Jobs for the Major
How this major affects a job search
There's good news and bad news for rhetoric majors. If you want to be a lawyer or pursue politics, then a degree in rhetoric is an excellent first stop on the higher education ladder. Once you have that fancy graduate degree sitting pretty at the top of your resume, you should have no problem arguing your way into a lucrative and prestigious professional position.
And now for the bad news. If you don't want to be a lawyer or pursue politics, then this degree may consistently make you the most interesting person at dinner parties…but also the most underpaid and/or underemployed.
Could you become an amazing journalist with a rhetoric degree? Ab-so-lutely. But since journalism proper is a way more common course of study, you may find your resume being passed over in favor of ones that literally announce their candidates as perfect fit for the job.
Same goes for other media and communications-based jobs in general. People who have degrees in marketing will also be applying for that entry-level marketing job at Awesome Inc., so you and your rhetoric degree might be hanging your head all the way to the Unemployment Office.
Fear not, though, young Shmoopers. You will be equipped with incredible powers of persuasion once that shiny diploma's in your hand. So be prepared to put them to use immediately, as a fundamental part of your job search.
Go ahead. Convince 'em to hire you.
Common Career Fields
College Professor. Nothing says, "I'm a Master of Rhetorical Disaster" quite like pursuing rhetoric studies for your undergrad andgraduate degrees. And if you do take your smartest pants all the way to the doctoral level, then you'll be primed for becoming a professional nerd—a.k.a., a college professor.
While you'll obviously be an excellent candidate for positions in rhetoric departments, those are (unfortunately) few and far between. But you'll also be well suited to becoming an English, Journalism, History, Ethnic Studies, Postcolonial Studies, Women and Gender Studies, or Comparative Lit professor…to name a few.
Historian. History is a big part of any rhetorical education. So if you find yourself enjoying the ever-loving tweed jacket out of very old facts and very old texts, then maybe you, too, are destined to be a historian.
You'll need more than just a general background in rhetoric for this career path, though. Be prepared to add a minor or concentration in a particular historical era, region, or phenomenon. And if you want to really go the distance, then grad school never hurts. We'd recommend a master's, at the very least.
Journalist or Editor. Journalists (and their editors) decide what's "true." This means that all news articles are, essentially, arguments. The writing and editing of any piece of news requires culling pools of information to find the "best" way of reporting a story.
Such decisions will bring together all of that studying you did back in school, when you learned how to build an argument and analyzed the historical and social stakes of various arguments. Who better to be a journalist/editor at a newspaper (or an online rag—we know, papers are dying) than you, young rhetorician?
BTW, since another big part of being a journalist is convincing people to talk to you, those top-tier powers of persuasion will help you in other ways, too.
Lawyer. Nothing puts a degree in argumentation to work quite like entering the courtroom. Yes, you'll need to go on to grad school (unless you live in a handful of states that allow you to simply apprentice). But once you pass the bar, you'll totally be ready to defend anyone, any time. Whether you use these powers for good or evil is up to you. Dun dun dun…
Politics. If you really apply yourself, a degree in rhetoric will enable you to sell a gas-guzzling Hummer to the staunchest environmentalist on your block. Read: you will be able to convince anyone of anything. Which is basically the only skill required of a politician. Right? Right?
We're hilarious.
Anyway, as a mayoral hopeful, your rhetoric skills won't just come in handy when it comes to campaigning. Once elected, you'll be faced with an endless stream of people to sway in one direction or another.
And on the flip side, people will also be trying to convince you—to rally behind their cause, to prioritize their project, to nominate them for posts—so being able to dissect their arguments (and reach your own conclusions) will come in more than handy.
Writer. Not to be confused with mere journalism. No, here we're talking about becoming a good, old-fashioned, writer's writer. You know, the kind that makes books happen, particularly of the fictitious variety.
Those who understand the rules of rhetoric are in the best positions to break them. So if you've got a vivid imagination, then why not try out your chops? If you're particularly successful, you just might swing by here in a few years and see a learning guide for your latest book. True. Fame.
Current unemployment of the major
6.3% (This is actually the statistic for communications majors…we're afraid the number for rhetoric majors is higher. Eep.)Percentage of majors who get a higher degree after college
19% (As is the case throughout this handy dandy little major guide, this number is borrowed from communications. We're sure they don't mind sharing, though.)Stats obtained from this source.