Career Prospects: What to do with a degree in English

The study of English language, literature and culture offers a wide variety of career prospects to our graduate students due to a wide range of skills they acquire during their studies. A degree in English is not geared to prepare you for only one specific job, in fact, it gives students the opportunity to acquire academic skills that are highly useful in various fields of work. So, what can you do with a degree in English? The sections below will give you some guidance and inspiration.

Key qualifications

Students have a high level of proficiency in spoken and written communication in English, can read and analyse complex texts critically, are skilled in obtaining crucial information, develop professional research competence and can interpret cultural phenomena methodically. Furthermore they acquire metacognitive skills in dealing with language and text editing, self-organization, planning ahead and working independently. Students are able to perform complex tasks in communication and administration which are also important outside academia. Thanks to these skills many fields of work are open to graduates of English.

Please also consult our skills profiles for further information:

BA English

MA English

For the value of studying a subject in the humanities in general, please consult the summary of arguments provided by the SAGW: https://abouthumanities.sagw.ch/.

Typical career paths

Becoming a teacher is one of the most popular career choices: English teachers are required at all levels of the school system as well as in adult education. Furthermore, work in numerous communicative professions include jobs in the following areas and institutions: non-profit and cultural organizations, the diplomatic corps, marketing and PR departments, publishing houses, information and documentation services, newspapers, radio and television, intercultural work in the context of migration and integration, cantonal and federal administrative and research positions. The profession of a translator is also an opportunity but we do not train translators per se. A small number of our graduates pursue an academic career. Excellent MA graduates can extend their research competence by conducting a PhD research project and writing a doctoral dissertation within the framework of the Herman Paul School of Linguistics or the Doctoral Programme in Literary Studies.

Sample career choices of our graduates

The following profiles of some of our graduates’ current job positions should give you an idea of the great variety of fields of work for which studying English prepares our students. If you are interested in any of these fields already, we suggest that you gain experience by applying for internships.

Andrés Luther: Partner at Hirzel Neef Schmid Counselors

I had an interest in theatre and poetry and thought that literature and language are a useful key to understanding culture and people. And I still do believe that. I came to Basel because it was further away from home than Zurich. Towards the end of my studies I realized that I wanted to know more about how the business world worked, especially global financial markets. Markets seemed to have a huge impact on life and society, and I expected that working in business would teach me a lot that I could not learn at university.

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Johanna Schüpbach: Subject Librarian (Anglophone Language and Literature, General Linguistics), University of Basel Library

When I first came to Basel, I was dead set on studying American Literature but couldn’t imagine much else. Little did I know that my time at the English Department would bring me so much more, expand my horizon of interests, grow my love of stories, and generally exceed my wildest expectations.

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Philippe Roesle: Deputy Head Bilateral Relations, State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, Bern

Studying English at the University of Basel challenged me to develop questions, while teaching me how to devise and evaluate answers. I was taught how to engage critically with words, texts and ideas. The freedom and independence I had with my individual timetable allowed me to pursue my own interests in a broad range of interdisciplinary topics, furthering my lateral thinking and encouraging me to approach and understand issues from various angles simultaneously.

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Sibylle Bläsi: English Teacher, Kantonsschule Olten

I chose to study English because it has always fascinated me; as a teenager I enjoyed reading English literature and reflecting on language. Going to the U.S. as an exchange student turned out to be a momentous decision, allowing me to further develop my language competence and to gain insights into U.S. American culture. After graduating from grammar school I felt that studying English was the right choice, simply because I loved reading, analyzing and discussing literature. Basel appealed to me because it appeared to be an open-minded and culturally diverse city.

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Iris Wahlen Callegher: Communications Manager, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Basel

I had always wanted to become a high-school teacher but ended up taking on a job in economics after my studies. I grew very fond of corporate communications and have been working in this area ever since. The most important skill I learnt at university is to be able to think strategically and in complex ways; in literary studies I learnt to grasp concepts fully and view them from different angles. Linguistics helped me develop an affinity for intercultural communications and the playfulness of language.

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