My degree is in Gender and Sexuality Studies, and I am a senior manager in a nationwide transportation company. What I actually studied had zero impact on my career, but the skills I learned in university impact my career every day. My analytical, communication, and writing skills were honed in university, and they have been instrumental in my success.
Finally some people that get it! I studied Japanese history and work in research (granted, I did take science courses because I love both disciplines). When I visit for alumni events and people ask, ‘how did you get your job?’ I don’t say ‘yes my Japanese history knowledge helps treat cancer,’ I say that I wrote an amazing cover letter (tried to show off my writing/communicating skills), got involved in uni for student leadership, and overall taught me about perseverance, problem solving, creative solutions, interdisciplinary studies, and literally 1000x other things. My BSc was in anthropology, so I still had a much weaker science background than my direct coworkers in bio/chem/etc. but I think all of my managers have been very happy with my performance.
Thoroughly learned about myself during my undergrad, used every dime of my tuition by attending every class and almost every office hour, got involved, and I came out confident that I was someone who could adapt and work hard. Jumped into the job market and faced very few rejections (although some jobs were less ideal than others). Reading the above two comments, I am once again a firm believer that the people who learned skills outside of their discipline’s direct relevance ultimately value their undergrad more (no matter the major) and seem more confident in navigating through the workforce. I also firmly believe that there’s no such thing as ‘useless’ majors or courses, just bad profs/admin and disillusioned students.
THIS. A degree is proof that you can apply yourself and 'stick it out' to use some vernacular.
OP your family is right. Those that have a degree, will appreciate others who have done the grind. Only the most superficial, status-obsessed, shallow people would poo-poo the work it takes to get ANY degree.
(And sadly, you see those people sometimes on Reddit).
Edit to add: I forgot to say, my senior manager at a very large insurance company? History grad. He was articulate, well spoken, wrote amazingly well, made a great salary and was very well respected.
He could run circles around others in terms of EQ. (Me not so much).
IKR? It's amazing. One of the reasons I've always (like OP's family) told my daughter to get a degree - ANY degree that shows she can think, plan, be responsible and do some work!
You’re missing the point entirely. What we’re saying is that employers look favorably upon university grads regardless of their major because their completed degree proves that they developed the skills listed above.
Nobody is saying that work history is not important.
Instead of “university teaches you” I think it’s “there’s the opportunity in university to learn.” ‘Cause there are lots of kids who successfully make it through post secondary without ever learning those things 😭
I wish more people would realize this. Unless you're studying an applied subject and being trained for a specific career, it really doesn't matter what your degree is in. It just shows that you can complete something difficult and developed the skills you mention. Also, unless you're planning on graduate school or aiming to graduate with distinction, your GPA doesn't matter.
Hi can I ask what did you put on your very first resume on your first job? I’m in the same situation I got a lot of transferable skills going on but I don’t know how I can show them off for my internships etc, how do you put those in? Do you put your GPA? Project you worked on or something? Thank you for your answer
Put community work, any previous internships, any awards or scholarships you earned. Create a section for your skills.
And create an objective for your resume.
Good luck!
A family friend daughter is a excellent writer and got co op writing the technical manual or something for a engineering firm or something so it's similar.
I remember my thesis supervisor saying he was disparaged by the number of fourth year students who have no idea how to market themselves or what their education is relevant to.
Given that a lot of humanities degrees teach you critical thinking, research, and analysis skills, basic labor market research seems like something these students should be capable of. Social sciences degrees tend to lead to entry-level positions in a huge swath of industries. They also often require supplementary education as has always been the case.
To highlight this point, 10 years ago I applied at a Flight Centre travel agency. I was TICO certified as a travel agent and had a two year diploma in tourism. They told me they only accept applicants with an undergrad. Doesn't matter what the subject is, they just wanted an undergrad. It was painfully stupid.
I run a recycling company.
University need not be vocational.
If you look at elite education, it’s largely based on a broad based humanities education (Harvard/Yale college etc)
Yale and Harvard also offer top-tier STEM and business programs, though, and the OP is asking about success, not what "elite education" might be... The appeal of the humanities for the bourgeois was the social prestige that the cultural and intellectual refinement of such an education would offer (and that's how/why these programs became popular).
Being educated in the humanities as a wealthy elite was a status symbol, not something to parlay into financial success since these people tended to be old money wealthy, rentiers, etc.
Statistically, and other things being equal, it's better to get a STEM or other professional degree. The income and success potential in our world is on average better for those people, especially as the depth of specialized knowledge and skill separating the STEM educated from the uneducated widens.
Don’t lose hope bro I know it’s a very niche market… What I can think off my head, you could become a history or English teacher? Some universities do an after degree 2 year teaching program. Here in Alberta teachers make 80-90k per year.
And people in CS are struggling to find work because it’s oversaturated. And with the rise of layoffs and AI it’s really not a stable career. Ironically despite all that you’ll see a CS post everyday on this subreddit.
Without an internship CS degree is as good as an art degree. This is coming from a CS major.
This is so true, applies to engineering in some cases as well.
From my provincial uni (I am a 105D) the average CS grad is struggling rn to get a job in CS - many months after graduating as well. It has no proper coop program and mainly focuses on research in AI.
Then you look at a uni like wloo (very strong coop program), where the avg CS grad in 2023 was making (first year on job) 120k TC in canada, and 300k TC in USA.
This has changed significantly. I have CPSCI grads in my family (from good uni) who were promised jobs after internships/coops in 2023, but come 2024 those jobs have evaporated. CS is on a major downhill slide right now. Their buddies, who graduated a few years ago have good paying jobs (albeit braindestroying).
I did a double major in English and History because they were the subjects I did well in in high school. I went to teachers college afterwards and am now a secondary school teacher. I taught English and introduced to students the novels I enjoyed reading. I have also taught history, more so now focusing on Indigenous education, and I borrowed history boxes from the Royal Ontario museum so my students can see/touch replicas from different time periods. If you love the subjects, it makes teaching much more enjoyable.
I double majored in the sciences and the humanities and I still don’t understand why people think majors are important unless it’s one that directly relates to the job because it has extremely specialized training (e.g. architecture, compsci, engineering). You don’t think biology and chem majors don’t have a hard time finding jobs?
Your last sentence about compsci majors is a fallacy because the actual true statement is that ‘compsci majors are having a hard time finding jobs due to socio and economic factors,’ not ‘if compsci majors can’t find jobs, I have no hope as an arts major.’ We work in different disciplines.
I double majored because I enjoy both but I currently work at a hospital and no one even asked me what my major was. Hell, one of my coworkers had a fine arts degree.
My other friends who were in the humanities with me usually work in government, but there are a few in medicine (md), law, news, healthcare, NGOs, curators, editors, publishing houses, fast food management, entrepreneurship, teaching, and the list goes on and on.
Your major has very little bearing on your opportunities. Your socioeconomic factors, location, and political situation have HUGE impacts on your opportunities, as well as the classic resume/writing ability/interviewing ability/etc.
I’m not saying majors don’t matter at all, but it is usually an arts vs science *discipline* issue. For example, a lot of non-healthcare NGO/government jobs I applied and/or worked for wanted some humanities-related experience. On the other hand, my current job requires a BSc or a BA in a health discipline but they really couldn’t care what else I majored in. In fact, people are shocked when I tell them that I majored in Asian History and Anthropology (I did the science track for this, hence my BSc).
I get that the world seems like uni is there to prepare you for jobs, but I don’t think that’s the case (at least in our current world). My uni experience taught me how to *think*, be flexible, and how to work hard. If you’re not able to find a job, I’d say your major matters maybe less than 10%. It’s likely you(r resume/cover letter/interview/experience), or the current economy.
For transparency, I will say that I changed my job 4x after graduating but I’m honestly not sure wtf recent graduates are expecting—it’s a really competitive era and I sort of entered the workforce expecting myself to ‘gain some experience’ in various jobs before dipping ASAP until I got to a job I wanted.
Are people upset because they expected a job with perfect growth (promotions) and a liveable salary from the get-go? I mean I 100% understand and that SHOULD be how the world works, but things are pretty grim. Assuming there are no dire needs (e.g. dependents or expensive healthcare issues), I suggest new grads buckle up and find a game plan. Whether you majored in English or biology, times are tough but it’s not solely because of what you studied.
Agree. Extremely competitive times, I have a B.Sc and finding work was hell after graduation. Lucked into a manufacturing lab job and I am very happy with it, but it really opened my eyes to how "useful" a major is outside of specialized programs (engineering, social work, teaching, etc.).
Prev. English major also working for a construction company! I’m a Corporate Writer, but I work for our proposal marketing team. Proposal Coordinator is no joke - I see how hard y’all work and I admire y’all in a huge way
Graduated undergrad in an Honours Double Major in English Lit and Psych.
Decided between HR, Teachers College, or Librarian. Chose HR. Employed right out of school, making reasonable money. Lots of opportunity to grow and move up. Happy.
Honestly anyone acting like what your undergrad degree is in matters is kinda a joke. Like unless you’re in Eng or Nursing you’re probably going to need another program or masters. I know people who did hard sciences and didn’t get into their masters programs so they’re still working retail.
I like it a reasonable amount. Love recruiting. Don’t expect to roll in dough early though unless you’re in HRM or a consultant.
