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How valuable is a History degree?

I'll try not to blabber on, I'm currently doing my AS levels so I have plenty of time to decide but I'm totally split between studying History or Economics at university. History is my biggest passion and I would love to study it but I'm a little worried about the job opportunities that would be opened by a Bachelor's degree in History (I'm definitely not going any further than Bachelor's). Any help would be appreciated, thanks :smile:

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Reply 1
What is your desired job after uni?
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.
Reply 3
Original post by non
What is your desired job after uni?


Honestly, NO IDEA. That's kind of why I'm leaning towards economics.
Reply 4
Reply 5
Original post by dean01234
History is much less valuable than economics, but still a semi-traditional subject so not a complete waste of time like degrees such as music or knitting.

But at 9,000 a year I don't think I would study history on its own, maybe as a join honours or something...


Troll?

Seriously, disregard this piffle.
Reply 6
Original post by Nox123
Honestly, NO IDEA. That's kind of why I'm leaning towards economics.


Then Pick the subject that you prefer.
Reply 7
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.
Original post by dean01234
History is much less valuable than economics, but still a semi-traditional subject so not a complete waste of time like degrees such as music or knitting.

But at 9,000 a year I don't think I would study history on its own, maybe as a join honours or something...


3k in Wales :biggrin:

OP.. I'm in the same boat
You can find out employment stats for history (and, in fact, any degree) from Unistats. :smile:

The problem with history is not that it doesn't open up much opportunities, but that it doesn't open up much unique opportunities that the rest of the humanities and social sciences - or STEM, even - degrees don't. So what you get is an extremely large pool of applicants competing for a relatively few opportunities.
Original post by Rybee
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.


Your right. Completely respected opinion that makes lots of sense.

HURRR my studies are about money so I will make lots.

I really suggest you look more into things before looking stupid.
Reply 12
Original post by Agenda Suicide
Your right. Completely respected opinion that makes lots of sense.

HURRR my studies are about money so I will make lots.

I really suggest you look more into things before looking stupid.


Why so serious :X
Reply 13
I did English literature and am a trainee actuary alongside economics and maths grads (and one geography grad!).

Doing a history degree doesn't limit you to history-related jobs. It's a well-respected academic degree.

EDIT: I will add a caveat, that certain jobs would be harder to get with an arts degree. I did quite well to get my job because it's in finance and most applicants did maths or economics. But if you put the work in (extra-currics, work experience, general research) then history shouldn't limit you too much.
(edited 12 years ago)
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)?
Original post by Nox123
I'll try not to blabber on, I'm currently doing my AS levels so I have plenty of time to decide but I'm totally split between studying History or Economics at university. History is my biggest passion and I would love to study it but I'm a little worried about the job opportunities that would be opened by a Bachelor's degree in History (I'm definitely not going any further than Bachelor's). Any help would be appreciated, thanks :smile:


I'll put it to you like this:

A 2:1 in economics will lead you to a possibly career where you drown in money.


A 2:1 in history will lead to unemployment or a very average/poor student job being a manager at some little chain of shops.




Original post by crocker710
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)?


But they all got their because of who daddy knew and who they met at their private school. In the real world, the degree is pretty useless sadly.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Rybee
Why so serious :X


Why is everybody so serious?
Acting so damn mysterious?
Got your shades on your eyes
And your heels so high
That you can't even have a good time

[...]

It's not about the money, money, money
We don't need your money, money, money
We just wanna make the world dance,
Forget about the price tag


If you're interested in history, study history and be happy. Don't just study something because you think its going to get you somewhere.
This might help:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1868870

OP, it's as worthless as you make it, but I'd argue it's more respected than Politics, Philosophy, Geography, Sociology. You can enter plenty of fields. The most common ones are arguably the Civil Service, Law, Politics, Teaching, Information Management, IT.

In all honesty, no degree guarantees you a job, bar Medicine. So it's better to get the government to pay for you to study something you enjoy, rather than something you 'think' will have better job prospects.

What areas/salaries you will be earning will also depend on your A-level results, university and most importantly degree classification, you NEED a 2:i. Everyone thinks financial services are 100% Maths, Econ, BSc grads, but they aren't. They recruit from a variety of universities and from a variety of degree disciplines. Similar to Law, you will find 50% are law grads, and 50% will be doing conversion degrees. Options are open with a History degree :smile: to be honest, look at financial services right now, they're doing pretty crap, and you don't really want to do teaching with an Economics degree, because that would, well, be a waste of potential earnings, whereas with History, it can act as a safe fall back option
Reply 18
Original post by Jelkin
I did English literature and am a trainee actuary alongside economics and maths grads (and one geography grad!).

Doing a history degree doesn't limit you to history-related jobs. It's a well-respected academic degree.

EDIT: I will add a caveat, that certain jobs would be harder to get with an arts degree. I did quite well to get my job because it's in finance and most applicants did maths or economics. But if you put the work in (extra-currics, work experience, general research) then history shouldn't limit you too much.


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?
Reply 19
Original post by IlliteratePedant
Why is everybody so serious?
Acting so damn mysterious?
Got your shades on your eyes
And your heels so high
That you can't even have a good time

[...]

It's not about the money, money, money
We don't need your money, money, money
We just wanna make the world dance,
Forget about the price tag


If you're interested in history, study history and be happy. Don't just study something because you think its going to get you somewhere.


Within reason, and dependant upon subject, this is the best advice anyone could have ever given me before going to University. I didn't do what I loved, I chose Law instead which is a great degree and I did pretty well... I'm now looking at doing an MSc to get be 'back on track' to what I originally wanted to do.

Just go with your heart :smile:

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