Late twenties, just got a History degree. First laugh at me, but please help me after.

I guess you missed the part of history that dictates a History degree limits your options at employment and earning money.

I have 168 credit hours from 3 universities and a BS in Exercise Science....let that sink in a bit.....

....

I was in a similar situation once upon a time. I was a 3rd year Fine Arts Major (drawing/printmaking) when I realized....I am not going to find steady employment with this degree that includes things like paid vacation, retirement, etc.

So I did a 180 and started toward a BS in Exercise Science. Luckily my internship lead to a personal trainer/gym desk job which then lead to a job in corporate wellness.....

6+ years later I see the glass ceiling isn't much higher than I am tall and I begin looking at others option....Teaching.....National Guard...etc...

Decided....what the heck ....I'm in shape....enlisted in the Army in 2010 with the possibility of going Green to Gold in a couple years. Well they lowered the Green to Gold age limit and being enlisted just kinda fits me and my work ethic.

So here I am 10 years later a Staff Sergeant soon to hopefully be a Sergeant First Class. Love my job.

Moral? Don't sweat the small stuff. Things change. But you have to decide. You have to make those changes. You have to move on from college eventually and get out into the real world where you'll probably make more changes.

Alan

Get a masters and teach high school. I was 37 when I used my Poli Sci degree to go back to school and get a masters in teaching (MAT in NY State).

I'm 62 and it was one of the best decisions of my life.

There are universities that offer MBA programs with "bootcamps" for liberal arts majors to get the math and business basics up to speed. UVA has this opportunity in 2010 at least.

I studied poetry and am now in financial sales although I didn't get any grad degree, just worked in different fields and made connections for about 15 years.

You're young enough and presumably fit enough for a military career. Cybersecurity jobs are thru the roof right now. Pick up Russian and you're gold!

Well one of your problems is that there are a large number of degrees which are extremely helpful once you are in your career, but are largely terrible for helping you get started. History can be very useful in investing, politics, business strategy, international relations and other disciplines, but you can't get in the door with just a history degree, so you have to find another way in. Sales is the only thing I can naively suggest, but hopefully some other commenters have some good suggestions. You are going to have to hustle to get where you want to go.

In my case I got undergraduate degrees in math and physics ended up working as a technician for $18/hr (no benefits) for a couple of years before going to graduate school in engineering. The extra physics and math background have been extremely useful and I've been leveraging them to get on the more interesting projects (and hopefully in the future for salary increases).

I have an English degree, so somewhat similar. Get your Certified Financial Planner designation. It’s more school/work, but you can do it while working at an investment firm. Then you can be a wealth advisor. It’s a good gig; you get to use your analytical and finance skills and you also get to interact with clients. Good luck!

Just stay in school forever. Keep pulling out student loans. You won't have to repay if you're in school and eventually they may be forgiven. Make sure to hit on the young women.

hopeless loser wrote:

I am so lost guys, where do I go from here in terms of jobs? I wanted to go into some sort of finance-related graduate school, but the school I'm in rejected my request to get the calculus courses in the summer (and therefore the other core courses which have calc as a prereq) necessary for that; If I were to persist here it would take me till 2023 September to have a chance at enrolling in that program. What do you guys think I should do?

Any help is really appreciated

How bout deliver Grubhub or DoorDash?

There are a lot of folks giving you advice rooted in their own experience. I think a good question to ask, is are you looking for advice for any successful career path, or for one specific to a career in finance?

I was a History major and currently work as an e-commerce Customer Success Manager. It's a great career, but may not be where your interest lies. Give us an idea of what you're open to, and I think you'll be surprised at what this group of basement dwellers can offer up in terms of advice.

Can't say how much I appreciate all the help given here guys, thank you very much! I'll think hard about many of these suggestions (I've looked at the army actually and unfortunately for now, it seems all the jobs offered and qualifications required are far above my degree and limited job experience. Looking at entry positions in financial firms or insurance is interesting, but I have a feeling it will be similarly very difficult, though I won't stop trying of course.)

A few posters have mentioned you can (and some did) end up in careers that aren't directly related to History or Philosophy, like upward bound, or working on an analytics team, or your current position, RRRR. I'm wondering what the process was, in terms of getting that degree to ending up in those positions? Did you guys get additional certifications, self-learn some of the stuff, or straight up apply and get in? To be honest, I guess I'm looking for advice on any successful career path, I'm not necessarily tethered to a finance-related field.

I recently applied to a police administration job, as I have the customer service experience, the recommended education credentials, some administrative experience as a manager at a retail store, and significantly exceed the typing speed requirement. They however ask if I had experience with CPIM, which I don't and I have no idea how badly that will affect my chances at an interview.

History major here who planned to teach or go to law school but did neither. Spent several years as a Business Analyst and the last 5+ in Product Management. Have picked up some basic tech skills along the way (e.g. SQL, CSS) but a lot of it was just finding a role I was interested in and then working my ass off. I do believe my degree was pretty useful in the end as the ability to read, write, communicate and think critically are useful anywhere, and the role- and industry-specific stuff I've just figured out along the way.

Def don't go to law school unless you want to be a lawyer. If you don't know if you want to be a lawyer, go work at an actual law firm for a year. It isn't like Law & Order.

Also, don't just go to "any law school". The rule is only pay for a top-14 law school. Otherwise, only go to a lower-rated law school if you get a full scholarship. The legal field is bloated, so if you have loans your life will be (more) miserable.

If you are smart, finance isn't a bad choice. I have friends who graduated from my top-20 undergrad after majoring in history, art history, and East Asian studies and went directly into analyst positions at Goldman, Citadel, and Citi. Prob made at least figures in their first year. Jobs like that just want raw intelligence and basic quantitative skills.

You're good at asking strangers to help you for nothing. A history degrees promises good research and writing skills. How about starting your career as a writer or journalist? Army needs writers.

Yousewhat? wrote:

You're good at asking strangers to help you for nothing. A history degrees promises good research and writing skills. How about starting your career as a writer or journalist? Army needs writers.

You could drive for Uber or deliver Amazon.

hopeless loser wrote:

I am so lost guys, where do I go from here in terms of jobs? I wanted to go into some sort of finance-related graduate school, but the school I'm in rejected my request to get the calculus courses in the summer (and therefore the other core courses which have calc as a prereq) necessary for that; If I were to persist here it would take me till 2023 September to have a chance at enrolling in that program. What do you guys think I should do?

Any help is really appreciated

You have infinite options, your mind is like a supercomputer.

You can write silly stories (like I do sometimes on threads) and make cartoons of them and start a YouTube channel.

You can collect bottles.

You can do pretty much whatever you set your mind to.

This is the only proper answer to give to a question like this while keeping one's self-respect. The first rule of Fight Club/running is be encouraging to others running their own races. OP shouldn't expect anything other than encouragement and maybe that's all OP needs.

Law school. You will do well.

Teaching, law or intelligence analytics. I soon have three bachelor degrees, but in my contry each cost 70 dollar a year.