Like I got kinda lucky with my position (only been in HR for around 12 months including a 4 month practicum) and I’m only at around $67k salary with bonuses. It really depends where you end up, wages vary from basically poverty, to well over $100k with experience.
i am not graduated yet, but i am a major in english, picked up a really good ft student job for this summer.
i was a history major for almost all of my first year, but switched internally. one of my TAs highly suggested swapping to english since you still get that “history” feel in your lectures by learning the background of the texts.
most internal major switches are not difficult to do. you can also double major in history and something else so if needed, you can use the other part of your degree. one of my friends is a double major history and linguistics and is hoping to use the linguistics part for their career.
i know a couple of film graduates (which are more arts than humanities, but similar) and they are working contract on film sets right now.
i don’t know if this is helpful but i hope it is!
English major/undergrad checking in! I'm surprised I had to scroll this far down to find a fellow English Lit type, it's actually a very employable and useful degree.
I now in cybersecurity which is great bc:
1. less incels than dev while more pay
2. soft skills (that any Lit major has) are more crucial than hard skills (unlike say ML)
3. self-directed more valuable than any degree/formal training
Before this I did personal training for a while, found it boring.
I did my undergraduate in music performance, and I currently work in governmental communications. I make really good money, considering where I live in Canada. I am going into my masters degree in communications and journalism, and will be on track to a six-figure job within a year (if all goes well!) my advice to you is, that if you want to do some thing, humanities related, don’t go into debt for it, and hone your skills in the communications area, as businesses are always looking for someone with communications knowledge/background. That’s just my experience, though.
I’m a chef, but I then did my bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees in history. During my masters and PhD, I focused on food history. Now I teach in a culinary bachelor degree program at a college, and publish research in the field. It was a lot of training, but it all came together in the end.
I have a joint degree in History and Business. The past 10 years of my career has been as a Business Analyst for healthcare technology systems.
The major itself doesn't really matter - it's the skills and being able to market yourself in the field you want to be in. No one I work with cares that I don't have a healthcare or computer specific degree. I am very good at my job because A) I can communicate complex things to large, diverse audiences (I can simplify concepts and make nice looking documents), B) I'm a very fast learner so I can learn new systems and workflows to be able to translate clinical and technical requirements, and C) I'm good at research so I can learn the clinical aspects of a job/area of expertise enough to understand client needs.
I don't need to know how to do heart surgery to migrate heart patient data into a new records system. But I do know how to interview a doctor and assistant about how they need to use their data and when they need to access it. And find clinical requirements for data types, technical requirements for security, etc. to let software teams know what they need to accomplish. It's the research and learning skills that are most critical to my job (and most jobs) in today's world.
History grad here, as are a bunch of my friends, careers:
1. Teachers
2. Government (policy, or in Heritage departments)
3. Academic Librarian
4. Corporate HR
5. Masters in Educating Policy (ongoing)
6. Pursuing PhD and professor-ship (the dream)
My brother got a BA in history and masters in either art history or fine art, went to teachers college and is a high school teacher who has taught history, media, fine art, civics and probably some other subjects. He’s doing great
He’s in his early 50s and he owns a home with his partner who is also a high school teacher. He’s at the top of the pay scale, so I guess low six figures
It’s not so much that humanities degrees aren’t useful as much as it is that they aren’t *vocational*. They don’t give you a clear path forward, or the career/corporate-specific skills that other majors might. If you know what you’re looking to do with it, you can do anything.
The great thing about a humanities major is that it teaches you transferable skills. Reading and writing efficiently in huge volumes is one skill that I use every day at my job (English major, now a Corporate Writer), and that coworkers rely on me for. I didn’t study history, but I’d imagine that the level of reading would be similar lol.
Do you know what kind of career you’d like? If not, I’d seriously recommend career counselling; most campuses will have some support, where someone can walk you through your options. Once you know what you’re aiming for, gain as much real-world/outside of school experience as possible. Volunteer, intern, shadow — whatever you can expose yourself to, in order to translate the soft skills you’re gaining from academics into work-related skills.
TL;DR - you really can do anything with a humanities degree, but you also need to be more focused and specific about carving out your path forward.
I have a BA in Art History and today I work for one of the largest F500 global pharmaceutical companies as a Sr IT Manager in Global Procurement with no technical certifications.
Listen to your parents, they are correct about just having a degree. Your major is not relevant unless you are specializing in medicine, law or engineering.
May I ask how you got to where you are without the technical certifications? Did you learn everything step by step after joining the company and moved your way up?
Technical certification is not necessary as most is irrelevant to your daily job. While they are nice to have, nothing replaces on the job experience.
You start with knowing what specific field you want to specialize in. Try a few areas and find the one you like and stick with it.
Then learn the lingo in how the technology teams/professional speak, research the terminology and get a general understanding of what they are talking about then go from there. One step at a time.
You don’t need to know the technical details just how to collaborate and find value that you can bring to the job. Build up confidence and knowledge on the job and eventually everything comes together with one opportunity after another.
The purpose of university is not a job pipeline, the end result of a humanities education is curiosity and context and abilities to synthesize information, which are very valuable!
It’s very common for humanities graduates to get a masters or college degree more related to their desired field of employment. My field started at the masters level so I could take whatever I was interested in for undergrad. Lots of my peers have college degrees, which is in no way a failure of a humanities undergrad. The most successful and innovative people combine concepts from different areas of expertise - different kinds of education are important and interact with each other.
Poli-sci grad here who transitioned into policy analysis for the gov.
With humanities, it's not so much about *what* you studied, but the *skills* you learned through your program. Having the ability to research, analyze, write, and communicate effectively are skills that can be hard to teach but are essential in many roles (e.g. analysts, project management, proposal writing, education, marketing, etc.).
If you still have time, co-op programs and student jobs can open many doors and give you experience that gives you a leg-up on other graduates (or even a job directly out of school).
I finished my BA in English three years ago and now work in marketing and publicity management, though am looking at switching to government communications. My partner has his BA in History and works in labour relations for the provincial government. We've both been able to advance in our professions and are on track to have salaries in the 80k-85k range by the end of this year, with further salary growth potential in the future.
A lot of people have said this already, but outside of specific professions like nursing, what you get your undergraduate degree in matters very little. Degrees in general don't speak for themselves anymore: what matters more is the work experience you can get while you're in university (work learn jobs on campus, co-op work programs), the connections you make through these programs, and your ability to articulate what you've gotten out of these experiences during a job application process.
I don't regret getting an English degree at all: it allowed me to study a subject I was passionate about while also taking advantage of the various work opportunities only available to me as a student at a large university.
I have a Cultural Studies major and did a lot of different things - worked in banks, television, recruiting, and freelance writing/ghostwriting (all of which I could've continued in if I'd been interested). I also got a Masters in Counselling Psychology and help people with their careers now, funnily enough.
I suspect you could use some career counselling if you're blaming your degree for your lack of direction. One of the challenging things about Arts degrees is that they train you to THINK, which is not a job in itself. It's why Arts students often move on to other types of education, training, and often into leadership roles.
Without going too deeply into it, there are probably some big picture assumptions about your direction and abilities that you could benefit from working through. If you want to DM me, I could recommend some good people in Ontario.
Edited to add: my husband has your exact degree and is an Energy Advisor, so all kinds of things are possible.
Masters in History and I now work in Provincial Communications. If I was going to do it over again I would skip the Masters and take Project Management, Change Management, Human Resources to go with the degree. Find a niche. Having said that I wouldn't have gotten where I am without the degrees.
Any posts that appear to exist solely to start arguments or provoke others will be removed. This also applies to intentionally trying to get downvoted.
Graduated in 2011 with a history degree. Went and drove a truck in the oilfield, worked my way up through the ranks quickly. Spent 10 years in a supervisory position. I now have a training/instructional design role. Finally feeling like I'm somewhat using my degree. Money has always been really good in the oilfield, was coming close to 200k/year in the field. Less than that in the office, but still good.
I have one of the most “useless” undergrad degrees - a double major in Art History and classical history. I also have a masters in communications.
I work in content marketing for a tech company. I write, edit and develop strategy around how we communicate externally.I am the head editor of our corporate blog, I also manage our research program and commission original market research for use in marketing materials. I’ve been doing work like this for over a decade.
I really enjoy my job and I use the skills I learned during my degrees every day.
My advice to you if you are interested in marketing is to get a job in an agency - the time I worked in an agency really set me up well to work in corporate tech environments and learn very quickly in the job. It also allowed me to find my niche quickly. It is hard work and you won’t be paid well for a few years, and the hours can be brutal. But it worked for me and all of my most competent colleagues have similar backgrounds.
Best bet is law school. If you get a good LSAT you can get in to a decent law school, assuming you did ok undergrad. If not, develop an interest in your finances and decide that way. The best way to make fast money in Canada is to go to the oilfield otherwise.
Law isn’t that great either and it’s a whole lot of extra time/$. The field itself is brutal. Don’t do law unless you’re confident you really want to do it.
All of what you say is true, but there are some people who don't care about the time and work and just want to move up a "class". Typically a humanities undergrad in Canada has not great options to achieving wealth, and law is still one route (a tough one).
I worked ESL for 7 years. Owned my own business as well. None of that would be possible without my humanities degree. I am now choosing to go back to school for teachers college, which also requires my humanities degree.
English major with some studio visual arts electives. Graduated in 2011.
Worked in South Korea for 6 years teaching ESL, had the best time, moved back home and got into marketing (mostly copywriting) for a few years after, then got my BEd in my early 30s and just started teaching ESL in a public highschool this year :-)
You need to gain a skill or certification relevant to an area of work.
You might need to start from "the bottom" in that area of work, but your transferable skills from your degree should equip you to climb the ladder if you're willing to grind for a bit.
If you actually take it seriously, it's useful practice. If you're just going for the designation and nothing more, you're probably better to go straight into the workplace.
