How hard is it to study History - History Major?

Question

I am a Junior in High School and I'm thinking about majoring in History & probably being a History Professor or teacher...

I know there's a lot of reading - I'm a slow reader! .....

Please answer all questions:
1. How hard exactly is it?
2. What can I be if I major in History?
3. How much $ can I make?
4. What are the advantages?
5. And why shouldn't I study it?

Answer 1

History is magnificent. It helps us keep memory activity in our brain. More and more they are trying to tell people to activate their memories for they lose it if they don't. Like crossword puzzles remembering definitions of harder words than the every day words we use. Memory and or history is in everything we do for it is every day we create a pattern of history. It is not hard if you like it and you have a good mind. Clearly you are interested in it so it wont be hard at all for you. It may improve your reading skills as well. # 2 you may be a teacher in grammar, high school, or college professor and that is more money if you teach full time. 40 to 50 thousand, with benefits. The advantage is to have an active mind. And you can proofread for a living by correcting the missed communications that have been written falsely. Book revisions is what it is called. Also you can study other kinds of history, geological, scientific, medical, mathematical, musical, all subjects have history that is where it is beneficial you can choose a numerous amount of places to specialize in where as the other subjects are limited. I think if you feel that you want to do this you should, but if you dont I dont think you should

Answer 2

History is a great subject to study. The difficulty depends on each individual professor. I had courses in which I secured an A with minimal effort and other courses in which I worked strenuously and was happy to get a C. I floundered after getting my degree because I did not have a clear plan concerning obtaining a job after I got the degree. History is for people who do not expect to make a great deal of money. Historically (pun intended) there has not been a great demand for History professors but that is beginning to change because so many of the baby boomers are retiring . Because there was a glut in the field, there were not as many people studying history over the last few years. As a History professor you can expect to make close to 100 thousand a year. However keep in mind that you will need at the bare minimum a Masters degree and realistically to be competitive a Doctoral degree. The advantage of being a teacher is the intrinsic benefit of helping others understand their heritage . There is also the benefit of gaining tenure which translates into job security. The disadvantage is the difficulty in getting a job. History is relegated to second rate status particularly now that we are competing with other economies and the emphasis is on science and math. You are wise in assessing your risks in studying History. I ended up being a Stock Broker and made a decent living. There are many employers who are more concerned about your having a degree than what degree you chose.

Answer 3

I am in college stuyding to be a History Major (don't know what specialty yet). Here are my answers to your questions.

1) It's really not all that hard, if your going to read others works. For a real challenge, and to reap real rewards, I would highly recommend learning Latin and Ancient Greek. That way you can read the old texts and writings yourself. Any other languages (French, Spanish, Japanese, Modern Greek [yes, there is a difference]) can only help. Also, having a really good memory (if not a GREAT memory) is very useful. If you become a teacher, the ability to recall from memory names, dates, and events will be very useful. Also, I would look into seeing if there is any way to improve your reading ability, it would really help.

2) Ok, think of a topic. Go ahead. It can be anything, I'll wait...... Got it? Good. Really? Wow, not what I would have chosen, but it's cool. LOL. JP. You can pretty much major in anything. The schools will probably only teach the classics (Romans, Greeks, Egyptians etc...) but you could major in General History (or whatever your school calls it), and then study on your own and become a specialist in anything. I mean, I know he was great, but do we really need an Elvis historian? But guess what, there are Elvis historians. Pick a topic you love, study it inside and out, become a specialist. Done

3) Depends. You going to be a High School teacher? Then probably not much. College professor? More. Or are you going to write books/articles and do specials on the History Channel? Well, then you'll make even more. You going to be an off-beat history writer like Richard Zacks, author of "The Pirate Coast" and "The Pirate Hunter (the former is about the first Marines and the battles on the "shores of Tripoli" in 1805 made famous in the Marine Corps song, and the latter is the real story behind Captain Kidd, both I highly recommend)? Or will you be a more traditional historian writer, like Pulitzer winner Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln"? No matter what you decide to write (if you do decide to write at all) it depends on how good you are and how interesting you can make your particular specialty sound.

4) Advantages. Hm. well. It's an open ended field. It's not really dependant on anything but time continuing to pass and some sort of record being written. A better question would be "what are the disadvantages"? There really aren't any. History incorporates a little of all fields (math, science, economics, all are a part of history). So you can find anything you want to, anything your interested in, and study the history of it.

5) If you don't love it or don't think you can devote the time needed to studying it. Those are the only real reasons NOT to study it. A good foundation in History can help in almost any field.

Hope those answers help you my young friend. Good Luck!

Cogito, ergo sum. --- I think, therefore I am (Descartes).

Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis. --- all things are changing, and we are changing with them.

Answer 4

It's as hard - or as easy as any other subject, really. Having an interest in history indeed helps.

Lots of things if you major in history - direct applications include becoming a history teacher, politics, a researcher, an historical interpreter, museum docent, historical costumer, demonstrator. Indirectly - basically everything else.

