A degree in history or a more useful major?
Hi everyone!
I want to study for a degree because nowadays having a degree is a major requirement for a career in the office or in a professional world.
One of my passions and strength is in history as well as languages. I also love languages.
However,I've been constantly told and warned by my family that I shouldn't study for a degree in history due to lack of good earning and employment and that I should rather take it as a minor or as a hobby and that maybe I should take business which would be more practical.i am over 26 and I want to study for a degree but not sure if I should be studying a subject which I love or a subject which would give me a higher return in investment.
I want to work in both the corporate world and in education being a teacher maybe working as a regional manager etc.
Will I be able to advance to the corporate world with a degree in history?
What did you do with a degree in history?
I am based in Hong Kong and want to study in the UK as an undergraduate if I can if not than in HK.
Your honest opinion and authenadvice are much needed.
Thanks
I want to study for a degree because nowadays having a degree is a major requirement for a career in the office or in a professional world.
One of my passions and strength is in history as well as languages. I also love languages.
However,I've been constantly told and warned by my family that I shouldn't study for a degree in history due to lack of good earning and employment and that I should rather take it as a minor or as a hobby and that maybe I should take business which would be more practical.i am over 26 and I want to study for a degree but not sure if I should be studying a subject which I love or a subject which would give me a higher return in investment.
I want to work in both the corporate world and in education being a teacher maybe working as a regional manager etc.
Will I be able to advance to the corporate world with a degree in history?
What did you do with a degree in history?
I am based in Hong Kong and want to study in the UK as an undergraduate if I can if not than in HK.
Your honest opinion and authenadvice are much needed.
Thanks
Original post by Dennis khan
Hi everyone!
I want to study for a degree because nowadays having a degree is a major requirement for a career in the office or in a professional world.
One of my passions and strength is in history as well as languages. I also love languages.
However,I've been constantly told and warned by my family that I shouldn't study for a degree in history due to lack of good earning and employment and that I should rather take it as a minor or as a hobby and that maybe I should take business which would be more practical.i am over 26 and I want to study for a degree but not sure if I should be studying a subject which I love or a subject which would give me a higher return in investment.
I want to work in both the corporate world and in education being a teacher maybe working as a regional manager etc.
Will I be able to advance to the corporate world with a degree in history?
What did you do with a degree in history?
I am based in Hong Kong and want to study in the UK as an undergraduate if I can if not than in HK.
Your honest opinion and authenadvice are much needed.
Thanks
I want to study for a degree because nowadays having a degree is a major requirement for a career in the office or in a professional world.
One of my passions and strength is in history as well as languages. I also love languages.
However,I've been constantly told and warned by my family that I shouldn't study for a degree in history due to lack of good earning and employment and that I should rather take it as a minor or as a hobby and that maybe I should take business which would be more practical.i am over 26 and I want to study for a degree but not sure if I should be studying a subject which I love or a subject which would give me a higher return in investment.
I want to work in both the corporate world and in education being a teacher maybe working as a regional manager etc.
Will I be able to advance to the corporate world with a degree in history?
What did you do with a degree in history?
I am based in Hong Kong and want to study in the UK as an undergraduate if I can if not than in HK.
Your honest opinion and authenadvice are much needed.
Thanks
having a degree is a major requirement for a career in the office or in a professional world.
No, it's not. Most office jobs can be done without having to go to uni. In fact, you can do most office jobs with just a high school diploma (or your equivalent).
For some professional jobs, you would need a relevant professional qualification. However, even then you typically only need a high school education. Accounting in most countries is a typical example.
Where you would need a degree are in highly specialised fields where you need a lot of technical knowledge or to meet regulatory requirements e.g. medicine, nursing, architecture, engineering (maybe depending on the country)
I've been constantly told and warned by my family that I shouldn't study for a degree in history due to lack of good earning and employment and that I should rather take it as a minor or as a hobby and that maybe I should take business which would be more practical
Depending on your country, role, and industry, a history major has the equal prevalence as a business major. Most employers don't take which major you do seriously unless there is a lot of technical knowledge involved that's relevant to the specific job e.g. programming skills you picked up in engineering, maths, physics, etc.
Unless you go into a specialised field where you would need specific knowledge under the regulations of the sector in your country, you typically don't need to worry about which major you do.
The only occasion that I can think of where a business major takes prevalence over a history major is if you're based in the US or HK and intend to become an accountant - they are picky about which major you need.
i am over 26 and I want to study for a degree but not sure if I should be studying a subject which I love or a subject which would give me a higher return in investment.
The ROI depends on the individual job, not the qualification. If you don't have or can't get the job, it doesn't matter what you have put into your education. Basic logic dictates that just by having a degree doesn't entitle you to some imaginary royalty or dividend just for having it.
If the degree isn't relevant to getting the job or isn't specifically required for the job, then whatever you did to get the degree becomes irrelevant.
Will I be able to advance to the corporate world with a degree in history?
I have seen people go into the corporate world with a degree in history. You will need to be specific about the role though, as you can't go into specific fields with just any degree in any subject. You will also need to specify the individual country and the individual sector. You can't generalise everything in one country and apply it to another usually.
To become a teacher in Hong Kong, you would need a bachelor's degree and a PGCE. See: https://workawayeducation.com/teach-in-hong-kong
In the UK, we have a national database of job profiles that lists out all the job requirements for particular careers. See the following: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-careers
I am having difficulty finding the equivalent for HK, so you would need to check Chinese websites to see if you can find an equivalent to see whether you can get specific jobs you want with a history major.
OP, if you wish to study history, study history. A degree in history will enable you to compete for any job that does not require STEM expertise. You could go into law, journalism, publishing, teaching, the civil service, entertainment, and pretty much any kind of business. In any event, a degree need not merely be about getting a job. A degree can be life enhancing in many ways.
I studied history, and then became a commercial lawyer. Others I know who studied history have become academics, school teachers, bankers, diplomats, novelists, publishers, HR experts, regulators, accountants, TV directors, journalists, soldiers, you name it.
I studied history, and then became a commercial lawyer. Others I know who studied history have become academics, school teachers, bankers, diplomats, novelists, publishers, HR experts, regulators, accountants, TV directors, journalists, soldiers, you name it.
If you speak to a group of people who went to university thinking they needed a degree, you will find that a majority found it pointless for what they are doing now.
Ask yourself - what do you want to do after university. If you don't know, get a job, travel, discover yourself. If you do know, ask yourself what you need to do to get that job. Unless it is a professor of History, history teacher or historian, chances are a history degree is pretty useless on the whole. Find your goal and work backwards.
Ask yourself - what do you want to do after university. If you don't know, get a job, travel, discover yourself. If you do know, ask yourself what you need to do to get that job. Unless it is a professor of History, history teacher or historian, chances are a history degree is pretty useless on the whole. Find your goal and work backwards.
Research has found in the UK STEM and non-STEM graduates have equivalent degree outcomes within 10 years: https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/report/The_employment_trajectories_of_Science_Technology_Engineering_and_Mathematics_graduates/10234421
Do whatever you want, you're going to end up in an office job staring at excel, scraping through an endless inbox, or in endless meetings (or some combination of those three) no matter what anyway.
May as well at least pick something you find interesting while you're at uni before you resign yourself to becoming a dead eyed cog in the capitalist machine.
Do whatever you want, you're going to end up in an office job staring at excel, scraping through an endless inbox, or in endless meetings (or some combination of those three) no matter what anyway.
May as well at least pick something you find interesting while you're at uni before you resign yourself to becoming a dead eyed cog in the capitalist machine.
Original post by hotpud
If you speak to a group of people who went to university thinking they needed a degree, you will find that a majority found it pointless for what they are doing now.
Ask yourself - what do you want to do after university. If you don't know, get a job, travel, discover yourself. If you do know, ask yourself what you need to do to get that job. Unless it is a professor of History, history teacher or historian, chances are a history degree is pretty useless on the whole. Find your goal and work backwards.
Ask yourself - what do you want to do after university. If you don't know, get a job, travel, discover yourself. If you do know, ask yourself what you need to do to get that job. Unless it is a professor of History, history teacher or historian, chances are a history degree is pretty useless on the whole. Find your goal and work backwards.
People with history degrees do all sorts of jobs, and don't just teach history. Study is its own reward, but in addition the analytical skills acquired while studying at undergraduate level can assist in working life.
Original post by Stiffy Byng
People with history degrees do all sorts of jobs, and don't just teach history. Study is its own reward, but in addition the analytical skills acquired while studying at undergraduate level can assist in working life.
Agreed. But equally those skills can be obtained for significantly less than £50k+. Going to university for the sake of it is an utter waste. You only get one shot at university so use that shot wisely. Either study something because you love it or study something because it will lead you towards a specific goal. Sadly, the majority of undergrads (myself included) go to university because it is what you do after school and there is a general hope that it will lead to something meaningful and rewarding. For the majority of graduates this does not work out and you end up like me, gritting your teeth for years before you discover something you truly love. Thankfully I was able to go back to university but many won't because they will have already used up their one opportunity.
I regret that university is no longer free at the point of delivery (ie: paid for from general taxation). Monetising the university experience, making it into something transactional, is yet another of Neoliberalism's many terrible ideas. Neoliberalism knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. University used to be about expanding the mind and engaging in other forms of personal growth, as well as becoming equipped for a good job.
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