Job/Career for a History Major

[cvrefugee]

I finally finished college this past June. I've been going to school off and on but for the past 4.5 years I cracked down and got my B.A. in History. When I first graduated from high school (back in 1998) I planned on getting a degree in Computer Science. After my first programming class I knew it wasn't what I wanted to do (plus I was never good at advanced math). One of my history professors sort of inspired me to choose History as my major. I knew that it wasn't a popular major but it was something that interested me and I was good at remembering people/places/ideas/events. My area of concentration ended up being 20th C. U.S. History.

So now what? I've been told I can teach (have to get a credential first) but that's not really something I want to do full-time. Maybe substitute teaching would be okay but that's not really a career. What I would like to get into is a government-level job. It could be local, state, or federal. I know that the benefits are great but I'm not exactly sure where to apply and how the process goes. Someone told me I need to take a Civil Service exam...what is that?

As far as my skills, I'm good at research, analysis, and writing. Of course I still do my computer stuff on the side, upgrading and repairing systems for friends and former coworkers. I used to work at a pharmacy as a pharm tech but I quit about three weeks ago (low pay and very few hours). I was thinking of starting my own computer business but it isn't something I want to do forever.

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[Mo0o]

Medicine

 

[nageov3t]

grad school?

 

[KillerCharlie]

My father got one and worked at the post office. My sister got one and works at a historical museum for crappy pay. That made me go into engineering...

 

[darkxshade]

One of my neighbors is a history major, I think he's currently collecting empty soda cans from trash bins and turns them in for the deposit.

 

[Saint Michael]

A bad question on this forum.

 

[nageov3t]

for what it's worth, I parlayed my english lit degree + 3 years in customer server + tinkering on computers as a hobby into an IT job with a web hosting company.

 

[Jschmuck2]

Bad place to ask. The people on this forum exist only to repair servers and speak in binary. Things that are not set in black and white elude them.

 

[cvrefugee]

I know this is a tech-related forum, but I though I'd give it a shot. BTW, Is IT easier than CS? I don't think my college offered IT back then, but it sounds much easier than CS. Last year I took Intro to Computing and got a 98% without really studying. Oh well!

 

[blinky8225]

You can do lots of things. From alumni at my school, I have found that a person's major doesn't really pigeonhole some one. We have many English or History majors that taking banking or consulting jobs that clearly had nothing to do with their major right after graduating. It depends on what you want to do. For something somewhat related to history, journalism or public service is a route some others take.

 

[dartworth]

law..?

fbi..?

cia..?

 

[cvrefugee]

My dad is an attorney...not sure if I want to go to law school. I'd love to work for the CIA. It may help that I know Spanish and Portuguese, maybe I could be a foreign correspondent, lol.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Grad school is a great option, maybe an MBA?

 

[cvrefugee]

About Grad school, how does that compare to undergrad? I mean, are the classes longer and more difficult, how many credits are needed, etc.

 

[Q]

Burger King manager?

 

[cvrefugee]

I looked at my college's grad program and it's not something I'm really interested in. My Senior Seminar in 20th C. American History kicked my butt (I somehow managed to get an A in that class after writing a 23-page research paper).

 

[grrl]

If it helps you any, remember that Jack Welch was a history major.

 

[IEC]

IMO unless you have non-school experience and/or get lucky, grad school is a must.

 

[RaistlinZ]

Originally posted by: cvrefugee
My dad is an attorney...not sure if I want to go to law school. I'd love to work for the CIA. It may help that I know Spanish and Portuguese, maybe I could be a foreign correspondent, lol.

Here's one https://www.cia.gov/careers/jo...ign-media-analyst.html">job posting</a> from the CIA's website:


Open Source Officer (Foreign Media Analyst)
Work Schedule: Full Time
Salary: $44,465 ? $86,801
Location: Washington, DC metropolitan area

Open Source Officers (OSOs) are the Intelligence Community's foreign media experts. They use foreign language and area knowledge to review and assess foreign open media sources, including Internet sites, newspapers, press agencies, television, radio and specialized publications, collecting intelligence from these media to deliver high-impact products to the US foreign affairs community. OSOs develop and apply in-depth knowledge of a broad range of foreign media to identify trends and patterns, and to write analytical products. They may also translate text, audio and video information and select materials from the media for translation by independent contract translators. OSOs research and analyze the media environment in a particular country or region and prepare media analyses that inform customers of subtle relationships and trends in the media.

The candidates we seek are creative, with a keen interest in foreign affairs, strong writing and analytical skills, a well-developed facility for reading and translating one or more of a broad range of foreign languages, and working knowledge of the Internet. Many OSOs have lived in their region of interest and/or have formally studied the politics and history of a particular country or region.

