Juliegmom Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 I have a middle schooler who raves about history and "wants to become the next Diana Waring." She is interested in being a history major to possibly become a middle school history teacher. Other than teaching, what kinds of careers are there for history majors? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callapidder Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 I have a college freshman currently pursuing a history major. Although he is unsure what direction he ultimately wants to go, he is considering law school, teaching, and working as an archivist. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 My brother got his undergrad in history and then went to law school. He also was a lobbyist for a few years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 I only know one history major. He's in some sort of government job now - foreign analyst? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 I think Rick Steve's got a history degree. Maybe she could travel for a living. Wow, just typing that is pretty eye-opening. I may want to stay coaching one of my kids that way... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 My dil is an author, and writes books that take place in historical settings. She uses her knowledge of history for that a lot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 History major here. I know majors that teach, work in museums, work for corporations, go to law school, etc. From what I've discovered, museums are looking for regular history majors as well as those with public history/museum studies experience. Each degree brings a different perspective to the museum field. History is also a nice all around major for businesses that are looking for critical thinkers and people that research and problem solve. Internships are very important with a history major - they can give you that experience and networking around people that can be helpful. I've interned at our local museum for 2 semester and I started working them part time in January. I had no interview, just would you like this position and when can you start. Another student interned, thinking she would love it. No, it wasn't for her. We have a history education degree (I did not do this) that helps student prepare for primary and secondary education with semester long student teaching along with select education classes. History is a reading and writing intensive major that challenges you to analyze sources and then synthesize multiple sources into one cohesive thesis paper. Languages can also be important for history majors, which one depends upon field, but Latin, French, and German are common for medievalists. Also, proper grammar is important for historians. I find that many students that struggle with reading primary sources from even a hundred years ago. They struggle to find the meaning of a passage because it's harder to pick out the subject verb in much longer passages with lots of relative clauses. Anyway, many fields are looking for the skills that historians develop. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juliegmom Posted March 10, 2018 Author Share Posted March 10, 2018 History major here. I know majors that teach, work in museums, work for corporations, go to law school, etc. From what I've discovered, museums are looking for regular history majors as well as those with public history/museum studies experience. Each degree brings a different perspective to the museum field. History is also a nice all around major for businesses that are looking for critical thinkers and people that research and problem solve. Internships are very important with a history major - they can give you that experience and networking around people that can be helpful. I've interned at our local museum for 2 semester and I started working them part time in January. I had no interview, just would you like this position and when can you start. Another student interned, thinking she would love it. No, it wasn't for her. We have a history education degree (I did not do this) that helps student prepare for primary and secondary education with semester long student teaching along with select education classes. History is a reading and writing intensive major that challenges you to analyze sources and then synthesize multiple sources into one cohesive thesis paper. Languages can also be important for history majors, which one depends upon field, but Latin, French, and German are common for medievalists. Also, proper grammar is important for historians. I find that many students that struggle with reading primary sources from even a hundred years ago. They struggle to find the meaning of a passage because it's harder to pick out the subject verb in much longer passages with lots of relative clauses. Anyway, many fields are looking for the skills that historians develop. This is very helpful and encouraging. Thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Larry Kudlow, who was just appointed Director of the National Economic Council was a history major. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 (edited) I have a degree in medieval history. My post-college job was as a nanny. ;) I did have some significant coursework and experience in childcare/child development, but I think it probably helped that I showed a variety of skills and interests, especially in the highly academic arena (I was a nanny for a pair of doctors who value education very highly). I had a friend in college who majored in history and pre-med. Again, well-rounded and interesting. Point being, you never know where it might be useful. (Fwiw, I also never had a career path in mind, whether that was a good plan or a bad one. But I was able to make it reasonably affordable, and I do have a degree if ever needed.) You might encourage your student to look into something like American Studies, which could be partly history and partly arts/architecture, and that might lead to a wider variety of paths. Edited March 16, 2018 by happypamama 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 My friend who has a history degree is a military chaplain. So, I guess where he went with his history degree was seminary, but the military seems to be a fairly big employer of history majors that is probably not the first thing that comes to everyone's mind. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 I became an elementary teacher. My dad became a journalist. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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