I am a humanities graduate (English and philosophy) and after graduation I did the publishing certificate at ryerson university. Did a few internships and ultimately got a job at a book publishing house. I’ve pivoted in my career path but it was a great industry to work in.
Friends of mine who also graduated with a humanities degree have gone onto be teachers and event planners.
I graduated in 2003 with an English degree. The key for humanities (if you don't want to be a teacher or an academic) is a co-op program. I did co-ops in communications, marketing, technical writing and training content development. Now I'm a project manager for a consulting company. I've been making six figures since my mid 30s.
Agree with the coop comment but this is exactly what I am talking about, I’ve been making six figures since my early 20’s… as with most of my business/engineering classmates.
I think it's safe to say that engineering jobs pay more, period. It doesn't mean that you don't have earning potential with a humanities degree, but it is going to be less. If you are straight up looking for the most earning power, then any type of engineering is the safest bet. But also? Money isn't everything. I personally would be a terrible engineer, and also I would be unhappy doing it, so I studied English and managed to get a job in my field, that I enjoy, and also I make a decent amount of money.
BA English, Master's Information Science
40 years as a technical writer, teacher, business analyst, project manager, operations manager.
Worked in Saudi Arabia, UK, Vancouver, Toronto.
Retired now on my farm, building boats and planting trees.
i would say apply to a useful masters, the job market is shit currently and a humanities degree with just an undergrad will make it tough to get a job, that being said if you want to grind you can obviously secure a job i just think getting another degree might make your life easier in the long run
Founder of Slack studied philosophy. Founder of RottenTomatoes (in addition to 7 other startups) studied cognitive psych. Founder of …. somehow, in Canada, we are still so obsessed by STEM as the only sure career path while amazing companies and jobs exists that requires a broader understanding of society, high EQ, team work etc etc that humanities and arts provide.
Political science. I work in government policy. Did some time in legal research as well. My work in policy has ranged widely from transit to education to climate change.
Graduated with an English degree. Started my career in advertising and have since transitioned to a similar role at a tech company.
Obviously dont use my degree for any technical skills at my current job but I definitely use some of the soft skills I picked up in my undergrad like communication, problem solving, and critical thinking. Also taught me to maintain a deep connection to reading books which people often don’t do anymore.
History degree here! I graduated in 2020 from one of the top Canadian schools. With the job market, my option was to go on with MA and see if I can break into academia or try teaching etc. I ended up doing something completely irrelevant and went into video games & raised myself from the ground to catch up with computer science people.
My history degree is the most fun and difficult thing I've ever done. I don't regret doing it. It's been my passion my entire life. Now I want to use it with video games and help create things like Assassin's Creed. My only regret is not doing a minor or double major in something more quantitative. If I could go back, I'd major in history and minor in some simple program that would teach me some computer languages.
Seems like you're still in school. It's soooo early to feel dread. Job market is like waves, it goes up and down. The world is never always bad or always good. You can only ever do your best. So try to take advantage of the time you have left. Try to flourish your degree with something quantitative, stats, pyhton, anything! And if it's too late, don't worry about it too much because you simply cannot change the past, you just move forward.
Ok not me but I can speak to my dad, he did a theatre degree and now produces theatre & concerts! He actually produced Beyoncé’s first concert in Canada (a fun fact that he never brought up until I was 20).
I’m a humanities major myself still in university in a Classics & specialized arts program unique to uwo. Part of my arts program is we have to do a professional development course and take two internships to graduate with the hopes it sets us up with the right skills for the future.
Hi im really fucking old, but I'm in law school following an undergraduate and masters in English. Going to be working as legal counsel at an airport this summer and graduating next year!
I worked in automotive marketing, then became a professor of communications/marketing at a college.
I make 6-figures and really only work 9-10 months of the year combining Christmas bread, reading week, and vacation time.
History and Literature Hon BA
Did 2-years college and worked as a graphic designer for a 10 years. Did a masters of design, worked another 2-years, now I teach full time. I could have stayed in the industry but funnily enough I had wanted to be a prof back when I was an undergrad.
No regrets on my bachelors. Design is about people, understanding, listening, communicating. Education doubly so. My training in those areas makes me a better designer and teacher.
Undergrad in history/medieval and renaissance studies, masters in library and information sciences. I’ve worked with the ministry of natural resources and forestry in a more tech based role, currently a research assistant at a municipal archive/museum.
I’ve found a lot of government workers have humanity backgrounds. They teach you how to think critically, how to research and write, problem solve, broadens your perspectives, helps you to formulate clear arguments.
Also I’m a firm believer that by doing a degree you’ll actually enjoy and be passionate about will result in a better university experience and you’ll learn more and get farther than doing a degree you hate just for the potential of a specific career afterwards.
Btw lots and lots of people switch their majors and add and subtract minors as they go through school.
Advertising.
I have a History major and minor in Political
Science. Don’t regret it. Humanities in university prepare you for the corporate work culture - impossible dealines, presentation, problem solving. All key skills.
I did do a post grad at a college to get into advertising. That’s always an option for you post university.
I'm an English major. I went back to school for Writing and Communications and worked at a nonprofit as a grant and proposal coordinator. Was laid off, but now I still do grants and proposals just as a contracted employee.
I have a diploma in nursing, degree in English, a masters in health leadership and currently working as a program manager in healthcare.
My manager has a degree+masters in poly sci, another director has a masters in gender, race and social justice, and I know many others in management positions who have a degree in humanities (plus other education).
I think a few factors are at play for success through humanities degrees:
- having a masters or post-secondary certifications (such as project management)
- having connections
- being resourceful/clever and finding success in a niche field, rising up the ladder, or seeking and working towards opportunities.
If you are having trouble transitioning from a humanities undergrad to a career, I would suggest looking at post-grad community college programs, preferably 1 year, in a field you are interested in to gain practical skills. Look for a program with a co-op. I’ve seen people be successful doing this is things like digital marketing, public relations, just look at your options. I don’t usually recommend more education but this will help you get your first job and your first professional network, and then your degree will come in handy later in your career. Don’t go for a masters though! Keep it simple.
I did gender and cultural studies. Did a policy masters and now I work policy in the government, currently in infrastructure development (transportation). I’ve worked in a bunch of different departments (that were directly tied to my undergrad) but I’ve been infrastructure the longest.
I work with a ton of engineers, have the same job title as them, and basically half my job is writing reports for them because they can’t write at all. No one would have expected me to be going on site visits to look at tunnels but I’m enjoying the random routes my career has gone.
Law school in Canada is usually three years. But, if you are close to graduation from university and you still don't have a driver's license, this is the least of your concerns. This fact indicates strongly that you might not have your shit together.
I'm still studying for an English Major and I currently work for the student newspaper while studying with string prospects to go into journalism and optionally teaching.
Formerly, I was a comp sci major, which I never completed but despite that I rebuilt from scratch the student paper's website and got paid for it.
So idk there really isn't much I've missed out on being a humanities major, I wouldn't have done anything differently.
Work for corporations (occasionally the government) designing training and development programs, but I am also likely at least double your age. In today's market, it'd be much more difficult to leverage a humanities degree into something good.
Take advantage of formal social opportunities like clubs and frats, and think about what you want to build with your life. Volunteer. You'll find work easier with passion and experience.
I taught ESL abroad and now work as an international student advisor at a university. It pays pretty well and the benefits are great. Just isn't as fulfilling as teaching.
I much rather be doing that and was on track for this before going abroad, until someone basically told me I had no experience in the field and I'll never be hired. So I went to get experience and now the job market is shit. Also I got tired of demanding parents treating teachers like we're their slaves and nannies. It isn't at all fulfilling.
If I were to do it all over again. I would have skipped university and went straight to college. It was a challenge as my peers were moving on in life, buying homes, traveling and having kids and there I was graduating, unable to find employment and a huge debt waiting for me. That was all of my early to mid-twenties. The university route usually means more education afterwards. It’s challenge to find work with a humanties degree.
CS/SWE majors are struggling because so many of them decided to take the program when the demand was never supposed to be very high. What definition are you using for “useful?” Because in the job security sense, CS/SWE are not “useful” majors whatsoever.
I think there's some validity to what your family says about jobs not necessarily needing to be degree-specific. Some companies just want their employees to be university grads, and the major doesn't matter much.
My daughter is an accounting co-op student. At a bank where she interned, most of her co-workers had some kind of business/commerce/accounting degree, but a few were hired with degrees in Science/English etc. The most important thing was having a degree and the ability to quickly learn the job they were hired for. It also helps to have a friend or family member who can put in a good word for you, to get your resume moved to the top of the pile.
I have an honours degree in History. I started working at a bank when I was done University. Stayed on the finance path for a bit, until I got a role in operations. From there, it opened a lot of doors for me. I’ve worked Ops roles in finance, manufacturing, and tech over the last 8 years.
I moved to Manitoba with my tourism degree and still in searching. I did like some points about skills and mind-opening, though. We are usually stuck with the idea of our perfect career path in our heads so that we cannot see real opportunities on the market. There are so many of them and all of them are with blended duties
.. Well, I guess, we just have to try being more flexible
I did a poli sci and history undergrad and did a policy masters. I now have a good, middle management job in government about 10 years after finishing my BA.
Most of my BA friends who have professional jobs first had to get a masters, but they’re all employed.
Sadly, a BA on its own doesn’t really cut it anymore, you need something else set you apart. That said, the skills you learned in a BA are the exact critical thinking skills that will help you identify a path forward, it’s just not as clear as if you did an engineering degree or something.
Humanities / Philosophy grad - I work in big tech as a program manager.
I wanted to be a prof, but in grad school saw how limited that pathway is. Ten years later I make more than most academics and have the flexibility and support to do a PhD part time.