Positions are in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, with limited opportunities for overseas travel and assignments. In addition to salary and benefits, these Officers are eligible to earn annual language "bonus" pay based on in-house language proficiency testing. OSOs may also have the opportunity to take courses in additional languages and area studies as well as other relevant training.

As a part of the screening process, selected applicants will be sent a language proficiency test and asked to provide an analytic writing sample. The following languages, or language combinations, with relevant area knowledge are sought: Arabic; Bulgarian; Central Asian and Russian; Chinese; Czech; Dari/Pashtu; Farsi/Persian; French and Arabic; French or Portuguese and African Studies; Greek; Hebrew and Arabic; Hindi; Hungarian and Romanian; Indonesian; Korean; Polish; Russian and Ukrainian; Serbo-Croatian; Turkish; and Urdu.


You said you're good at research, analysis, and writing, which would seem to fit this job pretty well. :thumbsup: As long as you have a clean record (their polygraph and background checks are extensive) you should be a good candidate. I'm not sure if it's exactly what you had in mind, but it could certainly lead to other things. The Agency has all sorts of positions for analysts and people with foreign language knowlege.

You'll probably want to at least have a Master's degree and some relevant work experience though.

 

[blinky8225]

Well if you want to go to grad school or professional school, you should have a reason to go there, too. Or will we be seeing, job/career for a Ph.D in in history in a few years? And yes, if 23 pages seemed unbearable to you, grad school probably isn't for you. I'd hazard a guess that a history graduate student writes at least 100 if not more pages every semester. However, if you meant graduate school as in law or business, that's different.

 

[miri]

The current president of the US has a B.A. in history

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: miri
The current president of the US has a B.A. in history

Yeah because he's really awesome and should be used as an example :roll:

 

[miri]

Originally posted by: RyanSengara

Originally posted by: miri
The current president of the US has a B.A. in history

Yeah because he's really awesome and should be used as an example :roll:

instead of criticizing others, why dont you help the OP and give some useful examples?

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: miri

Originally posted by: RyanSengara

Originally posted by: miri
The current president of the US has a B.A. in history

Yeah because he's really awesome and should be used as an example :roll:

instead of criticizing others, why dont you help the OP and give some useful examples?

There really aren't any, history majors are very similar to sociology, political science, and psychology, paths to masters or doctorate programs.

 

[cvrefugee]

Originally posted by: RaistlinZHere's one https://www.cia.gov/careers/jo...ign-media-analyst.html">job posting</a> from the CIA's website:


Open Source Officer (Foreign Media Analyst)
Work Schedule: Full Time
Salary: $44,465 ? $86,801
Location: Washington, DC metropolitan area

Open Source Officers (OSOs) are the Intelligence Community's foreign media experts. They use foreign language and area knowledge to review and assess foreign open media sources, including Internet sites, newspapers, press agencies, television, radio and specialized publications, collecting intelligence from these media to deliver high-impact products to the US foreign affairs community. OSOs develop and apply in-depth knowledge of a broad range of foreign media to identify trends and patterns, and to write analytical products. They may also translate text, audio and video information and select materials from the media for translation by independent contract translators. OSOs research and analyze the media environment in a particular country or region and prepare media analyses that inform customers of subtle relationships and trends in the media.

The candidates we seek are creative, with a keen interest in foreign affairs, strong writing and analytical skills, a well-developed facility for reading and translating one or more of a broad range of foreign languages, and working knowledge of the Internet. Many OSOs have lived in their region of interest and/or have formally studied the politics and history of a particular country or region.

Positions are in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, with limited opportunities for overseas travel and assignments. In addition to salary and benefits, these Officers are eligible to earn annual language "bonus" pay based on in-house language proficiency testing. OSOs may also have the opportunity to take courses in additional languages and area studies as well as other relevant training.

As a part of the screening process, selected applicants will be sent a language proficiency test and asked to provide an analytic writing sample. The following languages, or language combinations, with relevant area knowledge are sought: Arabic; Bulgarian; Central Asian and Russian; Chinese; Czech; Dari/Pashtu; Farsi/Persian; French and Arabic; French or Portuguese and African Studies; Greek; Hebrew and Arabic; Hindi; Hungarian and Romanian; Indonesian; Korean; Polish; Russian and Ukrainian; Serbo-Croatian; Turkish; and Urdu.


You said you're good at research, analysis, and writing, which would seem to fit this job pretty well. :thumbsup: As long as you have a clean record (their polygraph and background checks are extensive) you should be a good candidate. I'm not sure if it's exactly what you had in mind, but it could certainly lead to other things. The Agency has all sorts of positions for analysts and people with foreign language knowlege.

You'll probably want to at least have a Master's degree and some relevant work experience though.

I like that one, or this one too:

Intelligence Collection Analyst

Do they train you or what? How can I get experience in this type of field?

 

[blinky8225]

Here's a rather extensive list from my university's site. Some of them seem like stretches, but most are reasonable.

Link