So, who on here is an English major?

[Kamisama]

Seemingly NBK2000 had told me that my English on this forum was incorrect and vulgur in such a manner that typing and capitalization was incorrect. I ask NBK, "What makes you think that starting a sentence with 'And' makes your English correct?"

I apologize if my English doesn't suit all of you to a college level, but I do have a basic understanding of it. Somehow a part of me doesn't like this fascist crap where all of you desire everything perfect.

I notice that many people on this forum have used incorrect English by starting sentences with numbers and so forth. Just because I'm a member of TotSE doesn't mean you have to put me down as if I'm one of the "Kewl" renegades that came from there.

So I ask you, "Why did you so much as have a good reason to put down my abilities to discuss on this forum on my first post?"

[megalomania]

I am currently going back to school to get a degree in technical writing and editing. This makes me an English major. With both a chemistry degree (BS) and an English degree (BA) under my belt my earning potential is actually greater than with a PhD in chemistry.

I am already scouting for grad schools to see if I can get a masters or PhD in English. Truth to tell if I go for a graduate degree it might just be vanity on my part (they shall call me Dr. Jack) since I could not improve my employability much further.

I highly advise this career path, even though one may end up with positions outside of a lab. I always told myself I was not in chemistry for the money, it just happened to be a lucrative field that paid good. With my second degree I won’t even consider a job that pays under $70,000, and that is a starting salary. A PhD chemist starts at $60,000 on average. For a mere BS in chemistry the salaries are half that.

I was toying with the idea of getting a writing degree, and I had actually decided it was not worth it. Then I talked to the daughter of a relative’s friend who just started a technical writing position with a salary of $100,000. I checked some job listings and was amazed at what was out there.

Companies either press a chemist into service as a writer, or press an English major into service as a chemist. With the chemist you get mixed results, but the English major is in way over his head. When I told the dean of the English department that I wanted to get a technical writing degree he asked what my specialty would be. The program my school offers requires you to minor in a related field. The propaganda paperwork they give out recommends journalism, graphics, computer science, business, advertising, economics, engineering, and chemistry. Apparently no one ever choose chemistry before and his jaw dropped when I told him I already am a chemist.

He said everyone chooses journalism, or graphics; typical English majors indeed. I am somewhat embarrassed about having an English degree because I am an elitist when it comes to college majors and degrees. I have deemed many degrees unworthy and contemptible to society. As far as English degrees go technical writing is at least a challenging and useful field, but your standard English degree, the one that 90% of English majors get, just makes them well read in American and British literature. I value science degrees quite highly, but the liberal arts are, in my estimation, utterly worthless. As the saying goes “Yes, I have a liberal arts degree, do you want fries with that?”

I don’t tell people to their face that their degree is worthless, you will never get a job, and I have no respect for you. I just bite my tongue, hold it inside, and my stomach knots up a little. While I am on my little rant I shall benefit the audience with my list of most worthless majors…

At the very bottom of the barrel is music and religion. I know a fellow who has degree in both, or rather a combined BA in religion and music. He has never had so much as a job offer in either field, nor has he held down a job for more than a few weeks.

A slight step up is art and exercise physiology. Art at least has its place in advertising, but most art majors adhere to the fantasy they will get to draw their own art and sell it to make a living. The reality of the situation is your art sucks, and you will draw what the corporate executives want you to draw. As for the exercise majors they have chosen perhaps the easiest of all degrees to get. They all fancy they will end up on a pro football team, but they all end up asking “do you want fries with that?”

Another of the most useless degrees is African studies, or black studies. This is the one they usually recommend poor negros get in lieu of having a real degree that might get them a job to elevate them from the ghetto. Related to black studies is womens studies, and some larger universities even have gay/lesbian/transgender studies. If someone knows what possible job you can get with these degrees please let me know. Chris Rock has a bit about a black history class he took (and failed). He answered Marin Luther King for every question. What more do you need to know? Oh, the blacks invented peanut butter too.

I almost forgot about theatre. If you have talent, looks, and luck you can make it big with a theatre degree. Jennifer Garner graduated in 1994 from Dennison University with a degree in theatre and look at her now. I wonder how many of the other 27,000 Dennison alumni have fared. From the Dennison theatre department website:

A major in theatre is uniquely qualified to produce rational, independent, critical thinkers who possess a broad range of transferable skills.