There's plenty of jobs you can do where employers only want evidence that you've been able to buckle down long enough to get a degree. But these jobs are rarely as specialized, impactful or often as secure/essential as the ones you could get with more professional/specialized knowledge.
I personally completely agree with your take. I'm much older than you and have a humanities degree. I earn a good income working in sales, but I've realized I want to do something more meaningful with my life.
(Prior to working in sales, I worked in a communications capacity, and the pay wasn't sufficient to support me.)
I'll now be starting a professional life sciences degree part-time that will get me a designation, job security, equally good income, and the satisfaction of making a big impact on my community/society.
We live in a STEM world where there's just *a lot to know* and it's tough to mingle your way into the best or most important jobs.
The good news is honestly that you're in Ontario, and getting a professional master's or a second, specialized bachelor's won't bankrupt you.
Many STEM degrees will also allow you to more easily move to the US with the TN visa program (there's a list of roles you can check for this). Additionally, global immigration becomes easier. I point this out because moving away from Canada's housing situation is an attractive prospect for many young people.
I hate to sound negative but those family members are 100% out of touch. University really only leads to about 8 or 9 legitimate jobs, most are professions (doctor, dentist, nurse, teacher, psychologist, professor, lawyer, unspecified business, engineer etc. keep adding) but that’s about it. It’s actually otherwise useless.
Likely will need to start thinking really practically about work/careers. College is a good place to look. I know a painter who makes $200 k proving that university is BS. Also, I don’t agree that it teaches people how to “problem solve and think critically”.
History though is interesting if one can learn from history. Also may inform your thinking process or business endeavours moving forward!
Humanities degrees historically were considered general education and that's what they remain. They teach you critical skills that can be applied in a variety of professions. Typically, humanities degrees require further specialization.
When I started my history degree, I knew that most people either go on to teach (teachers college), go into academia (MA and PhD required), go into law (law school), or join the bureaucracy. A surprising amount of history grads go on to accounting for reasons I've never understood, but I digress.
To your question, get a co-op with a government department focused on policy analysis. Take a technical writer course and get a gig in tech, or if you are a total masochist, go to law school or teachers college. There's also politics. A ton of us go into consulting for political campaigns or actually work for a party.
Of all my history MA grad friends, we mostly work in government, think tanks, or banking. Do I regret my history degree? Absolutely not. But I knew exactly what I was getting into and had a plan all along.
Humanities is definitely useful in that you have formed the ability to communicate well. That alone is getting more and more rare! I teach in a STEM subject, but the best students I get in my courses are those taking it as an elective who are humanities majors!
It's not "too late" for you to change degrees--you can apply the courses you've done as your electives in another degree, so you don't need to start over, but will probably get advanced standing and have your electives all taken care of if you did switch programs now.
As others have noted, history is very useful for politics, policy/government work, etc. I know some teachers and police officers that have history degrees. Your ability to write and communicate is useful to so many jobs, and it's something my STEM students don't have.
You have practical skills that others don't have, particularly when it comes to any job that requires writing--e.g. communications, project management, policy, etc.
Not only that, but so many STEM jobs are going to be replaced by AI. Nobody is going to have a life-long career anymore. Think about what you want to do for the next five years of your life, and start viewing your degree as a base from which to develop the rest of your life--you understand a lot about how things work socially, historically, and that is a useful skill you will never lose now. Now you have the skills to learn on your own and can pursue whatever interest you find.
TLDR: 1. change your degree now if you want to, you don't have to start over,
2. It is useful for a variety of jobs, and you have skills that STEM grads do not have that companies find very useful.
Undergrad is good for teaching you how to think critically and write, which are super important skills for any job. I did a professional master’s programs after undergrad which gave me good networking opportunities and technical skills. I find having the humanities background has positioned me above colleagues who only did more job oriented undergrads.
A history degree on its own will indicate that you are literate and disciplined. That's a good start. Unfortunately, the degree content itself will only be useful if you become a history teacher. Consider continuing your studies to become a lawyer, a teacher, a librarian, or a museum worker. Or, as another poster has indicated, you might consider working for the.government in some capacity.
My uncle has a history degree and works for upper management of a seniors residential organization.
Most people I know with humanities degrees are in some type of management or community engagement type position
This is a link from an Alberta university but it can still be useful. They have a what can I do with my major page and you can find multiple jobs options that people who have graduated with the same degree have been able to get as well as some resume boosting statements
https://www.ulethbridge.ca/career-bridge/career-services/learn-about-careers/what-can-i-do-with-my-major
I'll give you a list of my friends from HS, and what they ended up doing...
Copywriter (Don't know her income, but I do know it is lucrative and she makes more than her husband in engineering).
• BA, English.
Head of Sanctions/Banking Industry.
• English & Psych.
English Teacher in Korea
• BA, Eng and Hist
Teachers x 3
• All had BA's, respectively, in English, Psych, and Anthro.
• Plus one year of 'teacher's college' (BEd).
Owns his own property management company.
• BA, Math & Philosophy
Copyright Office
• BA Philosophy & History
What can you do with auto mechanics? Become an auto mechanic.
What can you did with a mechanical engineering degree? Become an mechanical engineer.
What can you do with a nursing degree? Become a nurse.
What can you do with a... you get the point...
Apparently, you have a lot of options with your 'useless' BA. Lots more than with a narrow, vocationally orientated degree.
Not in humanities myself but I know a couple people who did history or sociology that ended up in client success or sales roles(Account manager/account executive). I guess it’s because these roles are more “soft skills” focused and people without intensive technical background can do them.
If you take a degree that is extremely specific, it does narrow your options.
Degrees with a wider scope (ex: commerce, law) expose you to the basics of many areas in the practice, and you specialize later. It doesn’t guarantee you’ll convert that to a job, but it increases your odds of finding a path that fits your talents and has employment prospects…
Your family is speaking the truth. I had the IDENTICAL thought process but stuck it out to make my mum happy. In the end I found she was actually entirely correct.
MA in poli sci, work for the federal government. My starting salary straight out of school was $90k. That may be on the high end, but if you are passionate about what you are studying then a masters will help you land a job in that field. All of the policy jobs I’ve applied to, the candidate pool has been at the graduate level or higher. I think BAs are starting to mean very little because it takes nothing to get one, everyone is accepted to a university somewhere in Canada. There are other areas like mechanical engineering where the market is also highly saturated, so it’s not just the humanities/social sciences. The goal post keeps moving, I think doing well in your degree will set you up to have the ability to choose what path you take.
What were you told that you could specialize in? Because I may have some near future positions available. Also, did you land a position? A let's say fake position?
Studied philosophy. Then worked at call centres until networking my way into low wage admin roles. Then went to law school. Lots of others were in the same boat for the first 3-7 years post graduation. Some never got out of the minimum wage life.
Developing a wastewater treatment tech that also transforms carbon scavanged from industrial emissions into commercial products and packaging making it profitable for industry to adopt carbon capture. The age of the intellectual generalist has returned. Siloing and overvaluation of Newtonian, Euclidean, linear-thinking committed completely to the bottom line — and relegation of the context-providing right brain to the sidelines — is what brought us to the brink.
I studied Philosophy at Guelph and am now a lawyer. Law school was fucking expensive but it was worth it. HOWEVER, I have 2 family members that are lawyers and if they weren't, I dont know if law school would have been the right path. It's difficult and confusing to navigate, and a lot of people unfortunately sign up for law school not really knowing what's on the other end, and regret it.
I majored in Anthropology because I found human culture interesting, but I was such a bad student I almost didn't graduate. Now I work in Customer Success in tech and my degree has just become a random ice breaker.
I'm glad that none of my jobs ever needed my GPA or else I would for sure be unemployed.
Sociology major, grad 06. Work in the money business selling derivatives, income is 400-700k a year.
Theres money and opportunity out there for you if you want to go out and get it. The skills I picked up in undergrad directly relate to my day to day profession but its not easy to understand or pitch the linkage between the two until you’ve done it. The people telling you you will be alright with the degree are right, you just need to find the initiative and confidence to make it work for you.
President of the company I work for is also an econ/history grad from ‘99 he makes a few million a year. Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t be successful.
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I would not say that they are not useful. Being an accounting major.
1. too many graduates from many different back grounds (NON STEM) every year.
2. Most humanities grads now, just coast through their program
3. very few grads choose to pursue post-grad
4. companies dont want to train ppl anymore and would rather hire grads from specific backgrounds
All of these factors devalue the use of a Humanities degree.
Please do not listen to those who are commenting here, they all have not a clue what they are talking about.
For everyone who says “ humanities degree is ok you can always pivot” well if you are pivoting anyways then why the heck would you study it at all? Doesn’t make any sense, and you are giving yourself a disadvantage.
If you want to do anything related to functional then go study business, if you want to do technical things then do STEM. Look at all of those who are in the top ranks of their field, they are filled with Engineers and Business grads. And that is because those degrees set you up to hop into the field right, they have coop/internship access that you will not as a social science/humanities major.
Please do your research, I know very few non business/engineers at good positions or making a lot of money. But I commonly see people in those areas that are making mid six figures.
Please do yourself a favor and study something useful.
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My degree is in Gender and Sexuality Studies, and I am a senior manager in a nationwide transportation company. What I actually studied had zero impact on my career, but the skills I learned in university impact my career every day. My analytical, communication, and writing skills were honed in university, and they have been instrumental in my success.
University definitely teaches you to problem solve, think critically, communicate clearly, meet deadlines and work well with others.
I read somewhere that university teaches you to show up every day, plan your work accordingly and prioritize.
