Why major in history? What is the point of studying it?

Question

I never thought about that before because I always liked history class. I was having a discussion with someone who said they hate history. She thinks it's a waste of time to study things that already happened. Now that I think about it, she has a point. I know people say that history tends to repeat itself but in what way does it really benefit you. What kind of job are you going to get today as a history major, besides being a teacher of course.

Answer 1

What Studying history is only the first step. Analysis of the information is where we learn.
Example, you study the middle east history, social structure and religions. You then run an analysis what would happen if say a country goes in and overthrows a government and tries to implement say a democracy where there was a dictator before. (sound familiar?) What is the possibility that the middle east country will embrace a life style change?
What are the probabilities of internal conflict of ideas, remember you studied these countries in depth. This is what a
a good Intelligence Analysis does for a living. Of course getting someone to take your advice is another story.
Take the same idea on a smaller scale - study business companies. Learn - plot and take over, all from understanding the history of a company and the way the Board of Directors act and think.
Smaller still - think what your history teacher like last week from other student presentations. Plot a similar plan on a different text subject and get a A for the project. Just from remembering last weeks history.

Carl

Answer 2

Well, it's like this. I'm here in another country right, and it's true what they say about history repeating itself. So I'm studying American history right, and I see the dotcom boom started there about the 80s. So given that history repeats itself, I'd expect a boom elsewhere in the world a very short time after that. If I moved elsewhere after the dotcom bubble exploded in the US, I could continue to ride it. Also if you study history, you realize that the history of every country more or less follows the same pattern. If that's the case, you can more or less forecast the future, decide which countries to invest in. In this way you could maximise your investment potential of your money.

History is also full of people making silly mistakes. If you read it, you can avoid making the same mistakes as they have. It's also fun to study, especially the wars, what happened, what could have happened if..

Job-wise, there's not much of a prospect I guess, but then history majors don't have to get jobs that are directly related to history. You could be a curator in a museum, a lecturer in a university, a writer, a consultant for historical movies and TV shows...

If you like history what you might consider is a double major. Then you could do what you like and still do something you consider saleable.

Answer 3

History is about mankind. History is studying ourselves and studying it is a great way to develop your analysis capabilities. Somehow, your friend has a point, in a world in which technical specialty is what matter the most (engineering, architecture, business, law, etc...) those who study social science are a bit disadvantaged when it comes to get a real job and earn money in the real world. But still, History can be useful. Did you know that the CIA director is a major in History? Guess why. Well, the thing about History is that unlike other technical careers you'll end up knowing a bit about everything while they just know a lot about their own stuff but nothing about other things. That's why, if you are lucky and can make it, your major in History will be very much appreciated by businessmen, directors, politicians, etc... in fact, you'd be surprised to know how many CEO, presidents of companies, of governments, leading directors, etc.. have been and are majored in History.

Answer 4

Studying history will not limit you to teaching. Law schools don't really care what you study, so long as you do well, for example.

Often employers don't really care what major you studied, so long as you have skills that are applicable. That doesn't mean you'll become a nuclear physicist with a history major, but you can go into research, law, public policy, politics, political science, IR, sociology, etc.

Get in touch with a professor a career counselor who's familiar with the liberal arts path. They can tell you what other job opportunities there are out there.

Answer 5

Here's what you can do with a BA in History in the United States: Advertising executive, analyst, archivist, broadcaster, campaign worker, consultant, congressional aide, editor, foreign service officer, foundation staffer, information specialist, intelligence agent, journalist, legal assistant, lobbyist, personnel manager, public relations staffer, researcher, teacher, etc...

Its a versatile degree... teaching is not the only option for the history enthusiast!

Answer 6

Those who do not understand history will repeat it.
People who major in history can become museum curators, archaeologists, sociologists, politicians, journalists, lawyers, judges, and diplomats to name just a few fields. It is fascinating and helps one to understand human nature.

Answer 7

History explains today. Check out http://www.berlin-explored.com

Answer 8

What is the point of studying anything?. There are only really two reasons to study a subject at university.

1) You know you need it for your chosen vocation
or
2) You enjoy it

If one or either of those don't apply then don't waste your time.

Answer 9

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