Hello, I’m currently majoring in history and in the process of transferring schools(and I’m also in a crisis). My dream is to be a college professor. I really look up to my professors and could see myself in academia. However, the job market for history professors is absolutely abysmal. I’m still early in my college career(going in to sophomore year) so I am considering double majoring(I’ve already fulfilled a lot of history major reqs) in a STEM subject such as statistics or scrapping the history major altogether and getting an engineering degree. I do not have the natural gift in physics, math, etc. like I do in history, but with extra effort I would definitely be able to manage those classes. I like designing and building so I could see myself going for civil engineering, however my passion truly is history. I have considered other job prospects for history majors outside of professorship, but I honestly can’t see myself teaching high school(especially when many students dislike history). I have also looked at law school, government, media, etc. but nothing strikes me as much as wanting to be a professor. Therefore, I’m considering getting a more marketable degree such as engineering and then pursuing a history masters or PhD later on in life after I’ve saved and have financial security. Then I could just adjunct as a history professor on the side and not have to worry about the finances. My parents are not wealthy, so by the time I graduate I’ll probably be 100k plus in student loan debt. On that note, my parents are on the lower middle class end so I’ve witnessed financial struggle my whole life, and I don’t want to experience it after years and years of schooling. What should I do?
Hey, dude with a history degree working in tech here! I will be upfront and tell you that I don't have any actual answers to your dilemma. I would say that, unless you are graduating from a genuinely top-tier school and/or have good prospects of doing your PhD at an equally top-tier one, trying to make a living as an academic in history is a major gamble. This is not to discourage you, necessarily -- the profession would be in deep, deep trouble if only Harvard-Yale-Princeton-Stanford-Chicago types got to be history professors -- but I've watched a lot of folks I went to undergrad with at a very good state school struggle intensely with this.
That said, I'd encourage you to think about what you really find rewarding and valuable about history. Is it your area? Is it the research? The imaginative empathy of working with humans whose experiences are remote from your own? Really dive in to that, rather than just thinking "what can I do with a history degree," and then when you have an answer take it to your advisor or the career counselling center at your new school and chat with them about it. I was all set to go to a middling grad school in history when I had a, uh, very bad mental health year and graduated late and by the skin of my teeth rather than on time and with honors, and while it hurts sometimes still, being forced to look at it from a different perspective helped me in the long run. I'd encourage you to see if you can take a look at it from a different angle, and see if that helps you find your footing.
It may not seem like it, but if you're going in to your sophomore year, you've got a lot of time to plan and adjust. Be encouraged, and really take some time to figure out what it is you value about studying history, and then use that new knowledge to help you get yourself set up for a fulfilling time in college and beyond.
Hi, coming a bit late to this, but I had a few thoughts in addition to the ones mentioned here (I changed my majors after sophomore year, finished undergrad with a history and political science double major, and ... don't do that as a job currently, besides writing here).
It is perfectly natural and quite common to have doubts about what major to do at this point in your undergraduate studies. With that said, what you wind up majoring in is not necessarily setting you on some unalterable life path. To quote u/swarthmoreburke, " undergraduate majors do not lead directly to a career that is the same name and character as the undergraduate major. Not economics, not computer science, not biology, and not history."
I would tend to say go with the major you enjoy and excel at. You will learn some important skills with a history major that have wide applications after graduation. And speaking of skills, don't assume that having a STEM undergraduate major somehow means you'd suddenly become vastly more employable after graduation. Academic degrees don't necessarily equal job skills.
In addition to talking with an academic adviser: if you are inspired by particular history professors, I really cannot stress enough that you should talk directly to them. They will understand best what it takes to get into their line of work, and how well that lines up against your own interests and abilities. This will be infinitely more valuable advice than from anonymous strangers on the Internet.
Read u/sunagainstgold's Monday Methods Post "Why You Should Not Get a History PhD (And How to Apply for One Anyway). Note that if you are seriously interested in a History PhD and you are in the United States, you're looking at something like at least another decade of studies. The important take away is "choose a History PhD only if you literally cannot imagine doing anything else" (u/sunagainstgold just got a PhD by the way!).
Just to add to the above comments, I had my doubts and that's entirely natural. Remember that getting your PhD doesn't mean you have to pursue a career in academia or only in academia. I teach at a community college, I just wrote my first book and have a couple of articles in press . But I also make a decent amount writing as a journalist . That lets me keep a varied career and I can do the research i love (and get grants) without needing a tenure line job .
I don't regret my doctorate at all, and with a fellowship it didn't incur any debt either .
I also know a lot of.friends who did the same undergraduate degree , opted for profesional or higher paying jobs or degrees, and ask me for reading lists every few months! I know many of them are happy, but I don't regret grad school at all.
I know a lot of history PhD journalists and I think there are a lot of things I learned in grad school that make me a better writer and certainly a better researcher. I'd be happy to make introductions or chat more .
Hope that helps !