<p>I've been spending a significant amount of time recently to thinking about my goals, both within the context of my next two (last two) years of undergraduate study, the possibilities of graduate work, and the long term beyond that. My major is history, but I have broad reaching interests beyond that, chiefly in the field of international relations and politics (the emphasis within all of those disciplines being the Middle East). </p>
<p>One conclusion that I have come to is that I do not want to enter academia. For a long time, I held that as my central ambition, but I have come to realize that it is simply not for me. That said, I do want to complete some form of graduate education, though equally important to me is the continued study of pertinent languages, to the point of advanced proficiency. So essentially, the sort of graduate program that I am seeking is not cut and dry at all--there are a preponderance of possibilities, just as there are possible careers after that.</p>
<p>Thus, the immediate problem that I am grappling with is what to study in the next two years. Do I delve deeply into the aforementioned fields, taking every course that is even tangentially related? Or do I use the opportunity that college affords to take courses in random, interesting subjects that I may never have the chance to formally study ever again? This is something of an academic existential crisis, but also a question with immediate ramifications--this fall, there are very few courses being offered that are at the appropriate level important to my field. So I could take the chance to take very random things (introductory computer science, marine science, archeology, or a host of other interesting options not particularly relevant to Middle Eastern history/IR), or take courses related to my field that aren't quite ideal. It's hard to articulate precisely why this is giving me pause without delving further into my exact background and the courses in question, so the overarching question here is: exactly how deep into a field of study should one go to both prepare for graduate level study, while also taking advantage of other college opportunities and keeping an intellectual flexibility for other potential futures?</p>
<p>Whew. Sorry for my rambling inanity, but I'm interested in anyone who can contribute, even if not working in those fields.</p>