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Is History a worthless degree to have?

Original post by Seanm1994

And what industry was this then?

Oil & gas. Why?

Reply 21

Venomilys

13

define worthless.

if worthless = can't get job, then a history degree is not worthless.

if worthless = is any of the content genuinely useful, then I would argue it is somewhere in between.

Reply 22

chocoholic.

11

Original post by Last Chance

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jan/16/history-degree-careers

Thanks a bunch for the link and info :smile:

Reply 23

Cherryblossompink

you can get a job at the library

Only time will tell.

Original post by Nfergs

It isn't a worthless degree to have if you want to do a job relating to history. However, if you ended up working in a bank for example, it would be pretty worthless as you would be better off with a maths degree.

And how do you know this?

Reply 26

jmfc

14

Original post by srascal8

On TSR, it seems if you don't have a science or maths degree, you are not gonna et a job?

Is it like that in the real world? Are History degrees as respected as sciences? say if I want to work in the corporate world and hopefully get into a big company, will I have a good chance? I have 4 offers from RG unis to study History btw

thank you, just confused tbh!

It really depends on what you want to do. In my opinion History graduates are desirable for jobs where you should be literate and clever and don't need to have very specific skills. For instance, jobs in which yoy have to write a lot... But I'm affraid that if for instance you'd like to work on a big company, they'll want accountancy, marketing, management, economics and even languages graduates and you, with an history degree, would end up as a secretary. A secretary job may be difficult and secretaries do have merit, but then again, it's not like you're going to use much of your knowledge in that role, and then might be frustrating.

A History degree is very interesting, personally, I absolutely love history but then again it depends on what you want to do.

I'd graduate in History if I wanted to be a writer, work in the media, be a teacher, work in history related jobs...

Perhaps History with one language would give you the edge as you'd me more desirable for important roles! :smile:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 27

Abc1234x

8

Original post by multiplexing-gamer

Its in the History section, it will obviously be biased

LOL...i get it ..biased..
:rofl:

Reply 28

patrickinator

12

History can be a wasted degree but only if you go to a useless university. However, on the other hand if you go to a respected university then a history degree then this can open many new career options. The biggest that spring to mind are mostly jobs in the city, like banking, commodity trading, accountancy but there are also other jobs such as becoming a lawyer, history teacher, history researcher, museums love history people and loads of other stuff.

Reply 29

abc:)

22

I wouldn't say so, there's the obvious things like teaching that you can go into, and with a 1st or a 2:1 and the right experience there's loads of stuff you can do.

Reply 30

jmfc

14

Original post by patrickinator

History can be a wasted degree but only if you go to a useless university. However, on the other hand if you go to a respected university then a history degree then this can open many new career options. The biggest that spring to mind are mostly jobs in the city, like banking, commodity trading, accountancy but there are also other jobs such as becoming a lawyer, history teacher, history researcher, museums love history people and loads of other stuff.

Accountancy?! Don't you think the world has plenty of accountants? I suppose companies want, for the accountancy roles.... accountants??? :confused:

Same for banking. There are two graduates applying for a banking job. One is a maths, economics or accountancy graduate and the other one is a History graduate. Who do you think they are going to pick assuming they are both good candidates and they'll chose solely based in academics?

Reply 31

Harrifer

15

Original post by Smack

Oil & gas. Why?

That's interesting.

Would they consider Geography degrees? That seems relevant to the industry.

Just curious.

Reply 32

mevidek

16

Original post by srascal8

On TSR, it seems if you don't have a science or maths degree, you are not gonna et a job?

Is it like that in the real world? Are History degrees as respected as sciences? say if I want to work in the corporate world and hopefully get into a big company, will I have a good chance? I have 4 offers from RG unis to study History btw

thank you, just confused tbh!

Anybody who says that history degrees are worthless are absolute idiots.

It's one of the most well-respected degrees and opens many more paths than the sciences.

Original post by Harrifer

That's interesting.

Would they consider Geography degrees? That seems relevant to the industry.

Just curious.

Every company is going to be slightly different so I can't answer for all of the players.

Also the point of this thread is not really to discuss whether X oil company accepts Y degree.

The point I was making is that if the OP wants to work in a large company doing something that is currently unspecified then, from my (limited) experience I would recommend doing a degree that is relevant to the workplace.

There may be some large companies who accept applications from any degree, but these are not the majority and for a huge amount of companies there is still the mentality that it does not make sense to spend years at university studying something unrelated to what you're going to do.

And I will also reiterate that again this does not mean that X degree is useless if it is not necessarily relevant to the workplace.

(To answer your question, no, not where I worked.)

mevidek

opens many more paths than the sciences.

lol

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 34

Id and Ego seek

21

A History degree (and any degree for that matter) is only worthless if you fail to capitalize on an employer's hasty assumption and understanding of the exchangeable skills -- analytic, research expertise and critical reasoning -- and value the degree holds, and the benefit you, as a holder of said degree, have on their organisation.

As long as there are employers who requisite such expertise, a History degree will never be worthless.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 35

Oh Hi

15

Silly question, Of course it is not worthless!
Humanties degrees like history and english may not be vocational as such, but give transferable skills which all employers will valure highly. Also having a RG degree will give you an edge

Reply 36

Kerny

14

Original post by Nfergs

It was only an example.

I was asking how you know history would be a useless degree to go work in banking.

Reply 37

SophiaKeuning

3

I plan to do an MA in journalism after my degree... I don't want to write for the big rags, obviously, but I'd love to write for some kind of newspaper/magazine with a cultural/political edge. Maybe something that offers a bit of a different outlook. I think my chosen degree is pretty relevant... (English & History). :unimpressed:

I really don't want to work in business.

Reply 38

shoshin

10

Original post by Nfergs

If you ended up working in a bank for example, it would be pretty worthless as you would be better off with a maths degree.

This could explain why a History graduate is the current Chancellor of the Exchequer

Reply 39

DdotT

17

Original post by srascal8

On TSR, it seems if you don't have a science or maths degree, you are not gonna et a job?

Is it like that in the real world? Are History degrees as respected as sciences? say if I want to work in the corporate world and hopefully get into a big company, will I have a good chance? I have 4 offers from RG unis to study History btw

thank you, just confused tbh!

In a nutshell no. Reason why people try to say it is, is because the sciences and engineering degrees teach you skills to go into specific industries.
History Degrees and the like don't do this but instead give you skillsets like analytical thinking, being able to structure arguements etc..
It is true however with a history degree you have a smaller chance at a job then the sciences or math related degrees BUT history etc are important subjects that need to be studied and that need to produce people for certain positions.

If you want to go into anything other then the specific skill related degrees , like engineering, sciences, maths etc. Then History is by far one of the most respected degrees to have, its a bit like having doing english lit in your a levels as opposed to media, the latter being much less respected and seen as a soft subject.

Is History a worthless degree to have?

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