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I assume by basic business courses perhaps he means some general accounting, finance etc... anything to set you apart from the generic English/history major. In addition I would look into some techincal writing classes. However as I said earlier, find some work/internship whilst in school, whether it is related to your major or not
Sure. But the real thing that separates someone with a bachelor's in history from Harvard and one with a B.A. in history from say, University of South Carolina, is not what he or she learned in class, but from the connections, pedigree and privilege that comes from the Harvard degree.
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Originally Posted by Archguy
History and English majors can be found at all the best graduate and professional schools, so you're right about that.
However the top colleges don't really offer "basic business" courses per se--they leave that to trade schools.
Almost every school in the country offers economics, accounting, finance, marketing, etc., at the undergraduate level.
Recently, I have been doubting my major. I like what I am studying(I am a History major), but I recently heard that not all degrees were equal. I would like to go into publishing or possibly public relations/non profits and I picked a degree where I like what I study. I am not like most traditional students and I did not major in business. I have been worrying however that my choice of major may not be as marketable as English. I feel that English may be a more respected degree with employers in terms of marketability and what you learn. Is this the case or am I over reacting? Are the job opportunities for a degree in English the same as a degree in history? I also heard that your degree does not matter a few years into your career. Is this true?
Honestly, unless you have some better-than-average abilities to market yourself to an employer, you are likely to face a dearth of job opportunities with either major.
Sure. But the real thing that separates someone with a bachelor's in history from Harvard and one with a B.A. in history from say, University of South Carolina, is not what he or she learned in class, but from the connections, pedigree and privilege that comes from the Harvard degree.
This notion is popular among those who haven't attended classes at a top-notch college.
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Almost every school in the country offers economics, accounting, finance, marketing, etc., at the undergraduate level.
You had said "basic business"... economics & finance can easily be theoretical.
This notion is popular among those who haven't attended classes at a top-notch college.
It's also for the truth. I haven't seen any evidence to convince me otherwise. I've been an undergrad at a regional comprehensive with low admission standards and a grad student at a "public Ivy." The coursework in the classes I taught was nearly identical to that at the regional school.
In many ways, the course work at top-notch colleges is easier. It's hard to get into the ivy league, but it's even harder to get kicked out.
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Originally Posted by Archguy
You had said "basic business"... economics & finance can easily be theoretical.
Theory can't be basic? Supply and demand is theory; it's also very basic.
Honestly, unless you have some better-than-average abilities to market yourself to an employer, you are likely to face a dearth of job opportunities with either major.
Marketing oneself is parmount, but more so are the internships/part time jobs you hopefully had along the way to the English/history degree. If you graduate with the Degree alone and no expereince whatsoever then yes English or History major you will proably have a very hard time finding a job- notice I didn't say "dream job", I mean job, whether it is minimum wage, whether it is related to your field of study or not.
History is NOT an impractical major, and there are lots of job opportunities available.
College friends who majored in history went into management consulting, commercial banking, investment banking, marketing, and other business fields. They went to law school. They worked a couple of years and then got MBAs.
Three of our current Supreme Court justices were history majors. The CEOs of American Express, Proctor and Gamble, and other companies were history majors. Army generals, presidents of the U.S., etc. ... history majors.
History, like English, makes you a better writer. But like political science and other fields, it also improves your ability to analyze and interpret sometimes conflicting bit of evidence, contextualizing it while appreciating the role of contingency and individual decision-making. It is about as "real world" as it gets, when you really think about it.
I was a History major and I worked in publishing. Everyone in publishing either majored in History, English, or Philosophy from my experience, and it made no difference between them who performed the best. The best performing assistant during my stint in the publishing world was a History major and that had to do entirely with their own individual approach to the job and professionalism. There should be no bias between these three humanities majors.
However, in terms of cultural capital, English majors seem to have it the best. This is because there are many people out here who share the same idiotic beliefs as other commenters in this thread that English teaches you a more valuable skill, writing, as if you don't do that in any liberal arts degree. I had much more challenging writing assignments in my Philosophy and Intellectual History coursework than in my English language coursework in undergrad.
This opinion is simply an offshoot of the elitism associated with studying Keats and Wordsworth and being able to name-drop them. That is not to say that I don't value the education you receive in an English major, but the superiority associated with it is a noxious side effect of this pretentiousness.
History was not such a maligned major not too long ago, but with the rise of Political Science and the other social sciences it has been replaced as the de facto major of those wanting to go into politics and other powerful careers. I still think History is more interesting than those because you get to read novels and study art and culture associated with the political realities of certain times and places, rather than memorizing arbitrary formulas in Political Science.
I am a proud History major, but if I could go back I would have majored in English instead so as not to get so many sideways glances.
Interpreting events can be as nuanced as interpreting texts
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Success with history
