There are plenty of people who major in one area, and then get a job in another area. English majors can get a STEM job and math majors can get policy jobs. The most important thing to do is craft your narrative in your resume and cover letter.
When you’re crafting your narrative, consider how your “irrelevant” major is actually an advantage for this job sector. An English major might describe how their experience with writing actually makes them a fantastic software engineer because they excel at documenting code. This is something most software engineers don’t learn in college, so an English major can really stand out by demonstrating their advantage.
The biggest risk an untraditional application faces is a lack of experience. You can combat this by finding internships in your desired field. In addition, if you’re applying to something very untraditional, networking is a great way to open some doors.
