I’ve only been a History major for about three weeks now, but there are already things I have heard from several different people, whenever I tell them. It is starting to get a little bit frustrating, so here are the things I have heard from people the most.
1) "Are you going to be a teacher?"
Believe it or not, there are more jobs in the field of History than just being a teacher. There is so much out there. Even if we don’t find a job in our field right away, a History degree still sets us up with skills that would be valuable anywhere, like critical thinking, and knowing how to do research. Whereas I am not opposed to teaching someday, there might be some people who don’t want anything to do with it.
2) "How are you going to justify being a Historymajor?"
Well, for one thing, we don’t need to justify anything. For me, this is what I am interested in, so this is what I am going to study. There doesn’t have to be any ‘justification’ for it just because a History degree is not as high in demand as an engineering degree.
3) "You can’t do anything with that degree."Going back to something I said before, there are more things you can do with a History degree than most people think. It sets you up for pretty much anything, and it really does open up a lot of opportunities. Most people, regardless of major, will not end up with a job in their field right away, and I am not expecting to.
4) "You aren’t going to make any money with that."I don’t know about others, but for me, making the most money is not my top priority. I know it sounds weird, but just hear me out. I’d honest to God rather be doing something that makes me happy, regardless if it doesn’t pay a lot or not. Besides, why does it matter to you whether or not I make a lot of money? If I’m doing something that I love, I will find a way to become successful.
5) "What are you going to do with that?"This the question I have heard the most. Every time I tell someone that I changed my major to History, I can see the shock in their eyes, followed by the question, “What are you going to do with that?” I can’t speak for History majors everywhere, but this question drives me crazy. To a lot of people, History is deemed as a useless major. To better understand your future, you need to be able to understand your past. To me, this question implies that I’m wasting away my education. Some people are genuinely interested about what I want to do, but others are kind of condescending about it, and that’s what annoys me the most.
Personally, I want to go straight into a master’s program right after earning my undergraduate degree. From there, I want to either get a master’s degree in Museum studies, preservation, or law. Law is pretty unlikely, but I figured I could give it a shot before writing it off completely. This is what I tell everyone who asks what I am going to do with my degree. It is a tentative plan, but this is what I have in mind.
To all of the History majors out there, don’t let naysayers bring you down. Keep doing what you want to do and you will find a way to be successful.
