To start off, I have read all the linked posts on careers as a historian, or what a person majoring in History can look forward to for a career etc. This isn't asking any of those questions.
I'm in the Navy, I just started my Junior year of my Bachelors (I have an associates already). After this semester, I will be done with all prerequisites, and I'll be starting my core classes in my major (History).
I have a few problems.
1.) When I start my next semester, that will be it, I can't practically change my major. My funds (Tuition Assistance) will not go on forever, and I am on shore duty right now, so I CAN and WILL finish my Bachelors before I leave for either Sea Duty, or get out. I do not have almost any flexibility here, I have to set my sights and reach my goal.
2.) I am stationed in overseas, and I am only distance learning. Right now I am going to University of Maryland University College. This leaves me with being unable to network very effectively. One officer I work with has sort of become my mentor, and he told me the best part about college is meeting people and discovering career paths you otherwise would have never known existed. This is very difficult. The second problem I have come into is that UMUC isn't exactly Harvard. It's 100% distant learning for me and I'm afraid this will limit my choices when I graduate as to where I can go for graduate school. Ideally, I would LOVE to go to UMASS (but they only accept like 20 people a year for their History programs). Will going to a college like UMUC limit my choices for my next school?
So my question is broad I suppose. I would LOVE some insight from actual historians on my situation here. First of all, I have no idea if I'm going to stay in the Navy or not. Second, my passion is American History. I LOVE it. But, I can still change my major. My other passion is Computer Science, and a hard science such as that would provide me with more options than a under graduate degree in History.
What do I do? Do I change my major to a hard science? Do I do what I love? Will my situation now impact my choices for graduate school to the point where it's going to diminish or halt my forward progress as a student of History?
Thank you for taking the time to read my post and honestly, any input would be very helpful. I don't have anyone in my field of study here to talk to about this, and I absolutely LOVE this subreddit.
I'm a biologist (classical history undergrad), and from experience as a (relatively new) faculty member at a state school + the time I spent as a graduate student I can offer some perspective/advice about how to approach graduate school in general. By the way, I ended up in biology from history undergrad because I was passionately drawn to conservation, not because I didn't want to make a career in history, so I would actually encourage you to follow your passion for history and not switch to the "hard sciences". I love my job, I work all kinds of exotic places around the globe trying to save endangered species and it's amazing... but I still have days when I wish I'd stuck to studying ancient Greece. OK, so here is my advice:
Often times getting into a good graduate program comes down to finding a person you really want to work with and developing a correspondence with them before you apply. So you mentioned UMASS... I would suggest going to the UMASS Department of History page, and looking through their faculty. Find someone who is at least tangentially specialized in what you want to do (so, American History). Think about what aspect of this you would really like to focus on. Note, I'm not saying you have to know exactly what your graduate project would be... but have a general idea, for instance, "naval history in the war of 1812" (obviously I just made that up, but you get the idea). Contact the person you've identified as being most aligned with your interests, and just ask them about coming to school there to work with them. Trust me when I say that this is a much better strategy than just applying to a few schools and hoping for the best. Faculty will be straightforward with you about rather they are taking students on, if there is funding, what resources they have to help you pursue your work, etc. Graduate school is really more about being an independent scholar, so if you take all things being equal into account (good grades, etc.) what will set you apart in the eyes of an admissions committee is rather or not you are someone the department sees as a good risk... are you someone who is going to come there and do serious research?
The way graduate admissions works (at least in my experience) is that if you meet minimum qualifications (GPA, etc.) your application will be forwarded to the department and then considered by a committee made up of faculty. Let's say they have forty applications for ten spots. You are one of the forty. But you have also been in email correspondence with your potential mentor. Suddenly you rise to the top of the pile because you are not just a random application... but a name that he knows. "Hey, this guy DearSergio contacted me, and he has a great idea for a thesis researching blah blah blah, and I would really enjoy mentoring him". So that is why approaching someone about working with them is a good idea. In terms of rather your undergrad institution matters, well, in the field of history I have no idea but I bet it matters far less than rather or not you have an excellent idea for a research project and good grades/recommendations. Truthfully coming from some Ivy League School might make a difference if while there you spent four years working with some famous historian and produced some groundbreaking independent research project. But I'm not sure it will impress anyone beyond that. Getting into a good graduate program is really all about making the connection with a mentor that you want to work with. So I suggest starting with that.
Quick Edit: My SO (also an academic) mentioned this, and it is of value- don't go to graduate school unless you get funding. Seriously. Look for a program/mentor who has funding. You won't make much as a TA/RA, but you should get your tuition covered and a stipend to live on. It makes a huge difference, and here is why. When you graduate you will be free to take any opportunity rather than have to worry about getting a position to pay off debt, so if some kind of low-paying but excellent post-graduate position is available... you can take it. Also, not having debt is nice. Use the internet to research any and all scholarships, fellowships, grants, etc. available to whatever your background is (so search by race, economic background, veteran status.... stuff like that). There are some seriously obscure scholarships and grants out there, trust me. A fellowship for Norwegian-Americans who want to study South American Archaeology? Check, there's a fellowship for that! Honestly, do the research, because it is so much better than accumulating student debt.
Best of luck!
When I worried about entering a crowded field years ago, I got a good piece of advice: "No matter how competitive a field is, there is always room at the top." If you have the drive and the smarts, you'll be ok. Second...life is both short and long. Too long NOT to do something you love and which brings value to the world. Otherwise, you're just treading water through life.