PhD in English

Answer 1

A PhD in any field can qualify the holder to teach subjects related to that field at the university level (ie, be a professor) - for this question, that could be anything related to English language, literature, composition, technical writing, editing, etc. The beauty of academia is the flexible work schedule, contributions to the field, and you can even write the books required for the class (ie, you can be published and paid).

If the PhD does not desire a field in academia, there are several related jobs in business or government as copy writers, print and new/digital media publishing, novels, documentaries, script writing, and anything else which may require either a creative or analytical writing style.

Salaries range widely - do not expect to get rich with a PhD in English unless a series of good luck goes your way. The average English assistant professor will start around $45k, and could take awhile to repay the cost of loans required to earn the degree (while some are lucky to finish a PhD in 5 years, most graduate schools give you up to 10 years from your start date). Plan your degree choice and career plans accordingly.