What is your job/position?
I’m a stay-at-home mom who does part-time freelance writing and digital marketing. I was a middle school history teacher before having kids.
Describe the path that took you from your American Studies degree to your current career or life situation.
I graduated December 2013 and went on a mission from January 2014–August 2015. I floundered a bit when I got home. I ended up working at an insurance company and hated it. I quit in July 2016 to start teaching in Arizona, where you don’t need a teaching license to teach at a charter school as long as you can pass the NES content exam for your subject. I taught a year and then took a year off to get an MA in history in London and then came back and worked two more years as a history teacher before having my first child in May of 2020. I didn’t do any work and had another kid in February 2022. In July 2022 I responded to an Instagram query for content writers. I worked as a blog writer mainly for some tech companies until I got a better offer in February 2023. I have been writing blog posts for a family law practice in LA and an eye clinic in Washington since February. I was just asked to take on the job of digital marketing and account management this month. I will continue to write blog posts for the eye clinic for whom I have been working and will then do all digital marketing (social media posts, blog posts, press releases, guest blog posts, and more) for the family law firm for whom I have been writing. I also did the ABCTE course to get a teaching certificate while content writing. I passed the exam and now have an Arizona teaching license if I ever decide to enter the classroom or teach online again.
What are the specific competencies you cultivated as an American Studies student that you now use in your professional life and that set you apart from your colleagues?
I use my ability to write and research regularly in my work. In every position I have had since college, I have been told that I research and write more quickly than the average employee. I credit the American Studies program. The amount of writing we did gave me the ability to write quickly without errors.
What are some of the surprising ways in which your American Studies degree has helped you in your professional or personal life?
One thing I like about my degree is that it is lesser known so I am often given the opportunity to explain my skill set in more depth in interviews. People make less assumptions about my degree because they are curious and want to know what it is.
What do you wish you had known as an American Studies student? What advice would you share with current students?
You can do a lot with your degree, but it will take some networking. You might also have to start somewhere you don’t want to be to get experience because your degree won’t necessarily give you the background you need for a profession.
*You can contact Amanda with questions about her American Studies story at apop423@gmail.com.