History Majors - Career Options?

Question

I have a Bachelor's Degree in History and have been in the full-time workforce for four years, holding two different positions in that time. I've grown frustated because I can't seem to find a job I like or attain the earning potential I desire.

At this point, I feel like I earned a degree in trivia. Going back to school for a different Bachelor's would make my previous time and money spent in school a waste, and wipe out the savings I've accumulated over the past four years.

Any advice?

Answer 1

I don't have advice on career options for History majors, however, I would suggest that you get a Masters degree in whatever you DO decide to pursue rather than another Bachelor's. Very often, even if you decide to go in a completely different direction, you can still get a Masters (or PHD!) in an unrelated field by just completing some additional undergraduate course work, first.

Also, have you ever considered a career in academia? I often wish I had gone on to become a college professor although, from what I understand, there is a lot of politics to contend with in that arena.

Good luck to you in whatever you decide.

Answer 2

There really are two separate issues:

1) Finding a job you like
2) Earning what you want

Many people enjoy their jobs but don't feel they're making enough money, or what they deserve to make. That's a different story from somebody who doesn't like their job and doesn't make good money.

Now what I tell my students, and what I say in my interviewing book is this: Companies use different degree majors in ways you might not even know. Part of success in job-hunting lies in realizing this and finding out how that degree is used!

Now think about it, with a history degree, business likes you up to a point. History repeats itself and somebody trained in history would know whether a business is repeating a mistake made by somebody else. Why? Because you excel in researching and knowing past events.

The really important thing is whether you only have history experience, or some business on top. If you only have the history, then you're options are pretty limited to teaching--public school, private school, or college.

But if you have some business classes and/or experience on top of the history degree, then that's another story. Here, you'd be able to combine them to your advantage and say to an employer that you know something about business and can help research things to see what's been done and what hasn't. And you can help research new markets and approaches to see if there are ways to combine past ways with newer ones.

After all, why reinvent the wheel when somebody else has already done it. That's a credio that many business live and succeed by!

History also comes into play with policies. For example, if your company is thinking of implementing an unpopular decision, a history major might know of another business who was in a similar situation. Knowing how they handled it can help you succeed and not repeat their mistakes.

Answer 3

I'm sorry to hear you think your degree was in trivia - history is a subject that contributes to everything you do.

However - you can look at the range of careers that attract you and then do a one year diploma and then move on.

I've moved between several careers sometimes through completing qualifications, others by moving sideways and gaining experience - but the analytical skills gained in my history studies are something that have stood me in good stead in everything I've done.

Go forward and appreciate what the past has given you in terms of qualifications, skills and experience.

Answer 4

Get a show with The History Channel. You're just not likely to find a lucrative job with a history degree, esp. with just a bachelor's. Go back and get your master's and ph.d and try to get on faculty at a university. Tenured professors are nicely paid and have research and travel opportunities that are not available to you yet.

Answer 5

Unless you get a doctorate in Art History, all an art history major can get you is a job as a trophy wife. Or it will let you go to grad school in a different field, like dentistry. And a psych degree gets you nowhere unless you get a doctorate as well.

Answer 6

My ex has a degree in history and the classics. His jobs were teaching Social Studies, owner of a construction company (family business) and now working in a bookstore.

Answer 7

Options are Starbucks or Barnes and Noble.

Go back to technical school for some computer skills.

Answer 8

Museum curator possibly. You neglected to say what area of history your degree was in.

Answer 9

You can be a history teacher or professor or you can work at a museum.