New York – For years, English majors have been the punchline of career jokes, their degrees treated as punch cards to unemployment lines and awkward family dinners. Now, many of them are finding steady, well-paid work doing something few people realized was in such short supply: fixing the internet’s grammar.
As online shopping continues to dominate retail, companies are grappling with a quieter but costly problem: product descriptions that are confusing, poorly translated or unintentionally absurd. The result has been a growing demand for writers trained to spot unclear language, grammatical errors and unintended meanings before they reach consumers.
Retailers say the stakes are higher than embarrassment.
“When customers don’t understand what they’re buying, they return it,” said one anonymous spokesperson for a well-known home goods brand. “Clear descriptions reduce returns, improve reviews and build trust. That requires people who actually understand language.”
Enter English majors.
Many now work as copy editors or content specialists, rewriting listings for everything from kitchen tools to clothing. Some are hired full time, while others freelance. Pay varies by experience and workload, but several editors said rates commonly range from $25 to $45 an hour for contract work, with salaried positions typically falling between $55,000 and $80,000 annually.
“It’s the first job I’ve had where my degree feels directly relevant,” said Jenna Whitaker, 29, who majored in English literature and now edits product listings remotely. “People always told me I’d never find stable work unless I learned to code. Now I make a living correcting sentences that shouldn’t exist.”
Those sentences are plentiful.
Whitaker recently revised a towel description that promised “soft body wipe rectangle for advanced drying joy.” Another listing for a desk chair claimed it was “ergonomic for sitting thought.” A knife set warned buyers it was “extreme sharp for family environment,” while a winter coat reassured shoppers it was “not sadness after washing.”
Marcus Bell, a former English major who freelances for several online retailers, said he once edited a listing for a ceiling fan described as “a silent wind friendship device.”
“I’m not against poetry,” Bell said. “But I think customers mostly want to know how many speeds it has.”
The rise of artificial translation tools and automated listing software has only increased demand for human editors. While machines can generate text quickly, retailers say they often struggle with nuance, tone and clarity.
“You get descriptions that are technically words but have no real meaning,” the spokesperson said. “That’s where trained writers are essential.”
For English majors long warned about limited job prospects, the shift has been validating.
“I used to hear, ‘What are you going to do with that, teach?’” said Lila Hernandez, who leads a small editing team reviewing thousands of listings a month. “Now I supervise a group of writers making sure customers understand what they’re buying. And yes, it pays my mortgage.”
Hernandez said her team edits everything from sizing charts to safety warnings, often removing language that could confuse or alarm shoppers.
“One product description proudly announced, ‘Assembly may cause personal reflection,’” she said. “We changed it to ‘Requires basic tools.’”
As e-commerce continues to expand, industry analysts say demand for clear, accurate product language is unlikely to slow. And for a group once told their degrees were impractical, the irony is not lost.
“I fixed a listing yesterday for a lamp that promised to ‘bring illumination to your household destiny,’” Whitaker said. “Now it just says it has a 13 – watt LED bulb and a six-foot cord. It’s not poetic anymore, but at least people know what they’re buying.”
Truth Bureau 