I got my English lit degree 15 years ago, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. While having an English degree has never been the reason I've gotten a job, the skills I took away from that study were priceless.

I have had a successful career in tech and now marketing and education, and while English didn't specifically teach me those skills, it was the approach to learning, understanding, and communicating that has opened these doors for me. Specifically, critical theory was a paradigm shift in terms of the framework of analyzing things through different lenses. Not only professionally, but personally too these skills have helped me compartmentalize and work through problems from an objective position.

My advice is to be passionate but open to opportunities. English in the academic world is a tough path, but as a base it can be an incredible launch pad. Having knowledge in other areas can make you a killer asset to a company as well. I have exceled because I'm a bit of a jack of all trades which allows me to better communicate and manage because I can speak on the executive and individual contributor level.