From an outsiders point of view, English majors seem at a disadvantage with the high demands and competition that ties with being a writer. Some English majors might concur, but a lot of them also realize the unique advantages we have can vastly outweigh the hardships of making it as a writer. A lot of English majors may recognize more of the challenges that come with trying to make it as a writer, without knowing how many benefits come from handling all the challenges. On the other hand, some English majors may be thinking in terms of success, having not realized all the drawbacks. It's important to be aware of all of them though, regardless of the bad reasons, so we can prepare ourselves in the best way possibly without getting discouraged from over expecting our fate. Below are some of the many things you should expect as a writer, no matter how undesirable they are, starting with the disadvantages because we have to deal with those before we find the advantages.

1. You will most likely start out making a low salary.

Don't expect to immediately start out making a lot, or having your work already get published in the top publishing company. However, as you get to practice, you will broaden your chances to. Some writers start working in smaller businesses, but end up working in their dream job later. As a writer, you usually have to start off doing something else before you enter the writing position you really imagined doing.

2. Competition

As if going out into the world, trying to obtain the same thing as millions of other recent grads isn't already hard enough, being an English major means having to work even harder to get known. Your published work is all over the internet, so you have to display a unique style that appeals to a large audience.

Additionally, you have to let the competition motivate you, not bring you down. Each writer appeals to a different audience, and if you work hard and recognize your potential, you can reach a bigger audience. Keep in mind that your writing style is unique, and someone out there will appreciate your work. You shouldn't aim to be the best writer of the century, just aim to be the best writer you can be.

3. Adapting your writing

We all have our own unique style of writing, but you can only truly break the rules if you're a renowned writer. Writing requires adapting to the 'rules' of English, but also adapting to writing for an audience, particularly writing for the biggest audience possible based on your beliefs, personality, and creativity. This will help you understand how to express yourself in the best way, but also being genuinely unique.

When it comes to the writing field, certain companies prefer a certain writing style over others, so at times, you may find that you have to change your style of writing to meet the preferences of industry writers. You cannot write for yourself, you have to write for others, and sometimes that means writing in a more challenging or different way we don't particularly prefer.

4. An English degree isn't enough.

For most majors, it helps largely to gain experience that relates to your field, but making it a successful English major, especially for aspiring journalists and technical writers, it is nearly crucial to get a ton of writing experience outside of school, how your work, and gain experience, because unfortunately, those research papers you stayed up until 3 am working on do not count as sufficient experience for jobs.

5. Criticism

No matter how clear and concise your writing is, there will always be someone who misinterprets your writing or overthinks it completely. Like it or not, your writing cannot appeal to every single person. But this doesn't mean that you shouldn't continue writing about your passion, in the style that best suits you. You will most likely receive some hateful comments the more you write, and the bigger range of topics you discuss, but remember: you are not writing please everyone, you're writing for yourself, and/or whatever company you work for.

While these may seem like some obstacles to get through, they're all well worth it, because when you make it as a writer, there are quite a few opportunities to expand your knowledge even further, while expressing yourself to the greatest extent. Below are some of the many ways the benefits of writing can greatly surpass the hardships.

6. Using your voice

Writing is an excellent way to voice your opinions, in a time where so much is going on but us millennials have so little control over everything. and if you're one of the many people who really want to help advance society and stand up against the current issues. With an English major, writers can influence thousands, sometimes millions of people about their ideas, grow as a better person, and become even more open-minded about everything while being more aware of how to spark change.

7. Options

With an English major, you could be working at home as a freelance writer, working in an office, or traveling. There's no telling what you'll be doing, but there are a lot of options based on where you want to get your information and what you're comfortable with doing most. A lot of freelance writers also get to create their own schedule based on when they are able to obtain the information they need to publish content.

Additionally, English majors don't all go straight into strictly writing businesses, there are English majors who work in marketing, finance, government agencies, education, health, and attorney jobs. You may end up writing completely different content than you originally envisioned, or educating others about writing. Because there are so many options, though, don't tie yourself down to one, specific writing position.

8. The major helps with everything.

Majoring in English helps in almost virtually every way, guiding you through life as you have many additional communication and analyzing-related skills than other majors. Everything from speaking to writing emails, to reading and interpreting information is largely enhanced. English majors could very well be called communication majors in a way. Majoring in English will help you analyze important but confusing written content at times, and when the knowledge can help you communicate complex information whether written or verbally, you'll realize how truly worthy your major is.

Being an English major can be tough at first, and it certainly is different compared to certain other majors where people get a job at a specific place. English majors contribute greatly to all areas of work, and although the self-expression and creativity you get to implore is worthwhile.