I am currently unable to decide on what I would like to do next. In may I will finish my undergraduate education and have a BA in history. (Yes, stupid decision, I know) While I plan on going to graduate school, whether to start in the autumn of next year or to postpone it by a year in order to work is yet undecided. I’ve completed one application for a master’s of science in the teaching of history in the Midwest at a well-liked, respectable university. I’ve also put in with New Zealand to possibly spend some time living/working there. What do you think?
Boadicea's Chariot 
Nothing stupid about a degree in history, Chris.
Hmm! Christopher – did you enjoy your history degree? In which case – there was nothing stupid about your decision!
Some years ago, I talked to a young man who was on the train to Newcastle to look at the university there… It transpired that he was following his parents’ and school’s advice to do a science degree. After some time, it was obvious that he loathed science. I asked him what he really wanted to – he said travel and think about what he wanted to do. My comment that I thought it was a bit daft to spend three years studying a subject that he didn’t like so that he could spend the rest of his life working in area he didn’t like left him thinking. I’d love to know what he finally ended up doing!
I have no doubt that you’ll end up doing a post-grad… only you can work out whether to whether to spend some time in a different culture.
🙂
Study as much as possible until you’re forced to go to work 🙂
Zen and Boadicea: I chose to get a degree in history because it is an honourable, respectable discipline. It is also something I’ve always liked and have always done well. It also appealed to me because history is not a “trendy” subject, something which results in a glut of degree-holders and a dearth of jobs. I’m a bit nervous about finding a job after university, however.
As for Aotearoa… The political climate in the USA is absolute poison right now. Getting away from that for a time would be a blessing.
It may be that you are young enough to waste a year, but if you went late and have student loans to repay then I would get on with it, Whatever it is.
There are not a lot of jobs to be had as you well know, especially in history.
Have you thought about doing civil service/diplomatic exams?
Aren’t you good at languages too? CIA?
A lot of govt depts have fast track schemes for graduates of any discipline.
I would have thought you would be very employable by the Feds, multi ethnic background and multilingual ticks a lot of boxes simultaneously, might as well take advantage if you can stomach it, better than being unemployed!
A history degree is acceptable to many employers, Christopher, although it is not strictly a vocational subject. Since you are contemplating a post-graduate course in the teaching of history, is this what you would like to do?
As to where you study next, I cannot advise but I gather you are quite keen to choose somewhere other than the US. My daughter loved New Zealand but she did indulge in various outdoor activities because she discovered there was little else to do! Now said daughter has just finished a four year course in London, so she may have been a little spoilt.
oops, she “had” just finished the course when she went on her “gap year”.
Our youngest got bitten by the travel bug when after she gained her degree but being a chip off the old block she got someone else to pay for it. She joined BA as cabin crew and spent two years flying around the world before leaving and putting her degree to work.
I’m really not the right person to ask advice from. My best subject and first love at school was pure mathematics – and at 18 I had a place at Uni to read maths. For a variety of reasons I wasn’t able to take that place…
It was later that I went back to full-time education – and chose history. I loved studying – and just kept going. I was warned that my PhD would not further my career – and indeed it was a bit of a problem when I went for jobs that I was over-qualified for… but I enjoyed it and have never regretted doing it.
Follow your instincts!
Abso-bloody-lutely!
Thanks Zen! I’m probably more of a ‘hippy’ than I’d care to admit! But, I really cannot understand why people would choose to do something that they hate for the whole of their life.