Skip to content
TryHired.
Degree · program → related occupations

What can you do with an English degree? 6 mapped careers, on real data.

Every occupation the official NCES/BLS crosswalk connects to English programs, with BLS pay, the education each job usually needs, what the work involves, and where to go next.

English · CIP 23 family · 13 codes · 6 careers · Check one exact major, e.g. 23.0101 English Language and Literature, General, in the major to career finder

Updated Oct 30, 2026 · Data: NCES/BLS CIP-SOC 2020 · BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Program · 13 CIP codesEnglish6 related occupations · 3 career fields
Quick answer

The official NCES/BLS crosswalk maps English programs to 6 occupations that such programs typically prepare people for, including High School Teacher, Proofreaders and Copy Markers and Editor. BLS median pay across them runs from $51,120 (Proofreaders and Copy Markers) to $90,390 (Technical Writer) in May 2025. The crosswalk describes preparation, not what graduates actually go on to do.

Data Program → related occupations: these are jobs English programs typically prepare people for (NCES/BLS crosswalk). Not a guaranteed outcome, and not a record of what graduates do.

Career explorer

6 occupations related to English programs

Data Filter by the education the job usually needs or its preparation level; sort by pay or by number employed.

Occupations related to English programs
OccupationMost common educationJob Zone
High School Teacher$72,0401,065,210Bachelor's Degree4
Editor$77,92091,690n/a4
English Language and Literature Teachers, PostsecondaryPostsecondary teaching$78,76057,720Doctoral Degree5
Writer$76,91047,940n/a4
Technical Writer$90,39045,500Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree4
Proofreaders and Copy Markers$51,1204,580Bachelor's Degree4

Data The education column shows a typical entry level only where O*NET data supports one answer. Check the typical education for High School Teacher, one of the English jobs above.

Pay view

What the related occupations pay

Data BLS national median annual wage, May 2025. These are pay levels of the occupations, not earnings of graduates.

  1. Technical Writer$90,390
  2. English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary$78,760
  3. Editor$77,920
  4. Writer$76,910
  5. High School Teacher$72,040
  6. Proofreaders and Copy Markers$51,120
Paths

Six paths in more detail

Data The largest related occupations by employment (postsecondary teaching shown in the explorer).

Education and library · Job Zone 4High School Teacher
Median pay
$72,040
Employed
1,065,210
Most common education
Bachelor's Degree

Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.

Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.

Instructing · Reading Comprehension · Active Listening

Mapped from CIP 23.0101
Office and administrative support · Job Zone 4Proofreaders and Copy Markers
Median pay
$51,120
Employed
4,580
Most common education
Bachelor's Degree

Mark copy to indicate and correct errors in type, arrangement, grammar, punctuation, or spelling, using standard printers' marks.

Read corrected copies or proofs to ensure that all corrections have been made.

Reading Comprehension · Writing · Speaking

Mapped from CIP 23.0101, 23.1301
Arts, design, media and sports · Job Zone 4Editor
Median pay
$77,920
Employed
91,690
Most common education
n/a

Verify facts, dates, and statistics, using standard reference sources.

Write text, such as headlines, stories, articles, editorials, or newsletters.

Reading Comprehension · Writing · Active Listening

Mapped from CIP 23.1301, 23.1302
Arts, design, media and sports · Job Zone 4Technical Writer
Median pay
$90,390
Employed
45,500
Most common education
Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree

Organize material and complete writing assignment according to set standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology.

Maintain records and files of work and revisions.

Writing · Reading Comprehension · Active Listening

Career guide Salary How to become

Mapped from CIP 23.1301, 23.1303
Arts, design, media and sports · Job Zone 4Writer
Median pay
$76,910
Employed
47,940
Most common education
n/a

Write fiction or nonfiction prose, such as short stories, novels, biographies, articles, descriptive or critical analyses, and essays.

Revise written material to meet personal standards and to satisfy needs of clients, publishers, directors, or producers.

Writing · Reading Comprehension · Time Management

Career guide Salary How to become

Mapped from CIP 23.1301, 23.1302
Where this degree connects

Career fields reached from this program

Data Related occupations grouped by government career field, with their pay range.

3Arts, design, media and sports$76,910–$90,390
2Education and library$72,040–$78,760
1Office and administrative support$51,120–$51,120
Related programs

Programs that prepare for many of the same jobs

Data Other programs whose crosswalk occupations overlap with these.

FAQ

Common questions

What jobs can you get with an English degree?
The NCES/BLS crosswalk relates English programs to 6 occupations, including High School Teacher, Proofreaders and Copy Markers, Editor. It shows which jobs such programs typically prepare people for, not where graduates end up.
Which jobs related to English pay the most?
Among the mapped occupations, Technical Writer has the highest BLS median, $90,390 (May 2025). It most often requires an associate's degree.
Does this show where English graduates work?
The crosswalk cannot tell you that. It records which occupations the programs prepare people for, not graduate outcomes, employment rates or earnings.
Graduate outcomes

Earnings data from College Scorecard

Data A national median for federal-aid graduates of this field: a separate measure from the BLS job pay above.

Median earnings, 5 years after
$51,369
bachelor's graduates in English Language and Literature, General, federal-aid graduates, 2024 dollars
Graduates measured
35,288
working and not enrolled

See earnings by degree level, college spread and federal debt.

Method

How this page is built

The NCES/BLS crosswalk relates instructional programs (CIP 2020) to occupations (SOC 2018) when programs in the CIP category typically prepare individuals directly for jobs in the occupation. This page uses the CIP program series below and shows every non-residual occupation mapped to them that has BLS wages and O*NET data; each occupation lists the CIP codes that map to it.

  • 23.0101 English Language and Literature, General
  • 23.1301 Writing, General
  • 23.1302 Creative Writing
  • 23.1303 Professional, Technical, Business, and Scientific Writing
  • 23.1304 Rhetoric and Composition
  • 23.1399 Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies, Other
  • 23.1401 General Literature
  • 23.1402 American Literature (United States)
  • 23.1403 American Literature (Canadian)
  • 23.1404 English Literature (British and Commonwealth)
  • 23.1405 Children's and Adolescent Literature
  • 23.1499 Literature, Other

Searches this page answers include “jobs for english majors”, “english major jobs”, “what can you do with an english degree” (Ahrefs, U.S.).

What this page can't tell you
  • Where graduates actually work: the crosswalk is not an outcomes record.
  • Graduate earnings, employment rates or the chance of getting a job.
  • Whether you qualify: many of these jobs also need experience, a license or a specific degree level.
  • Programs with no crosswalk match: we make no occupation claim for them.
Sources
  1. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk and its March 2020 guidelines (U.S. government publication; retrieved Oct 25, 2026).
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  3. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.