<p>With my BA in history back in the stone ages I went into trade publishing in NYC for 14 years, then 20+ years in museum administration, and two years ago back to publishing, this time scholarly/academic. Very satisfying, interesting career path – and not one that I planned or could have predicted.</p>
<p>With BA/MA in English, I have worked many years as an adjunct, and for the past 10 or so as an academic counselor/advisor in a federally funded college support program.</p>
<p>D graduated last May; her major was Latin American Studies. She’s currently a transportation program planner with the state DOT; however, they’ve just announced they may cut up to 250 position (out of 4,000+) to balance the budget. We’ve got our fingers crossed.</p>
<p>I majored in music and English and worked first as a journalist on a higher ed alumni magazine, then as music librarian for a state school of music, before returning to grad school to get a master’s in music therapy.</p>
<p>My former housemate (and upcoming maid of honor) has a degree from MIT in Comparative Media Studies. She designs and writes content for online elementary and middle school science textbooks.</p>
<p>A couple of other friends with the same degree were video game testers (both are in other careers now, I think) and worked on one of the Rock Band games.</p>
<p>Another friend has a degree from MIT in Creative Writing. She’s going back into academia next year, but she’s spent nearly six years as a technical writer (writing things like user manuals and other documentation) for a software company, and then as a manager at the same company. I know several other humanities majors who are tech writers.</p>
<p>A friend with a degree in Political Science is a research assistant to Sen. Mike Enzi.</p>
<p>Another friend with a degree in Political Science is a consultant at BCG.</p>
<p>D is graduating this year with a BA in Classics. She wants to go into publishing, on the editorial side. My husband’s quip is “from dead languages to a dying industry”, but she’s very good with words and she had an internship last summer at a university press which she loved. She’s already made contacts in the industry, so hopefully a job will follow. orchestramom, D would love your career!</p>
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<p>This is not a good economy period. I recruit college grads in civil engineering or construction management, both fields with 100% placement for the last 7 or 8 years. This year is dreadful and quite depressing at career fairs.</p>
<p>As far as my kids:</p>
<p>D has a degree in government, and is a canvasser and field manager for an environmental advocacy group.</p>
<p>S has three quarters of a degree in psych, and plays poker professionally.</p>
<p>Actually, neither needed degrees for what they do. (is there a smilie for puzzled shrug?):)</p>
<p>One of D’s friends is a production assistant for Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Another one works for a eco-company in Denver.</p>
<p>I have a PhD in English and have: worked as a caseworker for social services, worked as a banquet manager, did community education for a Victim’s Rights Organization which involved giving testimony to US House of Reps and organizing a state wide incest conference.</p>
<p>However, for the past 30 I have been an English professor, most of them tenured, at the same institution.</p>
<p>DD graduated with a degree in American Studies and is an intern (unpaid) at an anti-death penalty organization and a nanny to pay bills. She also does on-line computer work for a wedding photographer putting together albums. Pays well and is on her own time but no benefits.</p>
<p>She goes to law school next year.</p>
<p>DS is a Classics Major and so far wants to be an international expert on THE AENEID. If his ideas gel a bit more, I will let y’all know.</p>
<p>I don’t have a lot of great stories from this generation yet. My daughter and her friends are all in inherently temporary gigs (fellowships, TFA), or in graduate school, or doing a variety of barista-type jobs while they try to get a foothold in something.</p>
<p>In my generation . . . lots and lots of great stories, including:</p>
<p>French major and amateur musician, taught high school French for awhile in a provincial city, also acted as accompanist for visiting musicians not of the rank to bring their own. Was convinced by one of these to move to NYC to be a professional accompanist, and wound up as an extremely successful manager of classical musicians and ultimately CEO of a large artist management company.</p>
<p>Spanish major with very undistinguished grades, worked part time for a small stockbroker, ultimately became a respected (and highly compensated) equity fund manager for a mutual fund group. Got her CFA certification along the way, but no other degrees.</p>
<p>Comp lit major became chef in an iconic (but short-lived) high-end local restaurant, and then a partner (with her husband, an entrepreneurial type) in a very successful high-end catering business.</p>
<p>English major, high school teacher, small sideline in importing rugs from his native country turned into a huge retail operation plus wholesale rug distributor.</p>
<p>English PhD, drug addict, gambling addict, erratic behavior, had a friend who was producing a TV show, friend bought a script he wrote on spec, episode won an Emmy, guy became a writer, then head writer, then producer of that and subsequent shows, cleaned up, is a big deal.</p>
<p>Many journalists (if that career still exists).</p>
<p>Double major in psychology and American Studies, became women’s health advocate, bounced back and forth between public sector and private nonprofits/foundations, currently state cabinet officer running department with 15,000 employees and $20B+ budget.</p>
<p>History major, worked for a stock exchange’s options trading floor, ultimately running a pit, then did post-bac pre-med and is now an Emergency Medicine specialist.</p>
