English and Creative Writing

What will I gain from my subject?

Your degree will provide you with a variety of transferable skills including experience in thinking creatively, critical reasoning and analysis, planning and researching written work and time management, all valued by graduate employers. Your transferable skills and the level of intellectual attainment gained through study of your subject mean that you will have many different career options when you graduate. A high percentage of all graduate vacancies are open to graduates of any discipline yet many students are not aware of this or they are influenced by the myths surrounding the choices open to them.

What can I do with my subject?

Employers across all sectors value English graduates for their written and verbal communication skills. English graduates find employment in a variety of roles including journalism, publishing, marketing and finance.

The TARGETjobs website also has a section on career options with different degrees, which is worth a look.

 

What help is available?

You have a dedicated links Careers Consultant who works closely with your department to provide support, advice and information. Careers workshops and events are held in your department to promote work experience opportunities, support career planning and network with professionals working in industry. A central careers education programme is also delivered and postgraduates have access to the Postgraduate Skills Training programme. You are welcome to drop into the Careers Service for further support and information anytime.

Where do I start looking for work experience and graduate jobs?

The value of work experience cannot be overestimated and, whilst all work experience is valuable, tailored experience will be particularly beneficial to you. By taking your work experience a step forward and gaining relevant experience directly related to your future aspirations, you will be developing the skills sought by employers in that sector. In addition, you will be demonstrating enthusiasm, commitment and a strong interest in that area of work. The links below are a starting point when seeking opportunities directly related to your subject. Don't forget that support is available from the Careers Service when applying for jobs and work experience.

In some cases, you may find details of work experience placements but more often, you will need to use the information to give you ideas for speculative applications. For example, you may find general vacancies relevant to your subject which are not placement opportunities; however, if this an area of work where you would like to gain experience, you could contact the employer with a speculative application to see if there is the possibility of a placement with them. Our careers advisers can help you with this process.

Don't forget that many graduate employers, particularly the larger companies, include details of work experience placements on their websites. If there are organisations you'd like to work for, have a look at the Careers or Recruitment sections of their websites to see what is on offer.

Finally, remember that many of the links below will be equally useful to you when looking for graduate jobs.

UK

Professional bodies and associations

These organisations promote the interests of people working in particular professions. Some have listings of employers who are members of the association and may advertise jobs while others may be a useful source of information when researching employers for applications or considering a speculative application.

What do Aber graduates do?

English and Creative Writing graduates gain employment in a wide variety of roles as their written and oral communication skills are highly sought after by employers. Roles include magazine and newspaper journalists, marketing executive, writer and editorial assistant.

Examples of jobs entered by Aberystwyth English and Creative Writing graduates and postgraduates:
  • Administrator 
  • Assistant Online Editor
  • Audit Assistant
  • BBC Trainee
  • Bookseller
  • Business Support Assistant 
  • Charity Worker
  • Copywriter
  • Data Analyst
  • Editor and Researcher 
  • Education Officer
  • EFL Teacher 
  • English Teacher
  • Events Co-ordinator 
  • Field Merchandiser 
  • Freeland Feature Writer 
  • Freelance Web Developer 
  • Graduate Copywriter 
  • Learning Support Assistant 
  • Lecturer 
  • Library Assistant 
  • Marketing Manager
  • Office Manager 
  • Paralegal Assistant
  • PR Events Assistant 
  • Production Manager 
  • Quality Systems Manager
  • Repository Advisor 
  • Research Co-ordinator
  • Teacher 
  • Training Co-ordinator
  • Translation Assistant
  • Web Designer
  • Writer and Editor
Examples of employers that Aberystwyth English and Creative Writing graduates and postgraduates have gone to work for:
  • 21st Century Fox
  • Aberystwyth University  
  • Admiral Insurance
  • Artifax Software 
  • Barclays
  • BBC
  • Beswick Group 
  • Birmingham University 
  • Blaze Publishing 
  • Bookends
  • Capita 
  • Centaur (Design Week Magazine)
  • City and Style Magazine
  • Clwyd Theatr Cymru
  • Cyfanfyd 
  • Explore Learning 
  • Exposure Public Relations 
  • First Personnel
  • Garnett-Dickinson Publishing 
  • Harlequin Mills and Boon/Mira Ltd 
  • Hearts of England Foundation Trust 
  • Jessica Kingsley Publishers
  • Laura Ashley
  • Metropolitan Police 
  • Ministry of Defence
  • MS Publications 
  • Oxford University Press
  • Press Association
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers
  • Quartet Books
  • Royal Bank of Scotland 
  • Sainsbury's 
  • Touch Productions 
  • University of Maryland 
  • Vogue 
  • Waterstones