I plan to major in History but I don't know what I want to do afterwards. It's basically either teaching, law, or museums. Law is a definite no. Teaching seems like the most realistic job for me. I start to wonder: is it really worth me working hard in high school and college to end up a teacher? Rambunctous kids with no home training who get ego boosts telling off teachers and working hours after the last bell and at home doesn't sound like the life I want to live. With budget cuts and teacher's already sucky salary, the monetary benefits are practically nonexistent. With all this said, I really would like to make a difference in students' lives, the ones that want to learn. But I can't pick and choose my students. I feel trapped: it's either History or English for me and both lead up to the education field or working at Wal-Mart. :icon_sad:
Hi there! Not necessarily! Having a background in the social sciences can also give you a heads up in other areas/fields of employment. For example, beyond teaching, you could also work in community/non profit organizations, or within the policy making field, or work for one of the levels of government, etc.... In other words, a social science degree opens quite a few doors for you because the skills that you will learn/gain either in History or English will allow you to use them in a number of different employment opportunities. That said, a lot of community organizations do have programmes for students and try to help students to achieve their goals and provide different forms of support. You could still pursue a degree in Education, but rather than getting ready to teach at a school you could pursue a career in educational counseling for example. This would be another avenue that you could look into, and as an educational counselor you would would also make a difference in students' lives. You would help them to achieve their educational goals by being there for them and helping them overcome their obstacles. Also, what you could do is talk to a career counselor at your school. Mention your concern to the counselor and maybe also try thinking about what you would like to do beyond teaching in a class room. Perhaps try to think about related fields as well that would still allow you to make a difference in students' lives.
I majored in mathematics. Which, if it's pure math (as opposed to applied), is pretty much the same. One of my math professors joked, "Math is like wisdom. About all you can do with it once you have it is pass it on to others." I in fact was planning to go into teaching, and took a few courses on it. But as it ended up, I found something else that interested me more, and I ended up going that route instead. I still had the math major, but never ended up doing anything with it as far as my career goes. That isn't to say I think the degree was wasted, though. I'm happy with the way my college career went, and I think it shaped my mind correctly. Many jobs and careers care more about the generic degree ("he went to college and so can handle mental gymnastics of this kind") than what the specific degree and course work were. Lex
You can always get your masters in history. It takes a bit longer, but you could teach at a college/university level? Idk thats how it works up here in Canada, but I say that cause I'm doing something similar, excet majoring in Philosophy From what I know, Uni students arent as bratty
My sis is a teacher. One of the sure fire ways to make sure your class is good is to either impose fear, or pure awesomeness. She rides a motorcycle into school so when the kids find out its instant respect. Foster respect from them and I'm sure you'll have a good time. . .I hope.
There are a lot of teachers out there, but very few good teachers. If you want to teach and thats what would make you happy then don't let the other minor set backs pull you down. I have an awesome teacher that probably changed my academic life and made me realize all the I can really do. She has students that already graduated drop by all the time and its really an awesome person to learn from. Also, if you teach AP classes and honor classes then you will have to deal with very few clown classes and people that just dont give a crap about school
Least you have an idea. Me I know what I want to get into, but I'm in Psych instead because at least MAYBE there's a better chance of a job but these days I need a Masters to even possibly get something and I just don't see myself in a Master's program...
Most states actually require that a high school teacher have a Master's degree by a certain period. In most universities, you can not become a tenured professor unless you have a doctorate. There are exceptions in certain departments, though.
LOL! In SA teachers are allowed to teach with a diploma and at my University honor students teach first year classes.
Hi there! For a while I was majoring in History and was planning on becoming a Secondary Education teacher. My mind changed about a year ago and I'm now majoring in Psychology. I work as a substitute teacher and just seeing from the "teacher's point of view" was something I didn't want to do for a career. I'm happier choosing something like Psychology, rather than teaching at the high school level. You're right about job security in some sense, but I recently heard from two people who had recently got degrees in education saying they cannot find a job and the school district isn't hiring. Scary. I'm glad I changed my major. Although don't let me experience influence your decision. Good luck with making a choice! P.S. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.
