English Degree Helped Tech Professional Explore The Chicago Market
Constructive criticism can be hard to hear. Forbes even goes so far as to break down ways for "Taking Constructive Criticism Like a Champ."
But for college majors who study creative writing or English, feedback is the norm. Writing workshops also create a unique skill set for technology majors, another area of study that includes customer service and creative brainstorming.
"Sometimes you'll get a difficult client who really wants something you [need to] advise them to not do," said Chris Poynton, the lead strategist at Usman Group. "My boss told me, 'Say it with a smile.' If you say it with a smile, you're not going to get upset with anything. I found that to be very true. Listen, be understanding and work with [clients] to come to a solution."
While the left brain versus right brain theory has been documented to be a myth, there's another reason why analytics has worked so well with the creative side for technology and writing majors.
"I don't think I would have my job without that English degree. A lot of the classes that I took with the writing degree were also peer review classes where you'd write something and hand it out to everybody. You'd spend an hour discussing it and getting picked apart, so I had tougher skin going into web design. "
Poynton holds a bachelor's degree in English with a focus on creative writing from the University of Illinois in Chicago, and an associate degree in web design and interactive media from the Art Institute in Schaumburg.
Before he'd made the final call on his career decisions, he taught English for a semester after traveling to Vietnam with a band member friend. After returning to America, he decided to go a different route.
During a portfolio show at the Art Institute in Schaumburg, he compiled a digital project that included a website concept, user personas, wireframes, designs, functionality requirements, and flow charts. Poynton confirmed that the portfolio was what got him the job with Usman Group, whose members were in attendance.
"Technology and web design is a lot about how things look, but you also need to be able to properly articulate what you're trying to get across through words and instructions. It's not always just a pretty face. It's how everything comes together, and the words on the page [play] a huge part of that."
Shamontiel L. Vaughn is a professional journalist who has work featured in AXS, Yahoo!, Chicago Defender and Chicago Tribune. She's been an Examiner since 2009 and currently writes about 10 categories on Examiner.com.