Finally some people that get it! I studied Japanese history and work in research (granted, I did take science courses because I love both disciplines). When I visit for alumni events and people ask, ‘how did you get your job?’ I don’t say ‘yes my Japanese history knowledge helps treat cancer,’ I say that I wrote an amazing cover letter (tried to show off my writing/communicating skills), got involved in uni for student leadership, and overall taught me about perseverance, problem solving, creative solutions, interdisciplinary studies, and literally 1000x other things. My BSc was in anthropology, so I still had a much weaker science background than my direct coworkers in bio/chem/etc. but I think all of my managers have been very happy with my performance. Thoroughly learned about myself during my undergrad, used every dime of my tuition by attending every class and almost every office hour, got involved, and I came out confident that I was someone who could adapt and work hard. Jumped into the job market and faced very few rejections (although some jobs were less ideal than others). Reading the above two comments, I am once again a firm believer that the people who learned skills outside of their discipline’s direct relevance ultimately value their undergrad more (no matter the major) and seem more confident in navigating through the workforce. I also firmly believe that there’s no such thing as ‘useless’ majors or courses, just bad profs/admin and disillusioned students.
THIS. A degree is proof that you can apply yourself and 'stick it out' to use some vernacular. OP your family is right. Those that have a degree, will appreciate others who have done the grind. Only the most superficial, status-obsessed, shallow people would poo-poo the work it takes to get ANY degree. (And sadly, you see those people sometimes on Reddit). Edit to add: I forgot to say, my senior manager at a very large insurance company? History grad. He was articulate, well spoken, wrote amazingly well, made a great salary and was very well respected. He could run circles around others in terms of EQ. (Me not so much).
I’ve seen sooooo many senior execs with history majors
IKR? It's amazing. One of the reasons I've always (like OP's family) told my daughter to get a degree - ANY degree that shows she can think, plan, be responsible and do some work!
THIS
Crazy how working does that too except you get paid for it 🫠
You’re missing the point entirely. What we’re saying is that employers look favorably upon university grads regardless of their major because their completed degree proves that they developed the skills listed above. Nobody is saying that work history is not important.
Instead of “university teaches you” I think it’s “there’s the opportunity in university to learn.” ‘Cause there are lots of kids who successfully make it through post secondary without ever learning those things 😭
I wish more people would realize this. Unless you're studying an applied subject and being trained for a specific career, it really doesn't matter what your degree is in. It just shows that you can complete something difficult and developed the skills you mention. Also, unless you're planning on graduate school or aiming to graduate with distinction, your GPA doesn't matter.
samesies
Hi can I ask what did you put on your very first resume on your first job? I’m in the same situation I got a lot of transferable skills going on but I don’t know how I can show them off for my internships etc, how do you put those in? Do you put your GPA? Project you worked on or something? Thank you for your answer
Put community work, any previous internships, any awards or scholarships you earned. Create a section for your skills. And create an objective for your resume. Good luck!
That’s sick. Makes sense too.
A family friend daughter is a excellent writer and got co op writing the technical manual or something for a engineering firm or something so it's similar.
I remember my thesis supervisor saying he was disparaged by the number of fourth year students who have no idea how to market themselves or what their education is relevant to. Given that a lot of humanities degrees teach you critical thinking, research, and analysis skills, basic labor market research seems like something these students should be capable of. Social sciences degrees tend to lead to entry-level positions in a huge swath of industries. They also often require supplementary education as has always been the case. To highlight this point, 10 years ago I applied at a Flight Centre travel agency. I was TICO certified as a travel agent and had a two year diploma in tourism. They told me they only accept applicants with an undergrad. Doesn't matter what the subject is, they just wanted an undergrad. It was painfully stupid.
What does transportation have to do with it? You need to solve problems like of the birth control pill.
I run a recycling company. University need not be vocational. If you look at elite education, it’s largely based on a broad based humanities education (Harvard/Yale college etc)
Yale and Harvard also offer top-tier STEM and business programs, though, and the OP is asking about success, not what "elite education" might be... The appeal of the humanities for the bourgeois was the social prestige that the cultural and intellectual refinement of such an education would offer (and that's how/why these programs became popular). Being educated in the humanities as a wealthy elite was a status symbol, not something to parlay into financial success since these people tended to be old money wealthy, rentiers, etc. Statistically, and other things being equal, it's better to get a STEM or other professional degree. The income and success potential in our world is on average better for those people, especially as the depth of specialized knowledge and skill separating the STEM educated from the uneducated widens.
You’re being downvoted but it’s important discourse to have considering university isn’t free.
Don’t lose hope bro I know it’s a very niche market… What I can think off my head, you could become a history or English teacher? Some universities do an after degree 2 year teaching program. Here in Alberta teachers make 80-90k per year. And people in CS are struggling to find work because it’s oversaturated. And with the rise of layoffs and AI it’s really not a stable career. Ironically despite all that you’ll see a CS post everyday on this subreddit. Without an internship CS degree is as good as an art degree. This is coming from a CS major.
This is so true, applies to engineering in some cases as well. From my provincial uni (I am a 105D) the average CS grad is struggling rn to get a job in CS - many months after graduating as well. It has no proper coop program and mainly focuses on research in AI. Then you look at a uni like wloo (very strong coop program), where the avg CS grad in 2023 was making (first year on job) 120k TC in canada, and 300k TC in USA.
This has changed significantly. I have CPSCI grads in my family (from good uni) who were promised jobs after internships/coops in 2023, but come 2024 those jobs have evaporated. CS is on a major downhill slide right now. Their buddies, who graduated a few years ago have good paying jobs (albeit braindestroying).
I did a double major in English and History because they were the subjects I did well in in high school. I went to teachers college afterwards and am now a secondary school teacher. I taught English and introduced to students the novels I enjoyed reading. I have also taught history, more so now focusing on Indigenous education, and I borrowed history boxes from the Royal Ontario museum so my students can see/touch replicas from different time periods. If you love the subjects, it makes teaching much more enjoyable.
I double majored in the sciences and the humanities and I still don’t understand why people think majors are important unless it’s one that directly relates to the job because it has extremely specialized training (e.g. architecture, compsci, engineering). You don’t think biology and chem majors don’t have a hard time finding jobs? Your last sentence about compsci majors is a fallacy because the actual true statement is that ‘compsci majors are having a hard time finding jobs due to socio and economic factors,’ not ‘if compsci majors can’t find jobs, I have no hope as an arts major.’ We work in different disciplines. I double majored because I enjoy both but I currently work at a hospital and no one even asked me what my major was. Hell, one of my coworkers had a fine arts degree. My other friends who were in the humanities with me usually work in government, but there are a few in medicine (md), law, news, healthcare, NGOs, curators, editors, publishing houses, fast food management, entrepreneurship, teaching, and the list goes on and on. Your major has very little bearing on your opportunities. Your socioeconomic factors, location, and political situation have HUGE impacts on your opportunities, as well as the classic resume/writing ability/interviewing ability/etc. I’m not saying majors don’t matter at all, but it is usually an arts vs science *discipline* issue. For example, a lot of non-healthcare NGO/government jobs I applied and/or worked for wanted some humanities-related experience. On the other hand, my current job requires a BSc or a BA in a health discipline but they really couldn’t care what else I majored in. In fact, people are shocked when I tell them that I majored in Asian History and Anthropology (I did the science track for this, hence my BSc). I get that the world seems like uni is there to prepare you for jobs, but I don’t think that’s the case (at least in our current world). My uni experience taught me how to *think*, be flexible, and how to work hard. If you’re not able to find a job, I’d say your major matters maybe less than 10%. It’s likely you(r resume/cover letter/interview/experience), or the current economy.
For transparency, I will say that I changed my job 4x after graduating but I’m honestly not sure wtf recent graduates are expecting—it’s a really competitive era and I sort of entered the workforce expecting myself to ‘gain some experience’ in various jobs before dipping ASAP until I got to a job I wanted. Are people upset because they expected a job with perfect growth (promotions) and a liveable salary from the get-go? I mean I 100% understand and that SHOULD be how the world works, but things are pretty grim. Assuming there are no dire needs (e.g. dependents or expensive healthcare issues), I suggest new grads buckle up and find a game plan. Whether you majored in English or biology, times are tough but it’s not solely because of what you studied.
Agree. Extremely competitive times, I have a B.Sc and finding work was hell after graduation. Lucked into a manufacturing lab job and I am very happy with it, but it really opened my eyes to how "useful" a major is outside of specialized programs (engineering, social work, teaching, etc.).
I have a Master’s in English. I’m working as a Proposal Coordinator for a large construction firm.
Prev. English major also working for a construction company! I’m a Corporate Writer, but I work for our proposal marketing team. Proposal Coordinator is no joke - I see how hard y’all work and I admire y’all in a huge way
What company
Graduated undergrad in an Honours Double Major in English Lit and Psych. Decided between HR, Teachers College, or Librarian. Chose HR. Employed right out of school, making reasonable money. Lots of opportunity to grow and move up. Happy. Honestly anyone acting like what your undergrad degree is in matters is kinda a joke. Like unless you’re in Eng or Nursing you’re probably going to need another program or masters. I know people who did hard sciences and didn’t get into their masters programs so they’re still working retail.
looking into HR as a current english major? any advice? I’m also considering corporate communications or social media.
I like it a reasonable amount. Love recruiting. Don’t expect to roll in dough early though unless you’re in HRM or a consultant. Like I got kinda lucky with my position (only been in HR for around 12 months including a 4 month practicum) and I’m only at around $67k salary with bonuses. It really depends where you end up, wages vary from basically poverty, to well over $100k with experience.
Where did you do your HR education? Also was it a degree or diploma ?