<p>I think that undergrad education, in theory if not fact, is still not supposed to be vocational. With a humanities major, kids should be able to apply to all kinds of jobs. It can take a few years of “wise wandering” to settle, though.</p>
<p>I totally agree, compmom.</p>
<p>Humanities majors are not created equal, similiar to the sciences folks. Foreign languages, English, and History are great majors because they are so broad. You can teach, translate, work for the government, just an assortment of jobs, while science majors tend to have a more direct (yet narrow) career path. BUT, I would definitely steer away from majors that are too narrow like “Medieval Studies” or “Art History.”</p>
<p>There are thousands of successful professionals in all sorts of fields who majored in Art History and Medieval Studies.</p>
<p>My boss majored in Art History; he manages a team of people around the world and manages a budget in the hundreds of millions. He writes well; he has strong critical thinking skills; he speaks several languages; he has tremendous people skills and the ability to push consensus without $%^&ing people off. He is also lots of fun if you get stranded in Barcelona or Amsterdam due to an airline strike since he knows where every significant piece of late baroque or mannerist art is hanging in every major city around the world. But that’s not why he’s successful (but surely a bonus for those of us who travel with him.)</p>
<p>I forgot to mention my sometime-college-roommate / Art History major who is a decamillionaire commercial real estate developer (with an intervening MBA) (and the most impressive contemporary art collection I’ve seen).</p>
<p>Also a friend who was an Art History major, then museum curator, now CEO of a really significant archive/museum. I think she has some sort of master’s too. </p>
<p>One place I think there is actually a lot of opportunity is in state government, especially in places like Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, California where the state government is a long way from the big cultural centers that attract lots of people. Smart, analytical young people are still something of a rare commodity there, and once they get some traction they can get promoted and start accomplishing things awfully fast, and even sometimes switch over to the private sector. Right now things are horrible, with hiring freezes everywhere, but that isn’t going to last forever.</p>
<p>JHS: Great stories. Blossom: Great to shout out art history boss.</p>
<p>People have to follow their own path. I really couldn’t squeeze my classics majoring son into another hole, no matter how hard I tried.</p>
<p>If/when he can’t earn a living, he’ll reconsider.</p>
<p>He has written political policy that is excellent because it is informed by a careful study of Latin rhetorical devices, something the poli sci kids doing the same thing didn’t have.</p>
<p>I don’t think he’ll go that route, but with his degree from Williams and some experience writing policy, I bet he could.</p>
<p>My son is a 2008 Swat grad. He majored in Economics and minored in Film and Media studies. He did not want to do Economics at work and ruled that out. He did have difficulty finding work. He is now working for a startup and doing quite well (and building a nest egg for the future). He plans to go back for a MA or a Phd in New Media Studies in the Fall of 2010. He does not yet know where this will all lead. If he gets into PhD programs (and there is a big if here, because of the very low acceptance rates to the places he has applied), then he will become a professor. If not, he plans to start his own media business some time in the future. He could still start his own media business in any case. His specialty is Digital Culture.</p>
<p>I spent 2 years teaching Art History as adjunct faculty for a Free Methodist college that ran programs for inmates inside America’s largest maximum security prison (7,000 inmates). For field trips, I took them out into the prison rotunda, under armed guard, to study the Roman domed ceiling. At the time I was very pregnant (we’re talking basketball-under-the-blazer pregnant). The security desk always had me open the briefcase to rifle through my slides and lecture notes, but never dared ask what might be under the blazer. Like some peasant in a rice paddy, I had the baby and returned to teach within a matter of days. It’s fun to tell S-1 how we spent time together in prison. Very proud of that.</p>
<p>So you never know what great jobs an Art History major can snag. We’re not all Patty Hearst, y’know.</p>
<p>After grad school (2.5 years) in Landscape Architecture/Regional Planning and government/consulting work for 10 years, I ditched all that to retrain as an Elementary School teacher (one-year-MAT), then taught public grade school for another decade. </p>
<p>Basically I decided what kids do in school was more interesting than most anything else. Tapping into their creativity was a joy. Besides raising my own kids, the fact that I taught 200 other kids to read, one-by-one, means more to me than anything else I’ve done. could have become the Art Specialist teacher but preferred doing all subjects integrated; literacy/math/science foundations. Goes back to loving Renaissance Art the most. Of my students, perhaps one will be the next Leonardo DaVinci but as long as he doesn’t end up in max security, I’m satisfied.</p>
<p>Ha! Another Art History undergrad and masters degree here! I moved to Italy as a grad student and after I moved back I got a job at Paramount Studios as the contact person for an Italian production company. After that it was off to an be an art rep (representing visual artists) and after that I worked at an Ad Agency (think Joan in Mad Men, but without the great 60’s wardrobe). I now have had my own company for the last 20 years and would not trade in my arts education for anything.</p>
<p>This is a great thread. We always have S ask what any of our house guests majored in, some are way different than what they ended up in.<br>
I’m ordering the ‘You majored in What book?’ as we speak.</p>