I didn't know a better place to ask for advice on this, so I figured I'd try here. Currently, I'm finishing up my BA in History and the plan is to go right back for my Masters in the fall. I'm 35 with no job experience due to previous health issues and I don't want to make a bad decision this late in my life. I'm torn between getting my Masters in Counseling or in History. I dropped out of school 10 years ago with a path to a BA in History and initially when I re-started last year, History was just going to be a stepping stone to Counseling. The problem is that I did my senior thesis, did well enough to get an award for it, and really had a lot of fun doing it. I also took another History class this semester, enjoyed the hell of it, and I'm going to end up with a pretty high A in the class.
I seem to be good at paper writing and I want to learn and study more things but I'm worried a Masters in History won't get me anywhere. I live in Northeast Ohio, about an hour and a half from either Pittsburgh or Cleveland, and so far I'd be willing to move closer to those two cities if I had to, for a career.
I don't know what I'm supposed to do and I can't seem to make a decision. Is getting an MA in History worth it?
I forgot to mention that I'm not too married to the idea of teaching.
This is a difficult question to answer - and the answer is really one that only you can give. History is not a great career path, but you can do things to make it a path to employment. Over half the historians in the US are employed in the public sector. University teaching almost always requires a PhD, and given the parasitical nature of university administrations, tenure track positions are becoming rarer as exploitative adjunct positions are on the rise. I would recommend not even thinking about teaching at the post-public school level. Public school teaching is a reasonable thing to think about, but that is its own form of exploitation, and wages are sadly low.
Public history wages are not necessarily better, but there is real gratification in that sphere if you find the right niche. I strongly recommend that if you go for a masters that you become involved with local museums, archives - or whatever: become an intern and get real-life experience putting together exhibits, online teaching tools - anything that reaches real people and can make you an asset to a museum or some other public institution.
Only you can say how hot the fire within you burns. I knew I would not be happy unless I pursued a graduate degree - no matter what I ended up doing. I had questions that needed answering, and I needed to continue my undergraduate studies. My answer (in a previous century) was to pursue additional studies. For me - at that time - it happened to be a path to a fairly rewarding career in the public sector. Many of my fellow graduate students did not find jobs, but I suspect most were glad they pursued graduate degrees because they, too, shared the fiercely burning flame in the gut. The vast majority of undergrad history majors did NOT pursue graduate work - and that was right for them as well. Only you can really tell.
Good luck as you think this through. I wish you the best!
If you don’t mind my asking, why do you think you wouldn’t be interested in teaching? I had a similar mindset, but after teaching beginning and intermediate language courses during my M.A., I fell in love with teaching.
You should also be asking yourself if academia is the right environment for you. It has its pros and cons (like most other sectors), but a lot of people end up despising academia halfway through graduate school, only learning that they dislike it when it’s too late. I would recommend asking different graduate students and professors at your local universities (mostly the former, and only the more honest latter) about their experiences in academia.
Best of luck, OP!
Are you going to get a PhD in history? A masters in history is essentially a stepping stone to a PhD. It is also not necessarily needed to get the PhD either. I went straight into my program without a masters and, perhaps foolishly, completely bypassed that step. I do know that schools will take you more seriously if you get a masters. That said, the degree is often a money-spinner for the department, because you should not pay for your PhD—those are generally fully funded.