Hello there
I graduated in 2019 with a BA in History from a regional school. I didn't have phenomenal grades, but an in-major GPA of 3.75 and connected very well with many of my history professors. After graduation, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life, and was talked out of pursuing academia. The incredibly bleak job market and the fact that my diploma wasn't from a top 20 school, was enough to sway me then. Instead I found myself, (like many other history students) enrolled at Law school. Very quickly I began to regret my decision. Long story short, for a number of reasons, I ended up taking a leave of absence after my first year. I found a remote job to pay rent, and am trying to figure out my next step now.
I absolutely love the historian's craft and now long for the nights I would spend in the library in undergrad. As laughable as it may sound to PhD's and tenured professors, in my free time I've been writing episodes and scripts for a little podcast that is centered around my capstone topic (like everyone in their 20's is now). I may never release it, but its fun to do and I find it to be therapeutic. Doing this has gotten me thinking about looking at academia once again.
The issues involved with entering academia haven't gone away. This makes me worried about committing ~ seven years of my life and an incredible amount of effort, in a PhD program, when the job market remains bleak and my diploma is from a state school. It seems less of a risk and very fun to try to get my MA in history.
My question to you historians. Is there merit in getting one's MA in history before trying to be accepted into a PhD program? Or would I be wasting my time?
What can one do with a MA in history?
Are there any good combinations to go with a MA in history to make one more marketable either in or out of academia?
Have things changed in American academia in the past 2-3 years? Are things on the up and up or has COVID sent the job market spirally down even more than it was before?
Lastly, do any of you have any other guidance or advice for a person like myself in this situation?
Thanks,
John
What can one do with a MA in history?
Quite a number of things. I work for a large consulting firm. It's really how you market what you can do and what your skills look like. Two of my major MA papers were on the implementation and development of medical technology and hospital system response to pandemic disease.
Are there any good combinations to go with a MA in history to make one more marketable either in or out of academia?
Finance, accounting, data analytics (if you want to leave academia). If you want to stay in: sociology, anthropology, economics
Have things changed in American academia in the past 2-3 years? Are things on the up and up or has COVID sent the job market spirally down even more than it was before?
The market has been in real trouble since 2008. COVID has simply dealt the death blow to an already fragile market. There have been a grand total of 4 European history jobs posted this entire year. 4. For a considerably sized field. The job market has gotten considerably worse over the last few years. Consistently, there are more PhDs graduating than there are available jobs.
Lastly, do any of you have any other guidance or advice for a person like myself in this situation?
Don't go. If you must go, go to a top 10 PhD program (think: Ivy or equivalent, like Chicago or Berkeley). Anything else will put you so far behind the curve that it's not worth bothering with the necessary time to get a PhD.
Your initial instincts were right, frankly. The history profession is dying, partly due to university admin choices, partly due to choices of the professional field. The market, which was bad when I went to grad school in 2017, is much worse now.