Texas-Dallas and Ft. Worth

NWR: Did anyone major in history?

If so, what did you do with it or plan to do?  My daughter has expressed some interest in it and I was wondering what kind of job it would lead to.  This might be a longshot but thought I would ask.  TIA.

Re: NWR: Did anyone major in history?

  • juliebug1997juliebug1997 member
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I did.  As you know I'm a teacher.  I had friends who went on to law school.  It's also a good major to go into things like foreign service, although learning a foreign language is helpful with that one.  There are also lots of companies that would hire someone with a degree and then train them up.  Like my mom's insurance company, would have considered hiring someone with a liberal arts degree to be an underwriter and then train them to be an underwriter of art museums. 

    Are her counselors any sort of help?  There are also some tests that she can take for aptitude and careers.  That might not be a bad thing to look into. 
  • juliebug1997juliebug1997 member
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    PS:  the great thing is that there are some really great schools in state for history so you/she won't have to go out of state or to a private school.
  • fallbride1109fallbride1109 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Her counselors have been somewhat helpful so far.  Yeah I've been googling some and it looks like it's common for people with this degree to do many different things.  She looks like she would be well suited as she loves to read and write.  But right this minute, she wants to be an actual historian and work in a museum.

    *sigh* Yesterday she wanted to be pastry chef.
  • edited December 2011
    My FI majored in history (actually it was his second major -- he also loves to read and write, so English was his other major). He didn't have a career in mind -- he thought just having a general college degree was good enough, and he loves history. He took a job as a technical writer out of college, which is where we met. (English major here!)

    He's probably a bad example, though, because after that job he went into a more technical job and is surrounded by engineers who were CS, Engineering, or Math majors. He's actually in a Master's program right now for Math so he can stay competitive in his field.

    Sorry, I'm sure that's not helpful. :( But aside from the fact that he totally switched gears and went technical, he loves his History degree. He said it was fascinating and would love to get a more advanced degree in a specific time period down the road.
  • edited December 2011
    I have my BA and MA in history.  My intention is to finish my PhD and teach college level history one day.  That being said, I work in recruiting now.  Through working in HR, I have found that history degrees are actually desired in a TON of industries.  Social work, politics, law, education, business, public relations, etc have all been fields with history backgrounds preferred under our basic qualifications.  If she loves to read/write and loves history in general, studying it full time would be easy for her :)


  • BanannaPBanannaP member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    My sister majored in history. Right now she works full time in a dancewear store, but in fall she is going to start her Master of Arts in Teaching with the intention of teaching high school history (and possibly go on to get her PhD and be a professor at some point).

    Museum work can be a little tricky to get into. Often it helps to have a master's in your specialty plus either a degree or experience in archival work. Another thing that she could do with a degree in history is to get a master's in library science (can be done in one year, no thesis required, at least at UNT), then work in a library (public or university). Or she could work at a library as a paraprofessional with just a bachelor's.
  • bethlovesjimbethlovesjim member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I wanted to major in Texas History. or Texas Political History.  I would get my Phd and teach... maybe Indiana Jones it a little bit ;) 
    first camping trip engagement
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • fallbride1109fallbride1109 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks everyone!  I printed out some stuff last night to help her see some options.  Who knows, today she may be back to wanting to be a pastry chef!
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_nwr-did-anyone-major-history?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:102Discussion:83d6a30c-1ca7-4b94-b480-e03fec079afaPost:be7ffdc7-6cf8-4021-bc2c-aedc6b6e1a57">Re: NWR: Did anyone major in history?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Thanks everyone!  I printed out some stuff last night to help her see some options.  Who knows, today she may be back to wanting to be a pastry chef!
    Posted by stephiehall[/QUOTE]

    <div>I changed my major 3 times once I got into college! And now I'm back again starting over after graduating and being in the workforce. </div><div>
    </div><div>I don't even remember how many times I changed my mind BEFORE I got to college. </div><div>
    </div><div><img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-smile.gif" border="0" alt="Smile" title="Smile" /></div>
  • edited December 2011
    Awe.  I changed my major from Engineering to Economics during orientation.  I wouldn't worry too much about her choices. :)

    I have a friend who majored in history and is a teacher as well.   He went on to get his Masters and Doctorate and does a lot of research and publications as well as his teaching.  I think it is kind of cool.
  • lesalyriclesalyric member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    My major is currently history with an education minor. I hope to teach high school history. I would have majored in religious studies if I could have. I just wasn't sure how that would translate to a job outside of church, which I really don't think I am interested in.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • edited December 2011
    Stephie - it's very likely that once she gets to college and starts taking her basics, she will find something else she is interested in and will change her mind.  I changed my mind a few times.  My senior year of HS, I wanted to be a lawyer.  Never happened.  Also, I think most colleges (or at least TTU), offered a seminar class in my college - which explored what options you have with your degree.  HTH.
  • edited December 2011
    I double majored in History and Economics. History has always been something that I really enjoyed. (Yes, I know I am a nerd) So it was important to me to do something in school that I would be happy with. That being said, I wanted something that might be more flexible in the job market which is why I added Economics. My end goal is to teach history at the high school I went to.
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • laurencstelaurencste member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I majored in history!  I loved it, it was the best major.  Many people can major in Art History and then go on to work in museums or at galleries or auction houses.  I went on to law school, and my history training was great because it taught me to read and write and analyze, but wasn't boring like political science or other majors.  I still make my Fiance watch historical documentaries with me, but as I'm an attorney now, I don't use my history background much.  Still, it was a great foundation for law school, a great place for me to make good grades, and a very interesting major that I liked for 4 years.
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards