According to Dipanjan Muhuri, Assistant Professor of English at Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, West Bengal, the professional landscape for literature graduates has expanded considerably in the past few years. “Print and digital media, advertising and the book industry have now for a considerable time offered sumptuous employment opportunities,” he said, adding that the growth of social media has opened doors in content creation, podcasting, and vlogging.
Educators and industry professionals argue that literature’s value now lies in the transferable skills the discipline cultivates. Muhuri believes literature classrooms equip students to engage with varied viewpoints within “heterogeneous and plural spaces” without hostility, a quality he sees as significant in collaborative workplaces.
“These skills play a central role in defining any enterprise as responsible, humane and transparent,” he said, referring to close reading, contextual understanding, and audience sensitivity. According to him, storytelling and narrative thinking also influence modern branding and persuasive communication.
For Jayati Sarkar, now working as an associate copy editor, the transition from academia to corporate publishing felt like “a natural extension” of her relationship with books. After completing an MPhil in literature, Sarkar began as an intern at a Mumbai-based publishing house before progressing to a full-time editorial role.
Her literature training, she says, remains central to her work. “It taught me how to look closely at a situation, read between the lines, and work with language in a thoughtful, informed way,” she said. Skills such as close reading, interpretation, and tone assessment now shape tasks such as manuscript evaluation, author communication, and editorial review.
However, both Muhuri and Sarkar caution against romanticising employability. A literature degree alone, they stress, does not automatically prepare students for industries like publishing, translation, or media. “These fields require language competence, an acute awareness of nuance, and a thorough study of the craft,” Muhuri noted.
Sarkar echoed the sentiment, pointing out that publishing is “highly practical and commercially driven”. Beyond academic training, she had to develop project management, communication, and workflow skills on the job.
As universities adapt curricula under the National Education Policy with internships and skill-based courses, the message emerging from academia and industry is clear: literature beyond the classroom requires students to develop professional experience alongside intellectual training.
