Quote Originally Posted by jabarto View Post
Well honestly, I'm getting some pretty mixed information in my inquiries on this matter. THe only thing that seems to be unilaterally agreed upon is that history PhD's are useless. And I can't get into an HVACR program either, because the damn things fill up so quickly.
They are only useless in a real-world application sense, and even then that is only assuming you go into some non-history based field. There aren't many people willing to go for a PhD in History because of this perception and as such if you are good enough you have a good chance of being accepted into Academia. If you don't want to go into Academia, then you might want ot rethink the PhD idea. However, as with all liberal arts degrees you end up with very important analytical skills and researching abilities that will be able to help you in later life. Plus a PhD shows the ability to be dedicated to something for a vewry long-term, as well as a high level of intelligence, two things many employers are going to value. Don't let it get you down - just do what you want to do and find a way to make it work. I'm going to start my honours year in Ancient History next year and do my PhD as soon as I can after that, and I know that this is what will make me happy and fulfilled. It is just a matter of having the right mindset and fitting everything around that.

2 cents from someone who has gone through the same periods of depression you are describing here.