History Major - How difficult is it?
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Anonymous
| DD is interested in History but not sure about the workload. I suspect a lot of reading and writing involved. Any insights? TIA |
Anonymous
| No, just wondering what type of job he is looking towards. |
Anonymous
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Your suspicions are correct. Think a hefty substantive book every week or two, per class. Plus her other subjects. Substantial writing required, and original primary research at the advanced levels. That takes time, and can't be blown off until the last weekend.
This is not the field for someone who is not self-motivated about doing the reading and writing. |
Anonymous
| Job market is dismal. The history majors I know are very smart, but had to go back to college to get a useful degree. One is now an RN, the other is now an accountant. Completely different fields than their first BA. |
Anonymous
She actually wants to go to med school and currently signed up as a Bio major/premed track. She wants to double major Bio and History b/c... Well, she likes History. I am thinking it may be too much to handle. |
Anonymous
| As a college history instructor, I've seen students face big challenges making the transition from high school history to college history. College history usually requires a heavy reading load, a lot of writing, as as the student moves up, a lot of independent research. For students who really enjoyed memorizing dates in high school, the humanistic approach that most college history instructors employ can be very frustrating. |
Anonymous
What is your goal? If DD will need to work to support herself, it's one set of insights. If you are independently wealthy, and the kid is just looking for a degree and ways to broaden her horizons, it's quite a different set. |
Anonymous
Maybe she can minor in history. Or take history classes without majoring or minoring. Or try a history major and if it proves too challenging then drop it. Not sure why she'd have to commit before she's started. |
Anonymous
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Is she already in college (i.e. choosing a major) or is she on the verge of choosing a college? If the latter, she might want to look at schools with good history of medicine (science/technology) or environmental history faculty.
On some level, I (former college prof) don't get why people want double majors -- vs. to take substantial coursework in subjects that interest them. Of course this goes both ways -- you can be a history major and take pre-med requirements without majoring in bio or you can be a bio major and take whatever history course you want (which probably don't include some of the survey courses required for the history major). I appreciate interdisciplinary programs and I like choice, but I don't see why you'd sign up for an additional set of requirements instead of just choose your own adventure if you have the option to do so. Sure, med schools like humanists and law schools like people with some tech background, but presumably you don't need two majors to be a good candidate for admission. Transcripts shows coursework. Personal statement/activities show how you've developed your interests. |
Anonymous
| Maybe she could minor? There is a lot of reading and writing involved, but if she loves the subject she could take some cool targeted courses. Of course this is how I ended up becoming an archaeologist instead of something else. |
Anonymous
| Op here - thanks all for your input. She is an incoming freshman and trying to find her way around. Def not doing it for med school application. She simply enjoys reading and understanding history. Bio major and taking a few history courses here and there sounds like a good way to move forward. We are not independently wealthy so having marketable skills is a must. |
Anonymous
You can absolutely get a job with a history degree, even if it's not specifically using the history (i.e. teacher). As others have pointed out, if you major in history, in order to be successful you will have to be able to -read a great deal of material -absorb and analyze that material, and write clear, logical responses to the material. Think how many jobs require you to do that! I think if you are strategic about internships and regular contact with the college's career center while you are pursuing the history degree, you can definitely land on your feet with a job post-graduation. The trick is to be doing that kind of strategic thinking throughout college, not just waiting until senior year. |
Anonymous
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My dream was to major in history.
Unfortunately I didn't come from wealth and/or get into HYPS. Read this as well: http://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/september-2005/privileging-history-trends-in-the-undergraduate-origins-of-history-phds The trend is the people most successful in 'reading' history are coming from more and more elite schools. |
Anonymous
So let her try out some classes. If she loves the history classes and wants to keep taking more, she may find in sophomore year that a double major is viable. But it's premature to try to figure this out right now. I agree with former prof that double majors are kinds of overrated. I was a history major and considered a double major (econ) but a wise professor dissuaded me. I did the econ classes that interested me but also English literature, writing, anthropology, religion, and music on top of my required classes. I loved college. |
Anonymous
| I was a history major at a school with an elite history program. I did it because I LOVED it and knew I was headed to law school. |