Translation: “Do you want fries with that?”
The Dennison list of majors includes “queer studies.” I thought they didn’t like to be called queer?

A slight step up, but still way down in the barrel are foreign language degrees. Being a translator sounds quite boring, unless it is for the UN. You won’t ever get a job at the UN, so it is quite boring.

I almost forgot about art history. I know a fellow with an art history degree, and a degree in Latin. He is rich, one of the idle rich, and daddy wanted him to go to college. At least he can say he has a degree, right? For those without a trust fund trying to support yourself on an art historian’s salary is difficult, assuming you are among the one in ten thousand art history majors that actually gets a job in a museum.

Then there are the philosophy majors. Honestly, what possible job can you find that would require a philosophy degree? Unless you are Kant himself job prospects are pretty grim for philosophers. On my favorite TV show, Wonderfalls, the lead character Jaye Tyler graduated from Brown with a philosophy degree. She was in her own words overeducated and unemployable. All that ivy league education landed her a job working the cash register in a souvenir shop.

Who actually hires these people besides fast food joints? The business world, that’s who. Businesses hire people with a degree, it does not matter what that degree is, as long as they have one. The one saving grace of many universities is that they require you to take a diverse array of courses beyond your major. Sure they get to take physics 101 (introduction to funtime physics) when I had to take physics 315 (physics for scientists and engineers). Sure they are having fun cranking a Wimhurst generator in their algebra based class when I am working on an 8 part problem that takes 45 minutes in my calculus based course.

Why not just get a business degree and be done with it? Because business is boring, all those numbers are boring, all that marketing is boring, all those advertisements are boring, and all those TPS reports are boring. At least you make a living as a businessman, even though you have to sell your soul.

Now then Mr. Kamisama, this is not a place for children, or their writing habits. Proper English is not a fascist phenomenon, it is a matter of professionalism. If you are incapable of capitalizing your “I’s” or the beginnings of sentences, of ending a sentence with proper punctuation, and using a spell checker, then do you seriously expect us to believe you can safely perform a scientific experiment, or reliably post scientific information? It comes down to credibility. The informal structure of The Forum does not necessitate perfectly edited writing, but we do expect adherence to the fundamental laws of the English language.

I have three writing style handbooks sitting next to me at this moment. I consult them often when writing to avoid common confusions between word usage and punctuation. I recommend such a book to anyone who writes.
At the top of the list is “The Elements of Style.” http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/020530902X/002-4332939-1535265?v=glance

[Skean Dhu]

Kamisama, while I do not hold a degree in the english language I agree with the stance of Mega, NBK and this forum on grammar/spelling. Its all about pride in your posts and work, ( I believe NBK said something to this affect to another similarly minded fellow) If you can't take the time to capitalize the letter 'i' when refering to yourself, then how can we expect you to take the time to capitalize something that has a much greater impact than the trivial capitalization of the letter 'I'?

Another point, in our line of hobby, where the difference between one letter changes the molecular structure of a compound you better damn well take the time to proof-read your posts. If someone uses a nitrate instead of a nitrite the consequences might be the loss of chemicals, or perhaps something more dire.

If this were a forum about soap making then grammar wouldn't be so paramount. However this is a forum about the manufacture of high explosive, nerve agents and improvised weapons. More often than not, you don't get a second chance. If something goes wrong, you have just enough time to think 'OH, SHIT'. Just ask anyone who has had a runaway nitration.

[festergrump]

Many members here simply don't like people who display laziness to the point of not holding down a shift key when posting in a language they proclaim to speak, read, and write fluently and/or using proper punctuation. I am one such member.

All of the points touched on by both Mega and Skean Dhu are factual and important. Listen to them, don't simply HEAR them.

From the way your thread starting post was presented to us I gather that you are willing to comply with what most members deem exceptable behavior. This is beneficial to you. You might also notice that not only Administrators and Moderators will be the only personalities willing to call you on an abrupt strafe of the norm or compliance with the rules.

