. English also has the position of a foreign language in countries like China and Germany. In countries where English is not the spoken language, it is taught often as part of school and college syllabus by graduates in English. English language trainers are much sought after in these countries by people planning to travel abroad for studies or work. The trainers teach English for Specific Purposes like English for Tourism, English for Nurses, English for Lawyers, English for Aviation industries etc. where, a jargonized variety of English is taught. 

A good command and proficiency over English is often a criterion for many jobs. Knowledge of the global language has become to be seen as an asset that has the power to put people out into the open, thus promising and providing them greater exposure to the world around. Expertise in English language communication, which is very much expected from a graduate in English can land them in a number of professions. 

A Public Relations Officer(PRO) is a job position that opens its doors to people with good communication skills. As the spokesperson of an organization, the main role of a PRO is to effectively communicate and convince the ideas of the organization to the public. Graduates of English with excellent communication prowess are preferred for these positions. Copywriting is another field that takes in English graduates who can express their ideas through slogans and catchphrases and even write scripts for advertisements. Creative use of language is very important in this field. There are many English graduates placed as editors of magazines and newspapers. As what should and shouldn't be edited from an article is the sole decision of the editor, people with quicker and deeper understanding of the language are often placed in the editorial boards. A full-time writer, a lexicographer, a translator are all the various fields that attracts a lot of English graduates as these are the jobs where they can express themselves, encountering little or no barriers placed in front of their creative freedom. 

With an increasing number of Non- Governmental Organization(NGO)s and the need for volunteers in these organizations, an English graduate with the passion to serve the society can work to bring about changes in the society through these NGOs. Many after-school NGOs, with the aim of providing basic English education to children from the lower strata of the society, recruits English graduates as teacher-volunteers. 

With globalization, the shrinking and connecting of the world and English rising to the position of the link language, people with good English communicative skills are much sought after in most professions. English learning and teaching has become something that shouldn't be sidelined in this ever dynamic world as there are diverse job opportunities awaiting English graduates. 

Sources:

Elango. K. "The New Age English Teacher".The Hindu, 16 Nov. 2020

India Today, 7 May. 2016