<p>Doing two MAs may not be uncommon, but I feel like students who do two MAs do them because they weren’t sure what they needed to do or they like studying. You certainly do not need to two MAs before pursuing a PhD. However, the average time to degree in the humanities is easily 8-10 years these days, and it is pretty common for people to get one MA before doing the PhD, so it can be a very long haul. And yes, academia these days is extremely competitive especially in the humanities.</p>
<p>I like warblersrule’s suggestions for other ways to work in the field.</p>
<p>That said, though, your major doesn’t decide what you do so much as your experiences do. If you majored in classics but interned at a consulting firm in your junior and senior summers, you could become a management consultant. If you majored in classics but learned how to program and developed an app, you could begin a start-up or get hired by a firm that needs software engineers. If you majored in classics and then got an MLS, you could be a librarian, too.</p>
<p>I think you can find a middle ground - you don’t need to major in computer science and read classics books on Saturdays to get your fix, but you also don’t need to pursue a PhD in classics in order to satisfy your craving. I think you can major in classics while also pursuing pragmatic internship experiences, working part-time jobs, and networking. You can also pick up useful skills - perhaps keep a minor in CS and learn to program?</p>