How much will you make - well, that depends. Politicians - well, they reap all kinds of benefits, and the pay goes as high as 400k a year (the president's salary). The real money in politics is lobbyists, speakers, and activists. A history prof makes more than a high school history teacher. They both make more than those in museum trades, for the most part. Researchers, interpreters, costumers and demonstrators can actually make quite decent money, but you will not ever likley get rich off of it. Most who do those things do them because they love history - REAL history, not the romanticized versions passed off in high school skim through classes.

The advantages - you can see patterns of life, behavior, politics, fashion, economics - past, present and use those to help predict the future, which can in turn, make your life over all better.

Why shouldn't you? Because you don't like history or find it boring.

Here's a book on it - http://www.amazon.com/Great-Jobs-History-Majors-Vgms/dp/0844243531

Answer 5

I have an undergraduate degree in history and am getting my doctoral degree now. It is alot of work, a ton of reading and writing, and countless hours in the library. An example of the course load at the undergraduate level is a paper and two essay tests 7-10 pages each. At the graduate level, 12-15 books, book reviews for each, and a 20,000 word essay worthy of publication in an academic journal. Also expect to spend along time in school 4 years for undergrad, two for masters, and another 6-8 for doctoral degree(you have to publish a book). Academia is a difficult field to enter into. There are limited amount of jobs at the collegiate level. Subscribe to the Journal of American History and the Organization of American Histroians for info on job opportunities across the country. If you cant get into a college, history is a very liberal degree. It is a good degree for entrance into law school, working as an archivist in museum, or human relations in a corporatrion. You wont make alot of money but you will be comfortable, plan on having side projects like real estate investment. The advantages? Just being smarter than everyone else, owning alot of neat books, and you get to keep your library books for the entire semester rather than 6 weeks. You should not study it if you hate to read or dont want to stuggle for the first half of your adult life. But I followed my heart, not my wallet and you can figure out how to make a histroy degree pay. As for learning Greek or Latin, dont unless you want to concentrate in those areas. American Histroy has no language requirement, at least at my university, and is where a majority of history majors center their studies. Hope I helped.

Answer 6

History isn't hard if you're into it. It's a ton of reading, analysis and writing. If you don't like any of those three, you might reconsider. If you want to be a professor, you're looking at getting your Ph.D which means 5 or so years of post graduate work - oh, and you won't make lots of $$$$, teachers never do.

The advantages include knowledge of the world and it's various cycles - in comparison to many other, a conceivably solid platform to judge and perceive.

But really, you don't get into history for money and fame, it's like pretty much anything else, you have to be passionate about it for it to be worthwhile.

Answer 7

A degree is always useful whether its history,english litreature,geography or any other subject.

History is good because it teaches you to be analytical. You have to find sources of information and filter them so you use only the most relevant material. Its like being a detective really.

Answer 8

I just graduated from college with my B.A. in History. It was tough I am not going to lie to you about that. There was a lot of reading and a lot of paper writing. And there were times where I wish I had chosen something else. But I loved almost every minute of it. I learned so much about history and myself. I was lucky enough to study under some of the smartest history professors and for that I believe that I am truly blessed.

It can be really tough because like I said it is a lot of reading not only for class but for researching papers and it is a lot of writing. Be prepared for most professors to give you essay exams rather than multiple choice. But you will learn that writing history out in essays becomes easier the more you do it.

There are plenty of things that you can do after graduating with a B.A. in history, however most of them will require you going on to get your masters and some even require going on and getting a ph.d. You can teach either grade school or high school but for that you will need to get certified to teach most school offer a program where you as a history major can double major in for example secondary education (high school level). if you want to become a professor at a college or university you will most likely have to have your master and even ph.d (it all depends on the college/university). You could go on to law school and become a lawyer. Or even work in a museum, but that again will need further education.

Monetary income will all depend on what road you decide to take and I'm sure you can look that up on the internet.

Advantages? Well personally for me, I absolutely love history! It is a great passion of mine and I love being able to share what I know with other people. I love learning, I love researching, and I love reading and writing about it. I know I sound like a dork but one of history's greatest advantages is being able to share your knowledge and passion with others and help them understand and learn.

Why should you study it? My mother for all four years of my being at college told me I shouldn't study history, she claimed that it wasn't going to lead me anywhere or make me enough money to live on. And I told her that this is what makes me happy and there is nothing that she can say or do to make me change my mind. I am not going to tell you whether you should or shouldn't major in history it is up to you. But if you aren't sure that this is what you truly want to do or if you don't really like history then don't do it. In order to major in history and survive it you have to be passionate about it, you have to love reading and writing and talking and learning about it because that is all you are going to do for four years and even possibly the rest of your life.

In a year or so I will be going back to school to earn my masters degree in either history or museum studies. I took this year off to earn some money to start paying back loans and save up some to go back to school.