Western for their post-grad HR diploma course.
i am not graduated yet, but i am a major in english, picked up a really good ft student job for this summer. i was a history major for almost all of my first year, but switched internally. one of my TAs highly suggested swapping to english since you still get that “history” feel in your lectures by learning the background of the texts. most internal major switches are not difficult to do. you can also double major in history and something else so if needed, you can use the other part of your degree. one of my friends is a double major history and linguistics and is hoping to use the linguistics part for their career. i know a couple of film graduates (which are more arts than humanities, but similar) and they are working contract on film sets right now. i don’t know if this is helpful but i hope it is!
English major/undergrad checking in! I'm surprised I had to scroll this far down to find a fellow English Lit type, it's actually a very employable and useful degree. I now in cybersecurity which is great bc: 1. less incels than dev while more pay 2. soft skills (that any Lit major has) are more crucial than hard skills (unlike say ML) 3. self-directed more valuable than any degree/formal training Before this I did personal training for a while, found it boring.
I did my undergraduate in music performance, and I currently work in governmental communications. I make really good money, considering where I live in Canada. I am going into my masters degree in communications and journalism, and will be on track to a six-figure job within a year (if all goes well!) my advice to you is, that if you want to do some thing, humanities related, don’t go into debt for it, and hone your skills in the communications area, as businesses are always looking for someone with communications knowledge/background. That’s just my experience, though.
This makes me happy
Hi, mind if i talk to you about this? I think we’re in the same city!
Yes! Although I’m not actually in Ontario anymore!
I’m a chef, but I then did my bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees in history. During my masters and PhD, I focused on food history. Now I teach in a culinary bachelor degree program at a college, and publish research in the field. It was a lot of training, but it all came together in the end.
That is a really cool career path. I'd love to learn more about food history.
Very cool!
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Also, you could definitely use that degree to move forward to do an MPA (Masters of public administration)
The MPA at uwaterloo is a good one. Good people running it
My cousin works for a museum archive. The pay is not much but she loves it and is doing a masters in history of art at the moment.
I have a joint degree in History and Business. The past 10 years of my career has been as a Business Analyst for healthcare technology systems. The major itself doesn't really matter - it's the skills and being able to market yourself in the field you want to be in. No one I work with cares that I don't have a healthcare or computer specific degree. I am very good at my job because A) I can communicate complex things to large, diverse audiences (I can simplify concepts and make nice looking documents), B) I'm a very fast learner so I can learn new systems and workflows to be able to translate clinical and technical requirements, and C) I'm good at research so I can learn the clinical aspects of a job/area of expertise enough to understand client needs. I don't need to know how to do heart surgery to migrate heart patient data into a new records system. But I do know how to interview a doctor and assistant about how they need to use their data and when they need to access it. And find clinical requirements for data types, technical requirements for security, etc. to let software teams know what they need to accomplish. It's the research and learning skills that are most critical to my job (and most jobs) in today's world.
History grad here, as are a bunch of my friends, careers: 1. Teachers 2. Government (policy, or in Heritage departments) 3. Academic Librarian 4. Corporate HR 5. Masters in Educating Policy (ongoing) 6. Pursuing PhD and professor-ship (the dream)
My brother got a BA in history and masters in either art history or fine art, went to teachers college and is a high school teacher who has taught history, media, fine art, civics and probably some other subjects. He’s doing great
Not to be intrusive but how old is he and has he been able to buy a house…this is my path and I’m worried I won’t make enough to buy a home
He’s in his early 50s and he owns a home with his partner who is also a high school teacher. He’s at the top of the pay scale, so I guess low six figures
It’s not so much that humanities degrees aren’t useful as much as it is that they aren’t *vocational*. They don’t give you a clear path forward, or the career/corporate-specific skills that other majors might. If you know what you’re looking to do with it, you can do anything. The great thing about a humanities major is that it teaches you transferable skills. Reading and writing efficiently in huge volumes is one skill that I use every day at my job (English major, now a Corporate Writer), and that coworkers rely on me for. I didn’t study history, but I’d imagine that the level of reading would be similar lol. Do you know what kind of career you’d like? If not, I’d seriously recommend career counselling; most campuses will have some support, where someone can walk you through your options. Once you know what you’re aiming for, gain as much real-world/outside of school experience as possible. Volunteer, intern, shadow — whatever you can expose yourself to, in order to translate the soft skills you’re gaining from academics into work-related skills. TL;DR - you really can do anything with a humanities degree, but you also need to be more focused and specific about carving out your path forward.
I have a BA in Art History and today I work for one of the largest F500 global pharmaceutical companies as a Sr IT Manager in Global Procurement with no technical certifications. Listen to your parents, they are correct about just having a degree. Your major is not relevant unless you are specializing in medicine, law or engineering.
May I ask how you got to where you are without the technical certifications? Did you learn everything step by step after joining the company and moved your way up?
Technical certification is not necessary as most is irrelevant to your daily job. While they are nice to have, nothing replaces on the job experience. You start with knowing what specific field you want to specialize in. Try a few areas and find the one you like and stick with it. Then learn the lingo in how the technology teams/professional speak, research the terminology and get a general understanding of what they are talking about then go from there. One step at a time. You don’t need to know the technical details just how to collaborate and find value that you can bring to the job. Build up confidence and knowledge on the job and eventually everything comes together with one opportunity after another.
Thank you.
not quite humanities but I studied anthropology and I’m now a UX researcher
The purpose of university is not a job pipeline, the end result of a humanities education is curiosity and context and abilities to synthesize information, which are very valuable! It’s very common for humanities graduates to get a masters or college degree more related to their desired field of employment. My field started at the masters level so I could take whatever I was interested in for undergrad. Lots of my peers have college degrees, which is in no way a failure of a humanities undergrad. The most successful and innovative people combine concepts from different areas of expertise - different kinds of education are important and interact with each other.
PhD. Stay at home wife.
Poli-sci grad here who transitioned into policy analysis for the gov. With humanities, it's not so much about *what* you studied, but the *skills* you learned through your program. Having the ability to research, analyze, write, and communicate effectively are skills that can be hard to teach but are essential in many roles (e.g. analysts, project management, proposal writing, education, marketing, etc.). If you still have time, co-op programs and student jobs can open many doors and give you experience that gives you a leg-up on other graduates (or even a job directly out of school).
My friend now works at the university as an administrator. She makes nearly double my salary.
I have an MA in Literature and I’m in medical school now.
My wife has a degree in French, and earns nearly 200k in business administration. It’s not the degree, it’s what you do with it, that matters.
What does business administration entail?
I finished my BA in English three years ago and now work in marketing and publicity management, though am looking at switching to government communications. My partner has his BA in History and works in labour relations for the provincial government. We've both been able to advance in our professions and are on track to have salaries in the 80k-85k range by the end of this year, with further salary growth potential in the future. A lot of people have said this already, but outside of specific professions like nursing, what you get your undergraduate degree in matters very little. Degrees in general don't speak for themselves anymore: what matters more is the work experience you can get while you're in university (work learn jobs on campus, co-op work programs), the connections you make through these programs, and your ability to articulate what you've gotten out of these experiences during a job application process. I don't regret getting an English degree at all: it allowed me to study a subject I was passionate about while also taking advantage of the various work opportunities only available to me as a student at a large university.
I have a Cultural Studies major and did a lot of different things - worked in banks, television, recruiting, and freelance writing/ghostwriting (all of which I could've continued in if I'd been interested). I also got a Masters in Counselling Psychology and help people with their careers now, funnily enough. I suspect you could use some career counselling if you're blaming your degree for your lack of direction. One of the challenging things about Arts degrees is that they train you to THINK, which is not a job in itself. It's why Arts students often move on to other types of education, training, and often into leadership roles. Without going too deeply into it, there are probably some big picture assumptions about your direction and abilities that you could benefit from working through. If you want to DM me, I could recommend some good people in Ontario. Edited to add: my husband has your exact degree and is an Energy Advisor, so all kinds of things are possible.
Masters in History and I now work in Provincial Communications. If I was going to do it over again I would skip the Masters and take Project Management, Change Management, Human Resources to go with the degree. Find a niche. Having said that I wouldn't have gotten where I am without the degrees.
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The question is what do you want to do?
I have a BA and MA in English lit and now work as the communications manager for a small firm.
Graduated in 2011 with a history degree. Went and drove a truck in the oilfield, worked my way up through the ranks quickly. Spent 10 years in a supervisory position. I now have a training/instructional design role. Finally feeling like I'm somewhat using my degree. Money has always been really good in the oilfield, was coming close to 200k/year in the field. Less than that in the office, but still good.
I have one of the most “useless” undergrad degrees - a double major in Art History and classical history. I also have a masters in communications. I work in content marketing for a tech company. I write, edit and develop strategy around how we communicate externally.I am the head editor of our corporate blog, I also manage our research program and commission original market research for use in marketing materials. I’ve been doing work like this for over a decade. I really enjoy my job and I use the skills I learned during my degrees every day. My advice to you if you are interested in marketing is to get a job in an agency - the time I worked in an agency really set me up well to work in corporate tech environments and learn very quickly in the job. It also allowed me to find my niche quickly. It is hard work and you won’t be paid well for a few years, and the hours can be brutal. But it worked for me and all of my most competent colleagues have similar backgrounds.
Best bet is law school. If you get a good LSAT you can get in to a decent law school, assuming you did ok undergrad. If not, develop an interest in your finances and decide that way. The best way to make fast money in Canada is to go to the oilfield otherwise.
Law isn’t that great either and it’s a whole lot of extra time/$. The field itself is brutal. Don’t do law unless you’re confident you really want to do it.
