Being a writing major may include assignments involving writing fairy tales, but it definitely doesn’t mean our lives are one. There are pros and cons to every major, and even though we may not end up being the wealthiest individuals after graduation, we have the most fun in college because this is what we truly love to do.
Pros:
You don’t have to study.
While your other friends have to cram for their biochemistry test all night and then gather the brainpower to take the test the next morning, once you finish writing something, you’re done! You don’t have to worry about being tested over your knowledge after a sleepless night. As soon as you finish writing that last word on the page (and editing, of course), you can be completely worry-free.
Finals week is never that bad.
Unless you’re a procrastinator. Then it can be worse. But if you keep up with all of your assignments throughout the semester, you’ll probably only have to compile and edit your writing at the end of the semester. You may have one or two short pieces to write during finals week, but never five massive comprehensive exams that are squashed into two consecutive, stress-filled days.
Classes are more relaxed.
Chances are your writing classes are pretty small, so that automatically gives you and your professor more freedom in terms of how the class is run. You can all sit in a circle together and have great discussions or you can even take the class outside and call it an “inspired writing day” in the great outdoors. It sure beats sitting in a lecture hall of 200 students trying to learn about macroeconomics, or whatever it is they do over there in the business building.
You probably have a high GPA without trying as hard.
As long as your papers are the required length, on-topic, and written decently, you’ll generally get an A. You don’t have to put in 110% effort to have good grades in these classes. Having these easier classes can balance out some other grades in general education courses where you may have decided to not try as hard. Because, who cares about Edmund Randolph’s speech about the Virginia Plan? Don’t worry if you don’t remember who that is. No one does.
Writing papers for other classes is a piece of cake.
You’re so used to writing your life away that you can write a 10-page research paper for World Literature in your sleep. While all of your other classmates are complaining and fretting about how they’re ever going to get this paper done, you have complete confidence that you can put it off until the night before and still produce a paper that’s better than anyone else’s.
Cons:
No one understands why you picked this major.
“What’s your major?”
“(Creative/Technical) Writing”
“Oh, that’s interesting. What are you going to do with that?”
If you had a dime for every time you had this conversation with someone, you wouldn’t even have to worry about finding a job after college. You know you picked a major that you genuinely enjoy (unlike most people who pick one for the money), so all those neurosurgeons can be miserable in their mansions while you’re happy as a clam writing in a hammock in the backyard of your modest suburban house.
It can be more difficult to find a job (depending on your location).
This isn’t an issue if you live in a big city, but if you live in a more rural area, there probably isn’t an abundance of writing jobs for you to choose from, besides working for a local newspaper or magazine – unless you get super lucky and land a job writing articles like this one!
Your hand may fall off toward the end of the semester.
Five-page story for one class, 10-page reflective paper for another, a complete portfolio revision for yet another class…will it ever end?! Probably not. You chose to be a writing major, so welcome to the wonderful world of writing. At least after you graduate, you won’t have to worry about being graded on all of your work.
You have to share your work, even if it sucks.
You have to participate in at least a couple workshops per semester where your classmates can critique your work. If you don’t procrastinate and actually give yourself more than one night to come up with a coherent story, you’re probably ok, but going out for happy hour with your friends sounds so much better. So, you rely on your brain to have a stroke of genius and invent a brilliant story on the fly. We all know how that goes.
You probably need an advanced degree.
If you decide one day that you don’t want to live paycheck to paycheck in a tiny apartment any longer, you probably will need an advanced degree so you’ll have more employment opportunities. You’ve probably heard that graduate school is painful, and it is. Plus, it’s expensive. So in order to make more money, you’ll have to spend more money and probably be in debt for the rest of your life. But you know, congratulations on graduating and entering the real world!
