<p>I will begin my senior year at NAU next month. Since transferring from a California community college last fall I have taken at least eighteen units per semester and I am taking twenty-one this fall to graduate early.
My major is in history and my minors are in Asian studies and sociology. What I really want to do is teach English in Japan on the government-sponsored JET program (I am fluent in Japanese) but if that does not work (it is highly selective) I am torn between applying to grad school and law school. Although I have always dreamed of becoming a prosecutor, many people have tried to discourage me from law school (unless it’s a T14 program; my GPA is 3.7 which is too low to be competitive) due to the employment outlook for lawyers and the enormous debt i would incur; my undergrad debt is only $18,000.
I realize that a BA in history from a tier 3 school isn’t very marketable however, so I feel that I have to only apply to high-ranking MA programs, but I’m unsure where or what to actually study. I’m leaning toward an international relations MA because I’m not sure if I have the dedication to complete a doctorate in history, and I’ve read that there are few jobs in academia going around.</p>
<p>Graduate school, including law school, isn’t for the undecided. I think you should consider working for a couple of years to give you time to figure out what you want to do. Teaching in Japan isn’t a bad idea, even if you don’t get into JET, there must be other options. </p>
<p>Until you have a LSAT score, it is hard to give you advice about law school.</p>
<p>I agree with @katliamom. I worked for a year and a half between UG and grad. school and it gave me a maturity and a sense of purpose I might not have had if I had gone straight from one to the other. S1 graduated in May and got a job related to his field, but he still hasn’t ruled out graduate school for history, his second major. Time is on your side right now and very few things in life are set in stone. </p>
<p>Apply for jobs and if you lucky, obtain few offers. Then (again if you lucky), keep in mind that many places are actually paying tuition for grad. school. If you lucky, then you might think about choosing your employment at such a place. Both my H. and I obtained our college (in my case) and MBA (both of us) thru such employment. In fact we went for the MBA for one reason - why not. We did not need (and still do not need) an MBA, but it helps to find a next job (which I have discovered at several interviews)</p>
<p>There are other programs to teach English in Japan, in case JET doesn’t select you. I have a relative currently participating in one of those programs and so far have not heard anything negative about it. Try asking around and checking for opportunities. Consider being a legislative aid for one of your elected officials–history and English are good backgrounds for that while you figure out what you want to do next. Would NOT advise law school if you’re not POSITIVE that is the route you want to pursue–it’s expensive and there are tons of hungry lawyers out there who will work for very low wages and long hours, hoping to work their way up.</p>
<p>Here is another program worh looking into (with a few fellowships in Japan):</p>
<p><a href=“For Applicants | Princeton In Asia”>For Applicants | Princeton In Asia;