The highest-paying jobs with an English Literature degree

Thinking about the future is never an easy task, especially when there are so many career paths out there for you to choose from. Making a decision can seem impossible, but what always helps is knowing your motivation behind something. For loads of people, money plays a huge part in what career they want to pick, and who can blame them? High-paying careers aren’t really talked about a lot at university, so most students are left going into the world drawing a blank, especially those studying arts subjects. So, if you’re looking for the highest-paying jobs and careers you can get with an English Literature degree, then read ahead to find out more! We’ve listed the UK average salaries per year for each of these high-paying jobs you can get with an English literature degree. The salaries are taken from Glassdoor, who are a workplace community website. Some of these careers are pretty impressive too, showing just how much you can earn following a degree in English at uni.

1. Editor

Average Salary in the UK: £39,949

With a degree in English Literature, it is easy to become an editor. Editors need skills such as proofreading, organising, and writing, which is what most English Literature degrees are assessed on! The amount of industries you can become an editor in is endless, however the most popular ones are publishing, marketing, and journalism. The average salary for an editor is around 31k, however more experienced editors can earn up to 46k! If you have a great eye for detail and love to read, then this might be the perfect job for you!

2. Grant writer

Average Salary in the UK: £36,751

You might never have heard of grant writers before, which makes sense, since it’s not a career that is really talked about. Grant writers submit grant proposals for individuals or businesses, in order to help them receive grant funding. These jobs are usually in the public sector, meaning you will most likely be working with charities, schools, or non-profit organisations. If you want a job where you can make a difference and help someone, then this is a great job to do that whilst also earning some good money! When you first begin, you will probably earn around 34k, but an experienced grant writer can earn 5ok!

3. Technical writer

Average Salary in the UK: £45,575

This is a great role for those who love everything tech-related. Tech writers more or less translate complex technical information into more understandable content that anyone could read. This is mostly used for instruction manuals, journal articles, guides, and more! It’s definitely important that you understand the tech side of things for this position, but some places would train you to ensure you know what you’re doing! The average salary for a tech writer is 36k, but the best of the best earn up to 80k!

4. Bid writer

Average Salary in the UK:  £36,157

Similar to a grant writer job is a bid writer role, although they do vary slightly. Where grant writers use emotional language, bid writers will not write in this style, and so it is a different way of persuasive writing. This job includes a lot of research, writing bid documents, working with clients and more. When you first start, you can expect to be paid 20k, which isn’t a huge amount, but as you get more experienced, you could earn around 50k! You can read more about becoming a bid writer on the government website.

5. Tutor

Average Salary in the UK: £40,083

Another one of the highest-paying jobs with an English Literature degree is tutoring! Tutoring is probably one of the easiest careers you can get into, as most people begin by working as a tutor alongside their studies. You can pick your own hours, choose your own rates, so gaining experience in this area isn’t too difficult. You can also decide what you want to tutor, and pick something you’re passionate about, although obviously some subjects are more sought after than others. Experienced tutors can earn above 50k, so if you love to teach and want to continue your passion on a certain subject, then tutoring might be for you!

6. Social media manager

Average Salary in the UK: £38,946

Social media has become such a huge thing recently, especially in terms of advertising for businesses, so social media managers are always on demand. The responsibilities of a social media manager include creating content, finding ways to increase followers, reviewing data, and creating social media campaigns. If you love all things social media, then you would love this job! Obviously, no one starts off as a manager, but once you get into that position, you could earn around 39k or more! Any managing position you can get into will always be the highest-paying career with an English Literature degree.

7. English professor

Average Salary in the UK: £93,851

Similar to tutoring is becoming an English professor at a university! The great thing about becoming a professor is getting to teach what you enjoy, as many lecturers come up with their own ideas for modules that they would love to teach! Working as a professor does come with it pros as cons, as depending on what you’re teaching, you may not have to work over summer, however you will have to complete loads of marking. The average salary for an English professor is between 40-60k, so if you think the marking is worth it, then it’s a career you should consider!

8. Sales representative

Average Salary in the UK: £43,581

In easy terms, a sales representative serves products to customers by meeting their demands. The day-to-day responsibilities of a sales representative can be meeting with clients, doing some research, pitching products, and making closing sales. This job would be perfect for someone who loves to work around people whilst also being great as persuading! The average salary for a sale representative is 43k, but obviously this increases with experience!

9. ESL teacher

Average Salary in the UK: £31, 497

Becoming an English second language teacher is one of the highest-paying careers with an English Literature degree. One of the most popular aspects of this job is the opportunity to travel abroad, which is a great way to travel whilst working! The national average for this role is 45k, but if you travel abroad, then this figure can increase. The countries which pay the highest for ESL teachers are South Korea, China, and Japan, but obviously there are opportunities all around the world!

10. Brand strategist

Average Salary in the UK: £64,388

A brand strategist works with a company to help get their brand across to the customer. This involves ensuring the brand image is consistent, developing marketing strategies, and conducting market research. A brand image is super important to any company, so obviously this important position pays well. The average salary for a brand strategist can be anywhere between 50-70k! This is definitely one of the highest-paying jobs with an English degree, so if you’re interested, do some more research! These are the highest-paying jobs you can get with an English Literature degree, but obviously there are so many more career paths with this degree out there! You can find out more about what to do with an English Literature degree in our guide. If you’re still choosing where to go, these are the best UK unis for English Literature to pick.