Jobs for history grads

[Kuciwalker]

Drake is married? WTF?

[Dinner]

Wasn't it Drake who posted pictures of his family a few years back. They had a minivan, his wife, daughter, and son. I could be thinking of someone else but I honestly think it was Drake.

[MarkG]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
Im a Conservative Jew, which means I can troll in certain exceptional cases, as specified by the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

Troll Committee

[Drogue]

Re: Jobs for history grads

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
I have another few weeks left until I am done my exams. I am looking for some work over the summer that would fit my degree.

I have experience in my field, as well as in data entry and inventory.

What sorts of jobs are open for me as a history grad? I have a few ideas for where to start looking, but I wanted to get some more suggestions.

Usually here history majors either go to law school or use it as a generic degree. Most graduate jobs in the UK (IIRC ~60-70% of them) are open to graduates of any degree. However these are typical business/finance/marketing/sales/etc, jobs. If you want to actually use your history degree, then that becomes a lot harder. I guess there are museum curators, archivists, librarians and history teachers, which are all filled with history grads. Other than that, no idea really.

There's nothing wrong with a history major as a generic degree, there's lots of transferable skills and such (especially on the analysis and judgement side). However there are very few history-related jobs that you'd actually use your degree for.

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
Drake is married? WTF?

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Guynemer
Back to the topic:

I was a history major. Clearly, I chose another path for a career.

How do you get into med school with a History degree?

[Arrian]

Minor in Bio or somesuch?

-Arrian

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker


How do you get into med school with a History degree?

I thought if you had certain specified bio and chem courses, you could major in ANYTHING and go to med school. Just that it was a lot easier to get those courses in if you majored in bio or chem.

[Jon Miller]

The reason why preMed generally majors in Bio and Chem is because after taking the required preMed classes, it is generally just a couple classes until you get your Bio/BioChem/Chem majors.

Jon Miller

[Ben Kenobi]

Something that requires writing (moreso than other jobs), analysis and critical thinking (that last bit sometimes gives you trouble, but as long as your job doesn't involve dealing with moral issues that will bring your religion into play, you should be fine).

Actually, I tend to do either really well or really poorly depending on which way the prof leans. I don't think the problem is with my critical thinking skills.

Seriously, it really depends on the prof. Some want you to disagree with them, others want the consensus to support their ideas.

I have a History degree. I work for an insurance company, handling complex long-tail claims (haz waste/pollution). It's not sexy, but it pays reasonably well. Plus, if I wanted to (I don't), I could go to UConn law on the company's dime.

Interesting. Arrian, I'm not just looking at a summer job. My question is also where to look. I know history majors find interesting jobs and I would not have thought about insurance companies.

[Ben Kenobi]

If you want to actually use your history degree, then that becomes a lot harder. I guess there are museum curators, archivists, librarians and history teachers, which are all filled with history grads. Other than that, no idea really.

My idea of using my history degree is more along the lines of 'doing a job that I wouldn't get to do without one.'

As a generic degree, I don't mind using it for research or other things. I have done that before in using the skills that come with the degree for something entirely unrelated to history.

There's nothing wrong with a history major as a generic degree, there's lots of transferable skills and such (especially on the analysis and judgement side). However there are very few history-related jobs that you'd actually use your degree for.

I hope I've been more clear on what I meant about putting my degree to work.

[Ben Kenobi]

But there's no money there.

If money was my primary concern I wouldn't be in history in the first place. I'd be in business like my cousin.

[Arrian]

Interesting. Arrian, I'm not just looking at a summer job. My question is also where to look. I know history majors find interesting jobs and I would not have thought about insurance companies.

Probably because, like me, you didn't think to yourself "gee wiz, I wanna grow up to be an insurance guy!" In fact, I distinctly remember swearing never to work in insurance.

I also happen to have grown up & gone to college in CT, and Hartford, CT is/was the "insurance capital of the world." You can kinda trip, fall, and end up in insurance here.

It just so happens that the small subset of claims I handle requires the sort of skills a History major will generally have (analysis, writing, research). It's not really much like "normal" claims at all, which is good 'cause I think I'd hate doing that. My job is really coverage investigation and analysis & communication of the comoany's position (vetted by legal) to the policyholder.

Basically, several people have said it: think about the skills you have developed and look for jobs that require those skills.

-Arrian

[Ben Kenobi]

Congratulations on getting your degree! Why are you looking for a summer job? Are you going back to school in the fall, or just taking a "break" before starting your "real job?" Once you graduate from college, summer jobs have a funny way of turning into real jobs.

I'm planning to go to the states and teach there. I was very happy when I went down a year and a half ago and I would love to return there again. I would start in August.

Thanks for the suggestions. This is all new to me.

[Ben Kenobi]

Thanks arrian. Good to hear from folks who have made their degree work for them.