wandern

Hello All,

I'm hoping the knowledgeable posters on this board can offer me some advice on how to transition into the STEM field. If this isn't the best place to post, please let me know.

I'm a rising college senior at a state school in NY. I'm set to graduate in May 2013 with a BA in History and a minor in German. Originally I planned to pursue graduate studies in History with academia as my end goal. Lately, I've been rethinking that career path for a number of reasons (losing interest in the field, opportunity costs of a PhD, lack of jobs, etc).

Before I decided on my History major, I was very interested in pursuing a career in Environmental Science. ES, Geology, and Conservation Biology all interested me. My dilemma is, I'm not sure how to transition from the humanities into the STEM field. I know I'll need to define my interests more than the above and brush up on relevant the relevant core classes.

Has anyone else gone through this? At this point I can't stay at my current undergraduate school to earn my BS. I'd have to start the second degree basically from scratch. I'm 9 credits away from meeting the degree requirements for my BA so I'd like to graduate on time. Is it possible to gain employment with a humanities degree and basic science courses? Will I need to get my BS to be employable? I'm not interested in working in academia. Ideally I'd like to be "in the thick of it" covered in dirt in the field! Student loans are definitely a consideration, but I'd be willing to pursue the BS if I could find an affordable program.

Unfortunately, my history degree didn't give me much time to take any STEM classes so I'm planning on attending my local community college after I graduate. At the CC I would brush up on math, biology, geology, physics, and chemistry.

Any advice would be very much appreciated! I know this may not be the easiest thing to do coming from a non-science background, but I think it's something I need to pursue. Thanks!

terenc

Is it possible to take another year (5th year) and get a double major or even a minor?

What kind of work experience/internships have you had with the history major?

Mokonon

I think it will be very challenging to get a STEM job without an appropriate STEM degree. I've worked at several companies since I earned my undergraduate degree and I never met a single engineer or scientist who didn't have a STEM background.

An alternative to earning a second bachelor's degree is to take the required undergrad STEM courses for the field that you're interested in and apply to a graduate program. Many universities allow outside students to take classes without being in a degree program. My homework partner last quarter switched from Mech Eng to Comp Sci in this way.

wandern

terenc - The fifth year is a possibly. I may be able to squeeze in a minor, but I'm not sure that an entire minor is possible because I need a few pre-reqs. It's still something to look into. Thank you for the suggestion!

As for internships, I worked as an internship in a Senator's office. Policy is definitely an option. I didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoy researching history, but it's still on the table. Next year I will also have the opportunity to intern in a historic society by my university. I'm hoping to intern the summer after I graduate. I've thought about pursing policy work or museum experience. As for my work history, I have several years of experience working in an academic library. I have toyed with the idea of pursuing library science since I've enjoyed working there so much, but I've heard the job market is competitive as well.

Mokonon - That makes f sense re: the STEM degree. I haven't really explored grad programs yet, but that's worth exploring. I know I can get the pre-reqs and lower-level courses out of the way at CC. I assume I could do any upper divisional coursework as a non-degree student. I'll have to look into that more! My main concern is funding, but I'm not expecting much financial aid as a second-degree student. Taking courses as a non-degree student may end up being more financially reasonable. Thank you for the suggestion!

Mokonon

Unfortunately, many schools restrict enrollment for certain classes. For instance, most of my undergrad computer science courses were restricted to "majors only". And even when enrollment isn't restricted, some courses are so impacted that they're effectively limited to majors only (because first priority is given to those students).

You'll have to do a lot of research on schools and different programs they offer. A second bachelor's may be a reasonable path, but you should keep in mind that many schools discourage students seeking second bachelor's degrees or only allow them for certain programs (my school flat-out does not accept students seeking second bachelor's degrees).

Since you are about to earn a bachelor's degree, perhaps you can land a decent job that will have a tuition reimbursement program for employees looking to further their education. You should ask about that when you're interviewing for jobs. My company has a tuition reimbursement program, though it's limited to about 11K per year.

Anyhow, good luck!

terenc

@wandern: Why don't you consider jobs that will take a history BA? Maybe see if you can get more internships/jobs with that Senator's office, etc; perhaps pursue graduate studies and then pursue research outside of academia (policy or think tank). Maybe apply for the Peace Corps / Americorps after college and the see if you can get a job at a non-profit afterwards.
There are possibilities for history majors. Its just that, unlike a STEM degree, those possibilities you have to create for yourself.
Now, obviously these paths are not easy, but they are certainly paths you can take.

wandern

teren - Thank you for the suggestions. I actually have considered Americorps. I've also looked into Cityyear and a few private school teaching fellowships. My main concern with these programs is the low salary. I will need to save up quite a bit to pay back my current loans/pursue anything else in the future. But, experience is experience! I do know about the loan reduction bit that comes with Americorps so that may help. I most likely will be applying for at least a few americorps programs and the teaching fellows for the fall even if it means very frugal living for a few months.