I plan on majoring in history in college, but I was wondering if I should pair it with another major? Or if it is a good idea to double major at all? If so, do you have any suggestions as to what I should pair a history major with? I’m just worried that just majoring in history will not benefit me in the future. Thanks!
You’ll be fine with a history major. Jobs are more dependent on what you do in college, not what you major in.
Whether or not you should pair something else with it depends on your interests and career goals. If you knew you wanted to go into the tech field, for example, a double major with computer science could benefit you. Or if you wanted to do research on economic history, then a double-major with economics could help - or if you were interested in Latin American history, then maybe doubling with Spanish.
But you don’t have to double major at all.
I can’t really decide, and of course I have a bit of time before I settle on anything, but I find medicine and anthropology very interesting. Would it make sense to major in one of them along with history? Thanks! @juillet
Medicine is a professional school major. To apply, you need to take the pre-med courses (biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, sometimes calculus and/or statistics, English composition, often biochemistry, and social studies), get high grades, take the MCAT, and do pre-med extracurriculars.
Some of the other social studies subjects can be useful supporting subjects for study of history. E.g. understanding of economics and political science can be helpful in studying the history of some place during times of important economic and political developments.
Everyone in my family has studied medicine so I was contemplating about that, but it’s not necessarily what I want to do and thanks for the info on the pre-med courses! Also, would you consider international studies critical to someone majoring in history? It sounds interesting but I don’t really know what all it entails. Thanks! @ucbalumnus
International studies could mean the cross disciplinary study of international things. For example, a historian could study the history of a region that includes various nations. A political scientist could study the relations between several different nations. An economist could study international trade. All of them could study the history, politics, and economics of something like the € (euro currency).
Oh, okay, thank you for the clarification! @ucbalumnus
History and anthropology could work well together. You could also be pre-med with a history major if you wanted to, or you could double major in something like public health or health and society if your school has that.
@juillet I’ve been thinking about what could possibly work with a history major if I eventually decide to double major, and I agree that something public or health-related could be very beneficial in future career(s). Thank you for the help!
Guys really, at least let him be aware of the whole picture. You’d be better off studying sociology than history. Sociology has its roots in today’s world plus gives you a chance to learn statistical research. You’re still early in your college career, please consider switching majors. You could choose anything: communications, biology, sociology, foreign language, etc. besides history.
To back up my point, I can really only think of three professions for a history major. These are: professor, historian, and museum director. Mind you these are the relevant careers. I can’t morally rationalize telling somebody to major in an unprofitable subject when I know full well that it’s a bad idea.
Thank you for the advice! Oh and by the way, I am a female, haha @BlueEyedGuy2015
What would you say about a career in anthropology, if you have any thoughts on that?
Anthropology is very similar to history, just look at the required courses. You’re not wrong for thinking history might not benefit you in the future, it won’t help much at all. A stable career doesn’t show up out of nowhere. The economy has to have a need for your skills in order for you to have true job stability. Pick something else to major in, seriously. I’m not saying it has to be the hardest subject possible but pick a major that will give you SOME chance.
Just because some people have a narrow view of what someone can do with a history major doesn’t mean that it’s a bad major, or that those actually are the only things you can do with a history major. A history major can do pretty much anything, given that jobs are more predicated upon the skills that you learn and the experiences you have than the actual major that you take up. A classmate of mine was a history major and went to work at Merrill Lynch post-college. Another friend who was a history major was a Naval officer for four years and is currently a business manager for a large international corporation. And, as I’ve mentioned before, I know a philosophy major who is the COO of a small business, a French major who went to manage food companies before returning to study dietetics in graduate school, an English major who works at a large business magazine…etc.
To hear people tell it, the only majors that result in employment are computer science, finance, or engineering. But if that were true, there’d be massive unemployment of college students. That’s not the case, though.
Anthropology is actually more similar to sociology than it is to history; they are often in the same department. And one could learn statistical research skills in history, too. Learning statistics is more about the classes that you choose to take than the major you’re in - anyone in any major can choose to take some social science statistics classes if they wanted to. Likewise, a history major could do an internship at a corporation, work part-time at a company, learn to program by taking a CS course…etc.
Yeah I hear what you’re saying. I stand by my original statement though. You said you knew “a French major”, “an English major”, “a history major”…but do you really believe those people have typical stories? They sound more atypical to me. But listing the jobs your friends who majored in history ended up getting only proves my point. You don’t need to major in history to work at Merrill Lynch or be a business manager.
Sometimes it’s not the major but the name of the school that lands you a prestigious job. From what I had heard computer science is not a guarantee anymore. Plus, the term underemployment exists and history majors (lots of them) are underemployed because the only jobs that directly relate to history are the three I already mentioned. I’m trying to help her by giving her much needed info so she can make a very important decision. It makes no difference if anthropology is closer to sociology, because anthropology is a bad choice. Sociology is better though.
@BlueEyedGuy2015 I see what you’re saying about the possibilities/disadvantages of majoring in history/anthropology and I still have time before I decide on what I want to do. Based on your viewpoint, what would you say would be a good college major? I already know that I don’t want to do anything finance/business related; those areas do not interest me whatsoever. I’m more into science and international studies and anything like that. I take all opinions into consideration and they are all helping me out so thank you to everyone!
My son is passionate about history, politics and the social sciences. However, he decided to major in economics and may minor or double major in one of the others. Some schools have econ under their school of business, others under arts and sciences and some offer it both ways. Finance/business may not be that interesting to you now, but having an understanding of “the system” will help you down the road. If you think about it, much of human history has been driven by economics.
I would recommend a foreign language as a major, that’s not such a bad option. Just be sure the language is something you can moderately master in 2-3 years. Economics/Public Policy is another option; if science fields are your strong suit then you have your pick basically. I just look at what can be done with each degree, the unemployment rates in each field, and the difficulty of the program into consideration when deciding if a subject is monetarily worth studying. Intrinsic value is separate but it’s smart to not forget all factors when making an important decision. Good luck to you.