See, I want to be a teacher that people enjoy and that makes history (which can be a snorefest for a lot of people) interesting. I'm not trying to be their buddy but I don't want to be boring. Some teachers don't try to make things engaging and that's where they lose their students. Unfortunately, I take honors and AP classes and some of my classmates are still a pain. They aren't as bad as the non-honors kids, but when you get a bunch of rich, spoiled brats who think they're La Merde Or together, they become monsters.
^You jsut discribed my history teacher haha He is really dorky/cool kinda guy and makes history a lot of fun. Gives TONS of work but its one of the few classes that I actually look forward to having. He also saved a kid from dieing not so long ago because the kid wrote a note on one of his test and told him that he was going to kill himself. He had overdoesed in his car, but they were able to find him before he died. Hard choice though. Also, The teacher union is one of the strongest unions when it comes to lgbt issues, if I'm not mistaken. So, if you want a "save" job while being out then maybe that can be an option.
I was watching a video about Rachel Carson the other day, and in it, I learned that she had gone to college planning to be an English major, but during her junior year, had to take a gen ed, took biology, fell in love with it and ended up writing a book that created the modern environmentalist movement (alright...I skipped a lot there). The point is this: From what I can tell, you're 17, which means you probably aren't in college yet. There are a lot of people who go into to school knowing their major (I did), but there are an equal number of students who don't know what they want to major in, or even change their intended major. Along these lines, take your gen-eds early, they're good ideas for a reason. Lastly, just go to college to study what you love. As much as I love making fun of my english/history major friends, you'll find something to do with it.
I went through five years of university to get a teaching degree, taught high school for one year, and then quit. It definitely wasn't the right fit for me. However, I am very glad I got my degree - it opens so many doors. At the moment I'm in charge of a literacy program at a community college, and I love my job.
Go for accounting, nursing, or something that gives you a skill. I have a BA in Biology and it really isn't marketable at all... I tried the PhD route, but didn't like doing research. I wish I would have chosen a major that would have given me a job... Instead, I am working part time at Target and part time at a garden center.
I'm horrible at math and nursing isn't for me. The only marketable skill I have is that I'm a great writer. :/
I'm sure you have more 'markateble' skills than that! There are quite a few job opportunities out there for someone who has skills that you will learn in History and English. In fact, having English as part of any degree is good. I wouldn't worry about whether your skills are 'marketable' at this point because any degree will give you 'marketable' skills. It really depends on what you want to do afterward. During your studies you will see what opportunities that will be available to you. If you like studying History and English go for it.
I wouldn't be so quick to foreclose on the possibility that maybe you like subjects beyond History and/or English. For instance, my first degree is in Computer Science but my second is in Sociology. Part of that is because they didn't offer Sociology (or Psychology, for that matter, or probably any number of other things) at my high school. If they had, I might have realised I liked sociology a lot more than computer science and done that the first time around. Although to be fair, my interest in sociology crystallized as a result of my interest in queer issues, which didn't happen until after my 2nd year of university. But anyway, the point is that you're not even at university yet! Make good use of your electives in university--set up your degree so you can take some non-History/non-English courses while you're there and maybe you'll find out there's a field you didn't even know existed that you really like. One of the best courses I ever took at university was the first-year intro acting class; granted I didn't pursue acting as a career but it was a really enjoyable and interesting change of pace. I also did a minor in English during my Computer Science degree--which might have been the only thing that kept me sane. As for teaching high school, I hear you on the fear that it might not be that fulfilling (or maybe rather that some of the bad stuff would outweight the fulfilling aspects). But if you are into school, you can always go for your PhD (you couldn't do much with respect to teaching at the university level in a major city here in Canada without a PhD, although a Master's in Sociology can definitely open career-based doors) and teach at the university level. If you like writing, well, you'll be doing a lot of that in History and/or English. Do NOT study something you are not really interested in just to make yourself employable. That's why I finished my computer science degree and from a certain perspective, that really took me down the wrong path career-wise. I mean sure, what's done is done, it got me to where I am today, yadda yadda yadda... but I knew halfway through I didn't want to work in the field for the rest of my life but I stuck with it because I knew it would provide me financial stability. Which it did. But it sure as heck didn't make me a happy camper. And financial stability is not the be-all and end-all of life.
