Career opportunities

Our English graduates go on to become novelists and playwrights, and carve out careers in fields as diverse as journalism, politics and academia. The range of opportunities for graduates in English is vast. Our graduates have gone on to work in:

• National press
• Book and magazine publishing
• Law
• Human resources
• Local government
• Accountancy
• English teaching (Europe and the Far East)

Find out more about some of our notable alumni.

A degree in English is highly flexible, equipping you with creative, critical, and research skills that are attractive to employers in many professions. You will enter the job market with superb oral and written communication skills, valuable problem-solving and research experience, and a talent for careful analysis. There are few limits to the career choices offered by our degrees.

Research carried out for the government reveals that within six months of graduation 91% of Leicester English students were in employment or had won places on postgraduate or professional courses (DLHE survey 2018/19).

Employability training and work placements

English at Leicester understands the importance of planning your future career. We run a number of initiatives which enable you to prepare for the workplace. Some of these are voluntary and others are embedded within your degree programme:

• All students complete The Leicester Award in their first year of study.
• In each year of your degree, we deliver practical workshops which aim to increase your awareness of the career options open to you, and help you with your career action planning.
• We regularly organise talks by guest speakers. Often these are University of Leicester graduates who come back to talk about their career path following an English degree. We also make use of lecturers' contacts in the Arts sector and creative industries in order to arrange talks of careers relevant to an English degree. Recent talks have focused on careers in theatre, film, PR and marketing communications, independent publishing, academic publishing, and teaching.
• Several option modules include specialist employability training: 
  • Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages enables you to work towards the internationally-recognised Cambridge CELTA qualification.
  • Diversifying in the Publishing Industry combines academic study with vocational training - each student undertakes an 'e-placement' with a literary publisher.
  • English and Education includes a semester-long teaching placement in a local primary or secondary school. This hands-on experience of the classroom is combined with training and subject-specific reflection.
• Outside the curriculum, students have been involved in our research and outreach work, gaining valuable experience for careers in arts and administration.

The University's award-winning Careers Development Service can help you to gain the competitive edge you need to stand out, providing you with a multitude of opportunities to give you the best chance of getting that all-important foot on the career ladder.