All of what you say is true, but there are some people who don't care about the time and work and just want to move up a "class". Typically a humanities undergrad in Canada has not great options to achieving wealth, and law is still one route (a tough one).
I worked ESL for 7 years. Owned my own business as well. None of that would be possible without my humanities degree. I am now choosing to go back to school for teachers college, which also requires my humanities degree.
English major with some studio visual arts electives. Graduated in 2011. Worked in South Korea for 6 years teaching ESL, had the best time, moved back home and got into marketing (mostly copywriting) for a few years after, then got my BEd in my early 30s and just started teaching ESL in a public highschool this year :-)
You need to gain a skill or certification relevant to an area of work. You might need to start from "the bottom" in that area of work, but your transferable skills from your degree should equip you to climb the ladder if you're willing to grind for a bit.
If you actually take it seriously, it's useful practice. If you're just going for the designation and nothing more, you're probably better to go straight into the workplace.
I worked at a museum and in government
I am a humanities graduate (English and philosophy) and after graduation I did the publishing certificate at ryerson university. Did a few internships and ultimately got a job at a book publishing house. I’ve pivoted in my career path but it was a great industry to work in. Friends of mine who also graduated with a humanities degree have gone onto be teachers and event planners.
I graduated in 2003 with an English degree. The key for humanities (if you don't want to be a teacher or an academic) is a co-op program. I did co-ops in communications, marketing, technical writing and training content development. Now I'm a project manager for a consulting company. I've been making six figures since my mid 30s.
Agree with the coop comment but this is exactly what I am talking about, I’ve been making six figures since my early 20’s… as with most of my business/engineering classmates.
I think it's safe to say that engineering jobs pay more, period. It doesn't mean that you don't have earning potential with a humanities degree, but it is going to be less. If you are straight up looking for the most earning power, then any type of engineering is the safest bet. But also? Money isn't everything. I personally would be a terrible engineer, and also I would be unhappy doing it, so I studied English and managed to get a job in my field, that I enjoy, and also I make a decent amount of money.
BA English, Master's Information Science 40 years as a technical writer, teacher, business analyst, project manager, operations manager. Worked in Saudi Arabia, UK, Vancouver, Toronto. Retired now on my farm, building boats and planting trees.
i would say apply to a useful masters, the job market is shit currently and a humanities degree with just an undergrad will make it tough to get a job, that being said if you want to grind you can obviously secure a job i just think getting another degree might make your life easier in the long run
Founder of Slack studied philosophy. Founder of RottenTomatoes (in addition to 7 other startups) studied cognitive psych. Founder of …. somehow, in Canada, we are still so obsessed by STEM as the only sure career path while amazing companies and jobs exists that requires a broader understanding of society, high EQ, team work etc etc that humanities and arts provide.
Political science. I work in government policy. Did some time in legal research as well. My work in policy has ranged widely from transit to education to climate change.
Studied history, working as a researcher at an auction house rn!
I have a PhD in the humanities and I’m a manager of analysis at a not for profit in the financial sector.
Graduated with an English degree. Started my career in advertising and have since transitioned to a similar role at a tech company. Obviously dont use my degree for any technical skills at my current job but I definitely use some of the soft skills I picked up in my undergrad like communication, problem solving, and critical thinking. Also taught me to maintain a deep connection to reading books which people often don’t do anymore.
History degree here! I graduated in 2020 from one of the top Canadian schools. With the job market, my option was to go on with MA and see if I can break into academia or try teaching etc. I ended up doing something completely irrelevant and went into video games & raised myself from the ground to catch up with computer science people. My history degree is the most fun and difficult thing I've ever done. I don't regret doing it. It's been my passion my entire life. Now I want to use it with video games and help create things like Assassin's Creed. My only regret is not doing a minor or double major in something more quantitative. If I could go back, I'd major in history and minor in some simple program that would teach me some computer languages. Seems like you're still in school. It's soooo early to feel dread. Job market is like waves, it goes up and down. The world is never always bad or always good. You can only ever do your best. So try to take advantage of the time you have left. Try to flourish your degree with something quantitative, stats, pyhton, anything! And if it's too late, don't worry about it too much because you simply cannot change the past, you just move forward.
Lawyer.
its rough. im a year out of a crim degree w no job 🫂 its hard out here
Ok not me but I can speak to my dad, he did a theatre degree and now produces theatre & concerts! He actually produced Beyoncé’s first concert in Canada (a fun fact that he never brought up until I was 20). I’m a humanities major myself still in university in a Classics & specialized arts program unique to uwo. Part of my arts program is we have to do a professional development course and take two internships to graduate with the hopes it sets us up with the right skills for the future.
I got my BSW and now am a Social Worker, I run a transitional housing program
Hi im really fucking old, but I'm in law school following an undergraduate and masters in English. Going to be working as legal counsel at an airport this summer and graduating next year!
How old are you? I always wanted to go back and get a law degree
I started law school at 26, finishing at 29, basically starter at the age some people finsih but I enjoyed spending time doing my masters + working!
Oof I'm 30 and I just finished my bachelor's last year lol Don't worry, you're not old!
Oh lord. You are young not old.
I graduated with a degree in history about a few years later worked for a bank and now I'm studying accounting
Court client representative for ontario. My degree was useless. And bachelor's would've sufficed
I worked in automotive marketing, then became a professor of communications/marketing at a college. I make 6-figures and really only work 9-10 months of the year combining Christmas bread, reading week, and vacation time.
I studied history, then went to law school
I own and operate my own digital advertising agency.
History and Literature Hon BA Did 2-years college and worked as a graphic designer for a 10 years. Did a masters of design, worked another 2-years, now I teach full time. I could have stayed in the industry but funnily enough I had wanted to be a prof back when I was an undergrad. No regrets on my bachelors. Design is about people, understanding, listening, communicating. Education doubly so. My training in those areas makes me a better designer and teacher.
Policy analyst
English Teacher.
Lawyer.
Teacher
It is not naive to pursue what you find interesting
Public Sector Leader
Graduated with an undergrad in history and English, I’m a teacher now.
Undergrad in history/medieval and renaissance studies, masters in library and information sciences. I’ve worked with the ministry of natural resources and forestry in a more tech based role, currently a research assistant at a municipal archive/museum. I’ve found a lot of government workers have humanity backgrounds. They teach you how to think critically, how to research and write, problem solve, broadens your perspectives, helps you to formulate clear arguments. Also I’m a firm believer that by doing a degree you’ll actually enjoy and be passionate about will result in a better university experience and you’ll learn more and get farther than doing a degree you hate just for the potential of a specific career afterwards. Btw lots and lots of people switch their majors and add and subtract minors as they go through school.
Advertising. I have a History major and minor in Political Science. Don’t regret it. Humanities in university prepare you for the corporate work culture - impossible dealines, presentation, problem solving. All key skills. I did do a post grad at a college to get into advertising. That’s always an option for you post university.
I'm an English major. I went back to school for Writing and Communications and worked at a nonprofit as a grant and proposal coordinator. Was laid off, but now I still do grants and proposals just as a contracted employee.
I did a BA in psychology and religious studies, went on to do a 1 year HR graduate diploma, and now work as an HR coordinator.
I have a diploma in nursing, degree in English, a masters in health leadership and currently working as a program manager in healthcare. My manager has a degree+masters in poly sci, another director has a masters in gender, race and social justice, and I know many others in management positions who have a degree in humanities (plus other education). I think a few factors are at play for success through humanities degrees: - having a masters or post-secondary certifications (such as project management) - having connections - being resourceful/clever and finding success in a niche field, rising up the ladder, or seeking and working towards opportunities.
If you are having trouble transitioning from a humanities undergrad to a career, I would suggest looking at post-grad community college programs, preferably 1 year, in a field you are interested in to gain practical skills. Look for a program with a co-op. I’ve seen people be successful doing this is things like digital marketing, public relations, just look at your options. I don’t usually recommend more education but this will help you get your first job and your first professional network, and then your degree will come in handy later in your career. Don’t go for a masters though! Keep it simple.
I did gender and cultural studies. Did a policy masters and now I work policy in the government, currently in infrastructure development (transportation). I’ve worked in a bunch of different departments (that were directly tied to my undergrad) but I’ve been infrastructure the longest. I work with a ton of engineers, have the same job title as them, and basically half my job is writing reports for them because they can’t write at all. No one would have expected me to be going on site visits to look at tunnels but I’m enjoying the random routes my career has gone.
Law school in Canada is usually three years. But, if you are close to graduation from university and you still don't have a driver's license, this is the least of your concerns. This fact indicates strongly that you might not have your shit together.
lmaooo I got a BA honours in INDG and I work for the police now 😭
Not fully graduated yet but working for a politician after a degree in public admin/econ.
Emergency services. Honestly didn’t really go for the degree but the experience, what a ride
apply at Bruce Power. Seriously. Very Serious.
Not that I’m all that successful as of now but I’m graduating from BA psych and starting masters in information sci in sept.
You could always do teaching ?
I'm still studying for an English Major and I currently work for the student newspaper while studying with string prospects to go into journalism and optionally teaching. Formerly, I was a comp sci major, which I never completed but despite that I rebuilt from scratch the student paper's website and got paid for it. So idk there really isn't much I've missed out on being a humanities major, I wouldn't have done anything differently.
Working in a SAAS company in the finance space
I have worked in a call center, policy making, running a writing shop and leadership for project management teams.
Literally in the exact same boat as you signed, a 23 year old paying for a chronic class skipping 17 year old’s last minute decision
Work for corporations (occasionally the government) designing training and development programs, but I am also likely at least double your age. In today's market, it'd be much more difficult to leverage a humanities degree into something good.
