If you’re considering a degree program as an entry point to a rewarding new career or greater earning potential, you have many choices. One path to higher earning potential may surprise you, however.  

You may have heard from well-intentioned family members or advisors that English is a degree to avoid if future employability and earning potential are important to you. Yet data shows that English degree holders outperform tech professionals in earnings — even as the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports salaries for U.S.-based tech professionals averaging in the six figures. 

Tech professionals may start out with robust salaries, but that premium can be short-lived. Professionals with English and humanities degrees often out-earn them over the course of their career. This may seem like a disconnect, but there’s solid reasoning behind it, according to The New York Times. Technological change is constant, and some skills can become obsolete very quickly. This obsolescence puts more experienced tech workers at a disadvantage compared to professionals entering the workforce with up-to-date skills, and it can cause industry veterans’ earnings to stagnate.  

Skills That Last and Earnings that Surpass 

Skill obsolescence isn’t an inevitable risk for all graduates. English majors sharpen written and verbal communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and other respected “soft” skills that are broadly applicable in professional life and beyond. This may be among the reasons the U.S. Department of Labor and Forbes cite soft skills among the most highly sought-after abilities by employers. The American Bar Association also cites these skills among the most important when applying to law school.  

Translating employment to earnings, The New York Times states majors in liberal arts subjects like English more often pursue careers in business, management, law, and other generally high-earning fields than tech majors. This explains why, though tech professionals may earn more early in their career, English majors often end up surpassing those earnings in the long run. If English is your passion, you can leverage your mastery of the written word in a broad range of fields without sacrificing financial success.  

Programs That Prepare You for Higher Earning Potential 

The University of Texas Permian Basin offers online English degree programs to match your education and professional experience. Each is a valuable credential that can prepare you to thrive in a variety of rewarding careers. 

Online Bachelor of Arts in English 

This program explores the English language and culture in all its complexity through literature and other creative works from Shakespeare to Spielberg. Our BA in English enables you to: 

  • Build the essential critical thinking, problem-solving, and writing skills that employers value. 
  • Choose from a broad selection of general education courses that provide a foundation for a more fulfilling career and life. 
  • Aim for a law career with a curriculum that prepares you to take the LSAT. 
  • Develop a global perspective. 
  • Pursue English graduate studies in the future. 

Online Master of Arts in English 

This program takes a deeper dive into English language and culture and connects aesthetic, cultural, historical, psychological, and social themes in literature from yesterday and today to current cultural, psychological, and sociopolitical realities. If you’ve completed or are about to complete a bachelor’s degree, we invite you to apply to our MA in English, which allows you to: 

  • Expand your exploration of topics from our core BA in English courses. 
  • Choose one of four capstone course options. 
  • Finish in as little as a year and a half. 

Earning Potential by the Numbers 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)—the go-to source for job statistics in the United States—a higher degree can translate directly to higher earnings. See for yourself: 

Bachelor’s degree holders have median earnings: 

~ 38% higher than those of associate degree holders. 

~ 32% higher than those who’ve taken college classes but haven’t finished a degree. 

Master’s degree holders have median earnings:  

~18% higher than bachelor’s degree holders.  

BLS data also shows that an individual’s likelihood of being employed increases with each successive level of education they complete. Let’s look at some of the jobs which an English degree may help you achieve and their pay, many of which approach or exceed six figures: 

  • Advertising, Promotions, and Marketing Managers: Median annual pay $133,380 
  • Lawyers: Median annual pay $127,990 
  • Human Resources Managers: Median annual pay $126,230 
  • Top Executives: Median annual pay $98,980 

An Affordable, Convenient Way to Earn Career Credentials 

As you’re working toward a degree that can help you secure a high-paying position, you’ll save with English programs that offer some of the most affordable tuition rates of any accredited university of our stature. We accept many forms of financial aid, and our financial aid office can help field your questions about the process. Once enrolled, you’ll experience unequalled flexibility, learning on your own schedule from anywhere in the world. There’s no better way to earn a degree that can help you get ahead while maintaining your current work and family responsibilities. 

Give your earning potential a boost with an English degree from UTPB! Apply today.