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Sadly what I find now is even the low level admin jobs: mail room, clerk, admin assistant etc... you know where you get your first shot, that foot in the door, they are very competitive. Everyone needs a first shot somewhere, some place to gain experience to first start building the resume. But when that first shot wants 2-3 years of previous experience and prefers grads who did not graduate with a degree in History (because again the history degree is seen as "useless")-it could be quite rough for the OP.
One may have to consider moving out of state or at least applying to jobs to a location further than he/she would like to commute.
Low-level admin job openings were pretty competitive when I was applying for them 13 years ago. That's why getting whatever experience you can during school via internships is so important. Companies want employees who are going to hustle and want to develop, which means candidates need to work on standing out from the crowd.
I was a liberal arts major with a minor in history. I originally intended to go to grad school but by the time I reached graduation I decided I was done with school.
So I got a job doing the only thing I know how to do: type
I earned money in college typing term papers for other students, and by the time I graduated I was typing 100 wpm and knew computers really well (which wasn't as common in 1991). Upon graduation I had the opportunity to go work for Immigration and Naturalization Services in Washington, DC (where I interned during my college summers), but decided to go elsewhere. My first job, which was found through a recruiter, was as a word processor for an environmental company.
From there I went on to work for law firms, investment banks, insurance company, hospitals, telecommunications companies, sports agencies, government contractors. You name it, I've worked in the field. All jobs were in the administrative assistant capacity, with some other stuff mixed in. My lowest salary was $23,000 (when I graduated in 1991) and my highest was near six figures with 100% paid benefits (at the investment bank in NYC). All as part of the admin staff with varying degrees of responsibility.
I'm now at a job where I'm an admin, but I mainly do project work versus secretarial work, and I'm being groomed to make the switch from being administrative staff to being part of the management team. I'm projecting within the next two years I'll be able to flip to the other side at my boss's urging. I'll have been working as an admin for 25+ years at that point.
I've never NOT gotten a job because of my degree, although I don't know that it's helped me either. I think the most important thing is that whatever job I've had I've done to the best of my ability, with 100% commitment, and a drive to learn and stay relevant to my employer.
I was a liberal arts major with a minor in history. I originally intended to go to grad school but by the time I reached graduation I decided I was done with school.
So I got a job doing the only thing I know how to do: type
I earned money in college typing term papers for other students, and by the time I graduated I was typing 100 wpm and knew computers really well (which wasn't as common in 1991). Upon graduation I had the opportunity to go work for Immigration and Naturalization Services in Washington, DC (where I interned during my college summers), but decided to go elsewhere. My first job, which was found through a recruiter, was as a word processor for an environmental company.
From there I went on to work for law firms, investment banks, insurance company, hospitals, telecommunications companies, sports agencies, government contractors. You name it, I've worked in the field. All jobs were in the administrative assistant capacity, with some other stuff mixed in. My lowest salary was $23,000 (when I graduated in 1991) and my highest was near six figures with 100% paid benefits (at the investment bank in NYC). All as part of the admin staff with varying degrees of responsibility.
I'm now at a job where I'm an admin, but I mainly do project work versus secretarial work, and I'm being groomed to make the switch from being administrative staff to being part of the management team. I'm projecting within the next two years I'll be able to flip to the other side at my boss's urging. I'll have been working as an admin for 25+ years at that point.
I've never NOT gotten a job because of my degree, although I don't know that it's helped me either. I think the most important thing is that whatever job I've had I've done to the best of my ability, with 100% commitment, and a drive to learn and stay relevant to my employer.
Great post, especially the last bit. I have several clients and have the opportunity to work with in-house staff regularly, and honestly, many of them are just not good/don't care.
I think the mistake many new grads make these days is thinking very short term. Most of us start out doing stuff that any HS grad could do, and after many years we accumulate skills and knowledge that put us in higher categories of professionalism. We eat ramen and have roommates for a few years but it is an investment, not a failure. It it seems that too many young people want it all right away and are disappointed that they have to start at the bottom and do work that does not challenge them intellectually nor presents a clear path to their expected career.
I tend to think that liberal arts grads have a better understanding of this.
Agreed 100%. BUT...between all their schooling, especially law school, how much debt do they have when they get that entry-level job? Were they even able to get a 40-60k/year job with good grades from a school that gave them enough financial aid to not go into significant debt? If you go to a school too lowly ranked, you will not even get that 40-60k job, and if you go to a school high enough ranked, your financial aid may be low compared to the cost. The question for people in this situation...is it even possible to balance these two factors, considering the current competition and cost for law school?
My wife was a History and Sociology major and her career has been great for the most part. After she graduated, she worked at the White House for four years, then for Congress for one year, then with the Department of Homeland Security for three years, now she's with a medical nonprofit association. She worked her butt off in every position she was in though and ended up getting her MBA after she left her Congressional position.
My wife was a History and Sociology major and her career has been great for the most part. After she graduated, she worked at the White House for four years, then for Congress for one year, then with the Department of Homeland Security for three years, now she's with a medical nonprofit association. She worked her butt off in every position she was in though and ended up getting her MBA after she left her Congressional position.
That's almost exactly what I'm talking about. None of those are cookie cutter jobs that most people with a History degree can just really get. You have to know someone, or kind of get lucky.
What are career options for history majors, liberal arts degree , and how the transferrable skills are applied to each of the possible career paths , in addition to history teachers and researchers ?
Yes, for those who have the intellectual latitude.
For those who lack latitude and must work within more narrow confines, a major in history is lethal. History majors include many attorneys, business leaders, sale managers that I have known personally, Trey Gowdy, (R - SC) who was just assigned the Benghazi investigative job, and I'll bet you can find a whole bunch of others.
But you must have the ability to do whatever job you are assigned. Here's a list of famous history majors: Famous History Majors on Pinterest
BEST of all, I think, is the fact that if you are majoring in history, you will be interested in the subject, will do well, and your grades will reflect it. Not quite so true with some other subjects.
well Im getting a sociology degree and Ive done some research.My research said a lot of landmen have sociology degrees.I plan on becoming a landman after I graduate.
I'm just saying. There's a wider divide for humanities majors.
If you only have a BA in Psychology, you could do very well for yourself if you got lucky. But it's a very risky path. It's boom or bust.
A BSN is a much less risky path.
I started with a BA in Psychology and while agree that I got lucky in that I found my career path right away, I don't think that it as risky if you approach it the correct way. At my school the psych undergrad degree required you to take classes in most of the sub psych fields. If your program is the same you should use that time to find out which areas interests you the most and then start positioning yourself to make that interest your career. For me it was social psychology and the stat courses and my lucky moment was getting a job at the survey research center at my school which allowed me the chance to discover survey methodology as a career. I worked my way up the ranks for about 10 years before going back to grad school and since getting my masters i haven't had a problem finding employment.
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