To all those who have studied or study history

[Vuk]

I got my degree last December, and still haven't found a job. You are overqualified for most minimum wage jobs and not competitive enough for anything else. Don't do it if you want a future. Sorry to sound cynical, but doing what you love isn't always what will make you the happiest in the long run.

[Strike For The South]

You are never overqualified for employment if you currently are unemployed

That's some fancy city boy talk for someone who salivates over hard work

[Vuk]

You are never overqualified for employment if you currently are unemployed

That's some fancy city boy talk for someone who salivates over hard work

No dumbass, I am saying people won't hire you because they think you are overqualified. I cannot even get a job as a cashier while I am waiting to find better employment! People will hire brainless highschool kids over you, because they think you will expect much and only be on for the short-term.

[Strike For The South]

No dumbass, I am saying people won't hire you because they think you are overqualified. I cannot even get a job as a cashier while I am waiting to find better employment! People will hire brainless highschool kids over you, because they think you will expect much and only be on for the short-term.

I have never seen overqualified employees turned away. It's one of those things you hear allot about but never see. Funny.

[Vuk]

I have never seen overqualified employees turned away. It's one of those things you hear allot about but never see. Funny.

Whatever you say Strike.

[Strike For The South]

Whatever you say Strike.

I work in a place that is considered a last resort for most and entry level for some. Never seen a grad turned away because they were to educated.

Laziness is not an admirable quality. Farmers know this. Of course farmers know shooting up a pig carcass with an automatic weapon is dumb too.

[Vuk]

I work in a place that is considered a last resort for most and entry level for some. Never seen a grad turned away because they were to educated.

Laziness is not an admirable quality. Farmers know this. Of course farmers know shooting up a pig carcass with an automatic weapon is dumb too.

Neither are stupidity, ignorance, and arrogance.

[CountArach]

Never seen a grad turned away because they were to educated.

One of my friends was turned down for a basic sort of desk job/general office worker job. He is also doing his PhD in Italian Renaissance Studies. They specifically said that he was too qualified and they realised that he would not be staying with the company for as long as they wanted because of this. So it does happen. I agree that people always use it as a truism or an excuse for not being given a job they wanted, but yes. It does happen.

As for the OP, I'm currently writing my PhD in Ancient History and am planning on academia, so I'm not really sure what use I would be beyond urging you to follow your passion. If you would be a good academic, you would realise by the time your last year rolls around. If you aren't going to make it as one, or wouldn't find the lifestyle interesting enough, then you can always change degrees.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I have never seen overqualified employees turned away. It's one of those things you hear allot about but never see. Funny.

"Over Qualified" means "did degree and has less experience as general munchkin"

It's a problem. Want to work in a supermarket stacking shelves? Well, you did that job for a couple of months over Christmas while studying, but that guy who can barely spell his own name has been doing it for 10 years. He can be crap at the job, but on paper he's more likely to get hired because life sucks.

[Vuk]

"Over Qualified" means "did degree and has less experience as general munchkin"

It's a problem. Want to work in a supermarket stacking shelves? Well, you did that job for a couple of months over Christmas while studying, but that guy who can barely spell his own name has been doing it for 10 years. He can be crap at the job, but on paper he's more likely to get hired because life sucks.

I honestly think that is one of my hurdles to getting a job. I spent my childhood and teen years working on my family's farm, and only have limited work experience outside of that. I have been trying to play up the experience I have for all it is worth, but employers don't seem to be buying it. :P Of course where I worked I always out performed most people there who had years of experience, and I have a very strong work ethic and am a fast learner, but despite trying to get that across to employers, they seem to think that if you do not have experience from when you were younger, you are not going to be any good.

[Vuk]

I think getting a doctorate in some kind of history, and then teaching history at a college level, would be fan-freaking-tastic. That's been my pipe dream since middle school, at least.

Bummer the odds are so long on that one.

That's what I wanted to do too. (not so much on the teaching end as the research and writing end) I have kind of given up on that for now though and am just looking at getting by till I can set up my own business.

[Major Robert Dump]

I think getting a doctorate in some kind of history, and then teaching history at a college level, would be fan-freaking-tastic. That's been my pipe dream since middle school, at least.

Bummer the odds are so long on that one.

But you do know that trading sex for better grades will likely get you fired, right?

[tibilicus]

I got my degree last December, and still haven't found a job. You are overqualified for most minimum wage jobs and not competitive enough for anything else. Don't do it if you want a future. Sorry to sound cynical, but doing what you love isn't always what will make you the happiest in the long run.

Sadly this is a pretty typical story.

There are things which can be done to make yourself more employable but this may only be applicable to the UK. For example a lot of people will seek out internships or work experience placements in fields they're interested in going into when they graduate and accounting companies will accept politics undergraduates for internships or placement years for example if they have the relevant maths skills. These are however very difficult to come by. My academic record is otherwise excellent yet I applied for two internships this year, one which was at a pretty small company and I still didn't get it. I did however get a two week work experience placement out of one interview despite not getting the full month long internship and considering the difficult of getting any relevant experience in the job market I'm more than happy I got it. My dissertation is also a work based one where I work with a company using their model, statistic, strategy ect to argue about the effects of public sector outsourcing. Essentially taking my normal dissertation work topic and combining it with active research in collaboration with an external company. I'm hoping it will look better on my CV and I can show employers I have actually undertaken a project with real world applicability whilst working with a big company, instead of arguing about US foreign policy in the Middle East which most people tend to do. This of course is all circumstantial and I wouldn't be working with this company if it wasn't for my families connections for which I'm very grateful.

Also on the point of overqualified, there is such a thing. Many places will turn down people they see as overqualified, usually on the basis that most people are seeking such jobs on a temporary basis till something better comes along which justifies they're higher level of qualification. This also tends to be true. No one goes to university with the aim of stacking shelves when they graduate with the guys who spent their high school years gaining straight Ds.

[TinCow]

I was a history major in undergrad and have done relatively well, but I immediately went to law school and have been employed as a lawyer for my entire post-school life. There really isn't any such thing as a 'career' in history outside of academia, and a career there generally requires a Masters or a Doctorate. I would treat a BA in History like I would a BA in pretty much anything else... it demonstrates that you've got a general education and are smart enough to do work. It's not really going to qualify you for much on its own. You'll have to find an entry level job in whatever field you're interested in, and work your way up. If you want a degree that will actually open doors for you beyond general education, I'd recommend a BS or a graduate degree in something that is in demand.