Reading both the "Newbies: The Forums' Unwritten Rules... Written Down" thread presented by NBK 2000 and the "Guide For Newbies By Newbies" thread started by Jackhammer (both stickies in the Water Cooler section) is the best advice I can give anyone who has anything to say about the action or function of the Admin and Mods here at Roguesci, or the lashing out of members here who also find these rules and tips for survival here not only very fair, but complete (or nearly), and most neccesary for the well being of the collective [minds of this /edit] society who call this place "home".

I am not an English major. I dropped out of high school in 1986 but still cringe when I hear or see the English language (either American or true English) being raped beyond belief while nobody calls the perpetrator on his debauchery of the language. Ignorance is no guarantee of pardon, partial or full. At least not here, speaking from my slight expirience as a member.

When in Rome, do as the Roman's do... When at this Forum, do as we members do (leaving is also an option). Whatever you do don't whine about the way things are here if you wish to stay and post at this Forum. The system of order which Megalomania and NBK 2000 have put in motion has worked for several years here and does NOT need to be 'fixed'. YOU will not be the one to make either Admin change their stance on this issue and I'll give you MY word on it. Trying is even a very bad idea. Pinky fricken promise...

Best of luck to you, sincerely.

(Before any mention of my capitalization of "Forum" is made, please take note that I do this without fail when referring to the Roguesci Forum. FYI, I also capitalize "Bible" out of habit... though there are more truths to read here than in the ancient, black novel. Admin/Mod/He/His/Him... same distinction. It's out of respect from which I do this).

[Silentnite]

Its been stated already, but I think the general consensus is: Pride.

Personally its a pet peeve of mine. Generally why I hate rap. Please don't call it english if your going to proceed to slaughter it and rape its cold corpse. One of my favorite plays is(Of course I can't remember the name) the one where the two gentlemen make a bet about the gutter speaking british girl. They then proceed to refine her, and she goes from being some trash on the street to being accepted as high-society.

It bothers me that the majority of the American society graduated High school at an 8th grade reading level. In 8th grade I read (I was told after I took a test) that I read post-graduate level. 2 years ago the teacher said I was off the charts. Supposedly A.D.H.D. makes it harder for you to read, so it can't be that hard.

Take some time and put a little bit of effort into your posts. If you have a question think it out, and then give as much information as you can. Same as with the english and proper grammar. "H3y guys, I need info on gasoline and salt with fire and such" doesn't cut it.

Just to reiterate, we all like good grammar, and proper english. If you don't like it, or the way the forum works, don't come.

[Kamisama]

Ah, very interesting information Mega.
I haven't considered the thought of English education as that important.

You have reminded me that a person may be good in the technical field of science, however without proof that you can explain yourself in a logical and creative way, many companies would frown upon the potential for someone to write up an interesting article for the company.

[FUTI]

The subject of this thread become little borring. If you stand a little while on Forums threads reading them you will see lots of people being warned about their language. It isn't someones wish to be grammer-nazi, but need of all of us to understand the text posted no matter is it a question/answer/opinion/data?

Mega you amazed me once more. Collecting diplomas to make rifle cartridges, aren't you;)? Just kidding. In a way that most people won't understand chemistry being much apstract field have a language of it's own that some of mine friend back in high-school called IUPAC-ian, so it isn't un-natural for a chemist to learn several languages (Nobel was sent by his family in Russia to learn only chemistry and languages for example! - imagine who else was breaking other peoples patents like you guys do isn't it nice to be in good company?;)).

[Jacks Complete]

One of my favorite plays is(Of course I can't remember the name) the one where the two gentlemen make a bet about the gutter speaking british girl. They then proceed to refine her, and she goes from being some trash on the street to being accepted as high-society.
Pygmalion/My Fair Lady?

The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach their children to speak it. They spell it so abominably that no man can teach himself what it sounds like.

I agree with the whole "speeling an Grammer" thing - be sharp in your mind and sharp on paper. We aren't talking about ways to make tea here!

[Silentnite]

Yes, Pygmalion/My Fair Lady. Also later Family guy....

Futi's right, its not just one of us, its ALL of us.

[zeocrash]

Kamisama, i'm dyslexic and it's 10 past 4 in the morning.
I'm still writing in acceptable english despite this.
If i can manage it, so can you.
If something is worth saying, it's worth saying in the best possible way, don't let you presentation detract from the point of your post.

[nbk2000]

If a person can not properly construct a sentence, what hope have they for properly construction an explosive device?

:p