angela638

Hi there,

My name is Angela and I graduated from Northeastern University with a BS in Psychology in 2010. I have been gainfully employed in the field for years - this is the only path I've ever really explored ever since I was about 17 years old. I am now 24.

Recently I thought I wanted to be an RN so I could make more money in the field, but now I'm realizing I'm really not that passionate about psychology/medicine anymore. It doesn't excite me; it feels burdensome.

I am NOT good at science/math and my transcript reflects it. My strong suits are writing/English (I have never gotten less than an A- in any related course and test above average in them) and my true interest lies in history (specifically Tudor England); I read and write voraciously and have done so on this topic for years.

I dream of being able to study this area of history and make a career out of it, but I don't know how. I have NO connections in this world so when it comes to references for graduate school? I have none. I don't even know if a place would take me because my undergrad/work experience is vastly different from history. I also am aware that the careers in these types of fields are hard to come by but I'm not willing to let go of the dream just yet.

Has anyone ever done anything even remotely similar to this? Or have any advice as to what I should do? Please!! Thank you so much in advance.

juillet

What do you want to do? There are quite a few things you can do in history. The traditional route is to become a history professor, but the job market is abysmal in that field and it would require a PhD that takes on average 8-10 years to complete.

You could become a history teacher, which would likely require a master's (or second bachelor's) in the field combined with teacher certification. That would probably take you 2-3 years to complete.

Or you could do museum work. There are a variety of degrees that lead to a variety of jobs within museums. Museum curators usually need an MA or PhD in history, but there are a lot of jobs in museums that only require bachelor's degrees. You could also be a public historian, which may require an MA or a PhD in history.

The thing is, there's a difference between being passionate about a field and wanting to study more of it and having to make a career out of it. I too love history, and I always joke to people that if I hadn't gone into psychology myself I might've gone into history instead. But in reality, I don't think I would. The study of history as a scholarly pursuit is different from the casual interest (even casual passionate interest in it) as a hobby. I read historical novels and histories all the time and I am able to indulge in my interest - even a very specific time period interest that could be developed into a research topic - without necessarily getting a degree and working in it. You could do that too, if you wanted. I guess what I'm saying is that you have to determine whether a career in history is worth the sacrifice for you, and worth braving the very bad job market in that field to take a chance, especially when you will most likely have to pay for your degree unless you get a PhD.