Just passing

kommandant · July 14, 2012, 11:05:48 AM

Hey guys, just passing here and I would like to ask, does anyone here is a professional in History, work with it and make your living with it.

I might have some questions, or not, I'm just wondering. :)

LongBlade · July 14, 2012, 01:34:59 PM

SoM works in the field but he's offline for a while. You might want to ping him when he pops back on. Might be a couple of weeks though.

Gusington · July 16, 2012, 09:16:13 AM

I have a MA in History and planned on working in the field but never made the breakthrough. I can try my best at answering whatever questions you have.

bayonetbrant · July 16, 2012, 09:47:41 AM

Kommandant,
We can put you in touch with a few here and there. Greybriar is a history professor, as is Son of Montfort (who's off the 'net for a bit right now handling some personal stuff)
James Sterrett has a PhD in history, but works in wargaming.
I thought we had Jim Werbaneth signed up here, too, but I guess not. I need to go tackle him and drag him over here now.

Centurion40 · July 16, 2012, 10:12:25 AM

Quote from: Gusington on July 16, 2012, 09:16:13 AM
I have a MA in History and planned on working in the field but never made the breakthrough. I can try my best at answering whatever questions you have.

I have a question.

Where did you get that haircut? ;)

Gusington · July 16, 2012, 10:24:55 AM

Did it myself! Want one?

TheCommandTent · July 16, 2012, 07:43:22 PM

Quote from: Gusington on July 16, 2012, 09:16:13 AM
I have a MA in History and planned on working in the field but never made the breakthrough. I can try my best at answering whatever questions you have.

Is your MA in a specific focus? I've got a BA in History and have been thinking about going to get my MA but I am not sure what job opportunities I would/could pursue with it afterwards.

Gusington · July 16, 2012, 08:44:32 PM

^Yes my MA is in American colonial history, and my thesis was on the Civil War draft riots in NYC. The vast majority of my MA classmates were studying to be teachers. There were a handful of corporate/government librarians and then there was me.

TheCommandTent · July 16, 2012, 09:09:20 PM

If you don't mind me asking who did you get your MA through?

I've thought about teaching but am still not sure. From what I've seen it is tough sledding getting into teaching right now. I don't want to go spending all that money on a MA and then decide not to teach or what not. I guess you can say I am in that stage of having no clue what to pursue. :)

MetalDog · July 16, 2012, 10:52:43 PM

TCT, I know it's a tired old saw, but, do something you love. That way, you'll never work a day in your life.

Gusington · July 17, 2012, 09:53:35 AM

^I absolutely agree with that. I have yet to do what I love day to day (apart from working here, of course). It is some of the best advice you can ever get.

Got my MA at Rutgers.

LongBlade · July 17, 2012, 09:58:09 AM

Quote from: Gusington on July 17, 2012, 09:53:35 AM
^I absolutely agree with that. I have yet to do what I love day to day (apart from working here, of course). It is some of the best advice you can ever get.

The problem is that you need to find a job in order to do what you love. With a history degree, that's not an easy task.

I wouldn't say "don't do it." But I would tell you to consider the odds.

Gusington · July 17, 2012, 10:01:56 AM

My search for a job teaching history was a colorful one that ended in failure. But failing at that taught me to make lemons from lemonade and basic economic survival skills.

I wouldn't say 'don't do it' either. Just have a backup plan, like working in the interwebs for instance. That hasn't been so bad for me and may lead me to the promised land of doing what I love every day, eventually.

kommandant · July 17, 2012, 11:37:44 AM

I made this post and forgot about it, how embarrased I'm right now :-[

I'm not sure if I have any clear questions about this, last person I got to know that works on the field, apart from my high school teacher, was a friend of a friend, she is studing for her doctorate right now, and she sent me her essay that she did for her master degree. Need to say that it was not a subject of great interest to me, a study on the students moviment during the military dictatorship in Brazil, from 1969 to 1979, but I read it.

I'm going to finish college this year, I'm doing a course of Computer Science, I really don't like the course and virtually any subject of it, people keep telling me how vast the market is for some one with this knowlage, and how high the salary is. I've always wanted to study history and work on the field, I really like to teach to people, to try and shape them, every time I have the chance to teach something I go for it. I really don't know if I will love to work on the area, as a researcher and/or teacher, but I want to give it a try.

I know the salary is poor, mainly in Brazil, but I think to my self, if the salary is poor, if the working condition is bad, and everyone tells me to not go for it, because of these question. How can the country go forward? How can the salary condition get better? How can the next generation have a chance to get better, if people don't want to become teachers?

Some one needs to do the dirty job, some needs to teach the young on the subjects like math and history and shape them to live in society. Why this person can't be me? Why I need to choose a job that will give me money and confort, and let some one else do the hard work? Why let some one else make the difference, wile I live in the shadow of confort for the rest of my life?

To get to my 70's and look back, and see how empty and useless my life was, how I was just one more piece in the chess board. I don't want that, I want to work on something that makes the difference, and complete me as a human being. I come a cross dozens of people in their 40' or 60's, that tell me I'm wrong, that is not how society works, that is not how life works. I come across people in their 20's that just want that for their lifes, confort and good money, and others that lost the hope in the ideas I hold.

I don't know if I'm right or wrong, but I'm tired of people trowing manuals of how to live your life at me. I'm tired of people trying to pave my road. I tired of the "play it safe" concept, don't take risks and try to stay away from danger, from politics and controversies.

Sorry for the some of the rage in the post and sorry to got away from the subject of the topic. and sorry for the long post.

Want to know if you guys like to work with it, if it worth studing it all. I want to graduate and after it go for a master degree, I would like to study the last yeah of mine in France, I know a guy, not a friend, I just knew him in high school, he is studing his last year of engeneering in France, I want to do it too.

As I said, I don't have any clear question over the subject.

Gusington · July 17, 2012, 02:19:24 PM

^Funny you mention working with computers...I am moving into that area now. You could conceivably combine your love of teaching with technology and teach IT courses, but that would require you to work in the field for a time to become good enough to teach others. Corporate trainers make a lot of dough, especially those in tech fields.

Just passing

kommandant

kommandant