How valuable is a History degree?

Why so serious :X

That's interesting because I thought for something like actuary you need a numerical degree because of the complicated exams that you have to do. How did you survive the exams?

You made a stupid post and now are trying to backpedal on the "I wasn't being serious for god sakes" ground.

Good job!

He who controls the past controls the future.

History isn't about knowledge of the past; it's about how you apply it to the future. Look at the current cabinet; how many of them studied History or subjects linked (politics/philosophy)?

You really think that I thought that the only place you could could work with a History degree was a Library or on a TV Programme called Time Team.

Wow you're an airhead.

Very.

It's bull****. You can either work in a library or work on time team.

Economics > History every day of the week and every week of the year hands down.

History opens doors.

People seem to assume the study of the past is only relevant to the past.

The skills you gain are invaluable for lots of jobs and it develops your argumentative, analytical and overall skills that become useful in every day life.

Many history graduates go on to work in law, politics, the civil service, estate agents, museums, teachings and a surprising amount also go into working with money. (I still have no idea why this is, ps Gordon Brown, George Osborne. Guess what they studied).


So yeah, don't listen to all that piffle. History is a great traditional subject, very employable, very useful and at the same time very fun if you like it.

Ask me in a month! To be honest the hardest thing so far has been balancing work and study - I haven't paced myself well at all and am paying the price now. This is my first sitting though so I'm still getting used to it, and I'm taking three different subjects which is a bit of a challenge. Some of the material I find hard, but if I revisit it a bit and practise questions it's not so bad. There's plenty of support from actuarial employers and a range of study materials to help you.

I did underestimate how rusty I was with maths to be honest. But I'm getting there No regrets!

He who controls the past controls the future.

I concur with this post, as a relatively recent graduate of History at Oxford my former classmates have all gone on to careers such as teaching, journalism, consultancy, banking, government and NGO work. Others have become lawyers with a year or so further study at institutions such as BPP since the skills used for both disciplines are very similar.

The key with history is that it is not a degree which leads directly to a job (that's not what university was intended for in any case) but it gives you a package of skills attractive to most employers. Writing, research skills, communication, critical thinking etc. It can, depending on your modules and thesis, give you good familiarity with other disciplines.

It is a wonderful discipline to study and is very rewarding. I must note however that History can be a more difficult degree to market than most others and the quality of teaching and academic rigour of the course varies greatly between universities. As such, if I am to be quite frank, if you're going to do history you should really only aim to do it in the UK's top 10-15 universities.

As a mathematician I should probably let someone else answer this, but I would point out there are degree courses out there that let you do both at the same time.

When I googled History with Economics I found out that Oxford do exactly that, and I imagine others do as well; either as part of the title, or as an elective.

(I still have no idea why this is, ps Gordon Brown, George Osborne. Guess what they studied).

Is Manchester okay, or would you say it's a waste of time doing it there?

Serious?