Are the job opportunites the same for English as in History?

Hello all,

I recently graduated from school with a Bachelors of Arts in History. I was proud of my accomplishments as I also have an associates in business. Recently, I have been thinking about my career options. I have taught high school for a year, but I'm not really sure that it is something that I could see myself doing for the rest of my life. Because of that I have been looking for a job, but everyone has been saying that with a history degree you can't really do much with it. Maybe I am letting people get to me I don't know. I recently thought about going back to school for a degree in either English or Spanish. I know that it's another BA, but I figure that it might provide more career options that I may not have with the history degree. So my question is, are the career or job opportunities the same whether I major in history, english or spanish? Or are they really different?

 

I would say "yes, same." Bachelor's degrees (for anything other than RN, licensed engineers, CPAs where a degree is required for the job) are stepping stones to a career. They get you in the door. Some employers use them as a screening tool. So IMHO, getting another BA would be a waste of time and money.

We had a recent thread on what to do after college here: http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/42424-life-after-college.html

I suggest that you narrow your focus to potential career paths. After you decide, perhaps that would be when a certificate would be useful - Human Resources or Technical Writing or Marketing/advertising...or??? There are short programs for post-BA degree holders that would provide a step up. But I wouldn't suggest doing that until you decide what it is that you might want to do for a career path. Don't let negative people get to you. Do some research, talk to people you know, maybe conduct some informational interviews, get on LinkedIn and network. You could also start with your college's career center.

 

Why not consider finishing an MBA? Take some CLEP tests if you need to round out the minimum requirements and enroll in a solid MBA program. At any rate, it will help you in your current profession. I had a history teacher in high school who was a licensed realtor and he was the best I had in a long time. I think immersing yourself in actual business compliments the history education greatly. History is an applied studies major IMHO. We learn from the past so we can make reasoned decisions in the future. Its very complimentary with business.

 

Ryoder has a good point. If you get an MBA it will make you a more well-rounded teacher, and could provide a springboard to other careers. For example, working for a textbook pubisher as a representative or marketing educational programs to school districts or marketing for an online college. There are some certificates that you can complete where the MBA program will take them toward your MBA - someone might have a link for you.

But an MBA is a big undertaking if (a) you don't know what you want to do and (b) if you don't have unlimited money. Online MBAs are good because you can take one class at a time and still work and pay as you go.

 

I hate to rain on your parade but I think all three seem like pretty bleak prospects.

 

Great Ted, kill the dreams of the young folks. Sigh. LOL. No, Ted is right...Even with a PhD they are really bleak...in history...that is...

 

Say, Tireman, how goes it with UNISA?

 

I agree. Strongly consider some career interest testing (self-admin or professional).

 

Still going along. First two revised chapters should be turned in early next week. Next two revised chapters should go in late July.

 

If you wouldn't mind a teaching job and wouldn't mind moving to BFE, Virginia, you could apply for the position that I just left. They have a great tuition reimbursement benefit.

-Matt

 

Nice, BFE, Virginia. Somewhere between "Hicks in the Sticks" and "Moonshine Run Roads".

 

I was really thinking of going into publishing or non profits. Is a bachelors in history still respected by employers? I guess i just feel that it isn't as much because I have heard of people with English degrees going into Pr/Marketing/Advertising, but I have never heard the same for people with degrees in history.

 

I don't think you need to believe that you are at a disadvantage with a History degree - it's all in how you present yourself.

As I said above, I don't think hiring managers in non-profits care if a new hire's degree is in English, History or Psychology - it's a minimum hurdle applicants need to have (or it could be replaced by a few years of increasingly demanding work). Most recent college graduates are looking for entry level jobs in which the applicants are pretty interchangeable. A Bachelor's as a screening tool tells managers that you have some determination (not everyone can get a degree), have a minimum level of speaking, analytical and writing skills, and are reasonably smart. Anything above that you'll need to demonstrate via your resume and cover letter/email.

The good thing about non-profits is that you can do some volunteer work for some of them (or some that are related) to learn about what they need, what they do, who they hire. For example the YWCA of Seattle (I’m on their advisory board) has this job posting: https://www.ywcaworks.org/Page.aspx?pid=1053 This type of job would be a good entry level position for you, assuming that you have good computer skills.

If you are going to get some more classes, I'd suggest a Certificate in Non-Profit Management for holders of Bachelor's degrees. Potential universities include Johns Hopikins, U of Illinois- Chicago, Duke, UTexas -Austin, UColorado - Denver etc (I found these in a few minutes via google). You can do a search on this site for options and ideas. I suggest looking at a combination of location of the online program, cost and name-recognition. For example if you live in Texas, then UT would be appealing and if you're on the east coast, Johns Hopkins or Duke might be a better choice.

If you want to go into publishing, you'll need to present your degree in terms of what publishers would want - good writing, editing and presentation skills plus computer skills. If you're not in NY, though, publishing is hard to break into. You could also look for in-house publishing or writer positions, even for non-profits.

Both publishing and non-profit careers would be something that you could investigate via networking, perhaps informational interviews and some research. Your local library should have books such as "Career Opportunities in the Publishing Industry" by Yeager or "The Non-Profit Career Guide: How to land a job that makes a difference" by Cryer. Then start researching potential companies.

Ok, that’s all I’ve got now. Good luck!

 

To some extent. But, English offers more job opportunities as compared to that of History. Many companies want graduates, so in that case any graduate from of any stream can appear for that examination and get the job.