STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Maddie · Coach

History majors?

cc · Marc Jacobs

I was almost a history major. I was a double history-art history major but I dropped history late junior year because I didn't want to write two theses.

My usual advice when it comes to liberal arts majors is that it doesn't matter because there aren't many jobs that would make direct use of your degree yet at the same time you can do pretty much anything with the degree.

Other than teaching, jobs that would probably make good use of your degree (i.e. you'd actually think about history from time to time) are journalism, law, politics (like a campaign worker or lobbyist), think tank person, working for a historical organization (like a small museum or archive), publishing at a textbook or speciality imprint. Obviously it would also depend on what sort of history you wound up specializing in.

In general, history is a good solid major.

lsubatgirl · Gucci

My friend's sister wanted to be a museum curator (sp?) with her history degree but she doesn't want to move so she's just going to teach. I'm sure there are lots of things you can do.

Maddie · Coach

Thanks guys. I'm going through an identity crisis right now trying to figure out if I want to major in bio (which I had thought I'd wanted to do forever) or history. At least I could still do something with history.

Alikat · Kate Spade

I agree, History is a great major and applicable to many careers. I have a master's in history and while that isn't getting me any high paying jobs, it does say I know how to write and research and can understand things on a broad basis.

I don't know what year you are in college, but history is also a great major to study abroad with. Everything taught in history should transfer well.

Personally I just love history... I've torn with the idea of getting a PhD, but I'm not sure that is a smart move.

Good luck

Dizzy · Marc Jacobs

I majored in history, and I strongly recommend minoring or double majoring in business, psychology, or marketing - something a little more practical. I had to explain my major in every job interview, and several bosses told me that if I hadn't had extra experience in something they wanted, the degree would have landed my resume in the NO pile. Employers in the fields I've worked in and with want to see some interest in their field. So given two equal resumes, I hear they'll go with the marketing or journalism degree. Anyway, maybe other people have had a different experience, but I think in general history puts you on a pretty low-paying career track. Which is fine if you have a real passion for it. However, you may think at 22 that a life without money is just fine, but in eight years you may have some different ideas. Why close off options now when it's fairly easy to keep them open?

PS - I'm in law school now because I realized I want a family and it's incredibly difficult to do that on a low-paying, high-stress career track - plus I just got sick of every occasional car repair being a financial disaster, and of never having a savings account, and of never taking a vacation and of always hassling with money problems and of not being able to do the things I enjoy or shop the way I want. Before that, I worked as a journalist. I have a lot of friends in PR and marketing.

-- Edited by Dizzy at 09:17, 2005-03-07

cc · Marc Jacobs

Dizzy, I see your point but I wrote my response based on the fact that I happen to know that Maddie goes to a very good liberal arts college and I just assumed that as with most liberal arts schools, majoring in something "practical" like business or marketing isn't an option. At the two schools I attended, the only somewhat practical majors were sciences.

I have lots of friends who were history, English, philosophy, etc. majors who wound up getting good jobs as investment bankers, computer programmers, personal assistants, HR people etc. based both on the colleges they attended and their resumes (summer jobs, etc.) I got my job as a law librarian even though I was an art history major, based on the fact that I had experience working in libraries and I expressed interest in getting a graduate degree in the field. I also have friends who chose to go into fields that are directly related to their majors such as museum and non-profit work and obviously they make a lot less money. I think in this day and age it's a given that in order to get a decent job you have to get internships and summer jobs that provide you with work experience.
So there are other ways to show interest and get experience other than by picking a major.

Dizzy · Marc Jacobs

Cc, you make a good point, and it sounds like we're saying the same thing: you will need something other than a liberal arts education to land a job, and (with the exception of investment banking, which I've been told doesn't usually seek liberal arts majors but I wouldn't really know) the careers on a history major track are lower paying than most. People still love them because they gain satisfaction from something other than the money. But I still say, why risk that if you don't know you love it? And you still say, you can have a great life with a history major. I regret my major. You love it. I don't think either one of us can be wrong because it's so personal.

Maddie · Coach

Really, thanks a lot for both of your insights. Dizzy, I think my situation is slightly different than yours because of the liberal arts school but I am not interested in a really low paying job in history. I think that with a job as a biologist, it would be ok with me if it wasn't really lucrative, but I don't think I feel that way about history. But I also think that at my school there aren't many majors where the career track is high paying. Basically my dilemma right now is that I want to major in bio but I'm not that good at it and I'm pretty good at history. A B.S. in bio would be 4 years of really grueling hard work for me and I'd graduate with a fairly low GPA. A B.A. in history would be a lot easier, I'm interested in it, and I could take a lot more other classes (Spanish, Geology, Art History) that I'm interested in and it would be easier to go abroad. And if I'm having such a hard time with science now, should I really be doing a job in science? Now I'm just rambling, but I think I'm going to go the Office of Career Services and see what they tell me.

-- Edited by Maddie at 15:39, 2005-03-08

honey · Gucci

i wasn't a history major, but if i could do it all again i would be. maddie, based on what you said, i definitely think you would enjoy history so much more than bio and that is the most important thing. since so many people end up in careers that have nothing to do with their college majors, you're better off studying something you enjoy, and learning something.

Tara · Dooney & Bourke

Maddie keep in mind that a BS in Science is not a very lucrative degree either. If you intend to work in the Bio field, you will definitely hit a glass ceiling which would require a PhD or at least a MS to advance.

Maddie · Coach

If I was a bio major I would DEFINTELY get an MS. I probably will anyways, but especially with bio, And also, bio is more rewarding to me so I wuld care less about money.

cc · Marc Jacobs

Maddie, I actually started out as a science major. I entered my freshman year as an environmental science major but I hated the program so I was going to switch to bio, with a concentration in microbio. I had a pretty solid background in science and had spent two summers working on a project in a lab but the science classes really kicked my butt. I did fine in bio but I really struggled with chemistry and I realized that 1) I was basically committing to having to go at least through a Masters and probably all the way through a PhD in order to do what I wanted to do, 2) competition would probably be fierce in most of the fields and 3) I enjoyed my humanities classes so much more and I was really really good at that (as opposed to pretty good at bio).

I do sometimes regret not continuing on with science, especially when I look back at some of the awesome projects I did which could actually have some sort of impact on something and when I realize that I don't even understand what the titles mean anymore! But, I think it would have been many years of really really hard work and I just wasn't enjoying the classes enough or confident enough in my brain in order to keep at it. And I absolutely loved taking history and art history classes and wound up finding a career that I like and that pays pretty well, so it all worked out.

Crap, sorry this is so long! Are you trying to figure stuff out now so you can register for fall classes?

Maddie · Coach

Wow, that's basically the exact situation I'm in. Do you have your job with only a BA? Cause that's a pretty sweet deal. Anyways, I just talked to my advisor (who I'm going to get married to) and he said he went through the same thing but ended up doing political science. After a long talk with him, you guys's opinions, and talking to my dad I'm 90% sure I'm going to go ahead with history. I want to do a concentration on Latin America and minor in Spanish. I was feeling disappointed about dropping bio, but after talking to my advisor I'm now really excited about history. But yeah, I was figuring this out for fall classes. I'm hoping to take Spanish, Greek Civilization, Religion and Politics of Southeast Asia (just cause my advisor is teaching it and we are in love), and Age of the American Revolution. Yay! And really, thank you so much.