Any professional Historians/Archaeologists on the EB Team? Some questions . . .

[Zeibek]

I can't agree with Moros more. I studied history for 7 years and i couldn't find work in the field and now i work in some company's archive which is very frustrating at times

I'm scared to death that that's what will happen to me. I'm only in highschool, but I know that once I get to university I'll become a history major. Well maybe not necessarily history; something like anthropolgy or linguistics is just as possible. But the thing is I don't want an academic career where I have to be in constant competition against my peers, fighting for measly grant money. But what can a history major do other than teach history, become an academic or become an archeologist?

Archaeology has never really interested me. Flamingcookbook already mentioned the disregard towards contemporary chronicles which is often exhibited in archaelogists (my aunt is married to one so I'm not riding on mere stereotypes) which puts me off, but similarly I've got this image of all classical historians as philhellenes with deep disregard towards other cultures (this image was has been created by my current history teacher who has apparently studied at Oxford). Besides history my other interests are the study of myth, linguistics and general anthropology.

However, the greatest thing hindering me is the fact that my areas of interest vary incredibly widely; just this summer I read eveything I could get my hands on about the Ainu, and now its the obscure Finnic tribes like the Chudes that provoke the most fascination in me. Before either of those it was the Indo-Iranians and the Tocharians. And those are just my historical interests, as I'm also interested in German philosphy, general literature and psychology (mostly psychoanalysis as opposed to behavioural studies).

I know that I'm still young and I've got years ahead of me, but the fact is either I'm gonna become either an academic or a teacher. And I don't want to become either. I just want to learn about the world, not build a boring and meaningless career. But unfortunately they don't pay you just for that. If they do, you have to specialize, and I don't want to.

Blaah. Sorry that this ended up being an angsty rant, but I just had to vent some pressure. Test week is coming up and I've gotta study math which I'm never gonna use.