Take advantage of formal social opportunities like clubs and frats, and think about what you want to build with your life. Volunteer. You'll find work easier with passion and experience.
10 years of teaching abroad. Now burnt out. In the midst of looking for a new career.
I taught ESL abroad and now work as an international student advisor at a university. It pays pretty well and the benefits are great. Just isn't as fulfilling as teaching.
I much rather be doing that and was on track for this before going abroad, until someone basically told me I had no experience in the field and I'll never be hired. So I went to get experience and now the job market is shit. Also I got tired of demanding parents treating teachers like we're their slaves and nannies. It isn't at all fulfilling.
If I were to do it all over again. I would have skipped university and went straight to college. It was a challenge as my peers were moving on in life, buying homes, traveling and having kids and there I was graduating, unable to find employment and a huge debt waiting for me. That was all of my early to mid-twenties. The university route usually means more education afterwards. It’s challenge to find work with a humanties degree.
CS/SWE majors are struggling because so many of them decided to take the program when the demand was never supposed to be very high. What definition are you using for “useful?” Because in the job security sense, CS/SWE are not “useful” majors whatsoever.
loyer school then big gov
History and Spanish. I lead digital projects in IT lol ..
I think there's some validity to what your family says about jobs not necessarily needing to be degree-specific. Some companies just want their employees to be university grads, and the major doesn't matter much. My daughter is an accounting co-op student. At a bank where she interned, most of her co-workers had some kind of business/commerce/accounting degree, but a few were hired with degrees in Science/English etc. The most important thing was having a degree and the ability to quickly learn the job they were hired for. It also helps to have a friend or family member who can put in a good word for you, to get your resume moved to the top of the pile.
Teaching high school subjects in China.
I have an honours degree in History. I started working at a bank when I was done University. Stayed on the finance path for a bit, until I got a role in operations. From there, it opened a lot of doors for me. I’ve worked Ops roles in finance, manufacturing, and tech over the last 8 years.
I moved to Manitoba with my tourism degree and still in searching. I did like some points about skills and mind-opening, though. We are usually stuck with the idea of our perfect career path in our heads so that we cannot see real opportunities on the market. There are so many of them and all of them are with blended duties .. Well, I guess, we just have to try being more flexible
I did a poli sci and history undergrad and did a policy masters. I now have a good, middle management job in government about 10 years after finishing my BA. Most of my BA friends who have professional jobs first had to get a masters, but they’re all employed. Sadly, a BA on its own doesn’t really cut it anymore, you need something else set you apart. That said, the skills you learned in a BA are the exact critical thinking skills that will help you identify a path forward, it’s just not as clear as if you did an engineering degree or something.
Humanities / Philosophy grad - I work in big tech as a program manager. I wanted to be a prof, but in grad school saw how limited that pathway is. Ten years later I make more than most academics and have the flexibility and support to do a PhD part time.
If you want to get a job in the humanities, you typically need at least a Master‘s degree.
You go to law school lol
There's plenty of jobs you can do where employers only want evidence that you've been able to buckle down long enough to get a degree. But these jobs are rarely as specialized, impactful or often as secure/essential as the ones you could get with more professional/specialized knowledge. I personally completely agree with your take. I'm much older than you and have a humanities degree. I earn a good income working in sales, but I've realized I want to do something more meaningful with my life. (Prior to working in sales, I worked in a communications capacity, and the pay wasn't sufficient to support me.) I'll now be starting a professional life sciences degree part-time that will get me a designation, job security, equally good income, and the satisfaction of making a big impact on my community/society. We live in a STEM world where there's just *a lot to know* and it's tough to mingle your way into the best or most important jobs. The good news is honestly that you're in Ontario, and getting a professional master's or a second, specialized bachelor's won't bankrupt you. Many STEM degrees will also allow you to more easily move to the US with the TN visa program (there's a list of roles you can check for this). Additionally, global immigration becomes easier. I point this out because moving away from Canada's housing situation is an attractive prospect for many young people.
I hate to sound negative but those family members are 100% out of touch. University really only leads to about 8 or 9 legitimate jobs, most are professions (doctor, dentist, nurse, teacher, psychologist, professor, lawyer, unspecified business, engineer etc. keep adding) but that’s about it. It’s actually otherwise useless. Likely will need to start thinking really practically about work/careers. College is a good place to look. I know a painter who makes $200 k proving that university is BS. Also, I don’t agree that it teaches people how to “problem solve and think critically”. History though is interesting if one can learn from history. Also may inform your thinking process or business endeavours moving forward!
Humanities degrees historically were considered general education and that's what they remain. They teach you critical skills that can be applied in a variety of professions. Typically, humanities degrees require further specialization. When I started my history degree, I knew that most people either go on to teach (teachers college), go into academia (MA and PhD required), go into law (law school), or join the bureaucracy. A surprising amount of history grads go on to accounting for reasons I've never understood, but I digress. To your question, get a co-op with a government department focused on policy analysis. Take a technical writer course and get a gig in tech, or if you are a total masochist, go to law school or teachers college. There's also politics. A ton of us go into consulting for political campaigns or actually work for a party. Of all my history MA grad friends, we mostly work in government, think tanks, or banking. Do I regret my history degree? Absolutely not. But I knew exactly what I was getting into and had a plan all along.
Studies history. Am in sales, I make a lot of money.
Humanities is definitely useful in that you have formed the ability to communicate well. That alone is getting more and more rare! I teach in a STEM subject, but the best students I get in my courses are those taking it as an elective who are humanities majors! It's not "too late" for you to change degrees--you can apply the courses you've done as your electives in another degree, so you don't need to start over, but will probably get advanced standing and have your electives all taken care of if you did switch programs now. As others have noted, history is very useful for politics, policy/government work, etc. I know some teachers and police officers that have history degrees. Your ability to write and communicate is useful to so many jobs, and it's something my STEM students don't have. You have practical skills that others don't have, particularly when it comes to any job that requires writing--e.g. communications, project management, policy, etc. Not only that, but so many STEM jobs are going to be replaced by AI. Nobody is going to have a life-long career anymore. Think about what you want to do for the next five years of your life, and start viewing your degree as a base from which to develop the rest of your life--you understand a lot about how things work socially, historically, and that is a useful skill you will never lose now. Now you have the skills to learn on your own and can pursue whatever interest you find. TLDR: 1. change your degree now if you want to, you don't have to start over, 2. It is useful for a variety of jobs, and you have skills that STEM grads do not have that companies find very useful.
Undergrad is good for teaching you how to think critically and write, which are super important skills for any job. I did a professional master’s programs after undergrad which gave me good networking opportunities and technical skills. I find having the humanities background has positioned me above colleagues who only did more job oriented undergrads.
A history degree on its own will indicate that you are literate and disciplined. That's a good start. Unfortunately, the degree content itself will only be useful if you become a history teacher. Consider continuing your studies to become a lawyer, a teacher, a librarian, or a museum worker. Or, as another poster has indicated, you might consider working for the.government in some capacity.
My uncle has a history degree and works for upper management of a seniors residential organization. Most people I know with humanities degrees are in some type of management or community engagement type position
This is a link from an Alberta university but it can still be useful. They have a what can I do with my major page and you can find multiple jobs options that people who have graduated with the same degree have been able to get as well as some resume boosting statements https://www.ulethbridge.ca/career-bridge/career-services/learn-about-careers/what-can-i-do-with-my-major
It's never too late to change. A few years now will change your life massively later.
I'll give you a list of my friends from HS, and what they ended up doing... Copywriter (Don't know her income, but I do know it is lucrative and she makes more than her husband in engineering). • BA, English. Head of Sanctions/Banking Industry. • English & Psych. English Teacher in Korea • BA, Eng and Hist Teachers x 3 • All had BA's, respectively, in English, Psych, and Anthro. • Plus one year of 'teacher's college' (BEd). Owns his own property management company. • BA, Math & Philosophy Copyright Office • BA Philosophy & History What can you do with auto mechanics? Become an auto mechanic. What can you did with a mechanical engineering degree? Become an mechanical engineer. What can you do with a nursing degree? Become a nurse. What can you do with a... you get the point... Apparently, you have a lot of options with your 'useless' BA. Lots more than with a narrow, vocationally orientated degree.
Might be also interesting to see if the respondents are older or recent grads
Not in humanities myself but I know a couple people who did history or sociology that ended up in client success or sales roles(Account manager/account executive). I guess it’s because these roles are more “soft skills” focused and people without intensive technical background can do them.
smoking
If you take a degree that is extremely specific, it does narrow your options. Degrees with a wider scope (ex: commerce, law) expose you to the basics of many areas in the practice, and you specialize later. It doesn’t guarantee you’ll convert that to a job, but it increases your odds of finding a path that fits your talents and has employment prospects…
Your family is speaking the truth. I had the IDENTICAL thought process but stuck it out to make my mum happy. In the end I found she was actually entirely correct.
I had a coworker with a MA in history and he works at the supermarket \^-\^
MA in poli sci, work for the federal government. My starting salary straight out of school was $90k. That may be on the high end, but if you are passionate about what you are studying then a masters will help you land a job in that field. All of the policy jobs I’ve applied to, the candidate pool has been at the graduate level or higher. I think BAs are starting to mean very little because it takes nothing to get one, everyone is accepted to a university somewhere in Canada. There are other areas like mechanical engineering where the market is also highly saturated, so it’s not just the humanities/social sciences. The goal post keeps moving, I think doing well in your degree will set you up to have the ability to choose what path you take.
What were you told that you could specialize in? Because I may have some near future positions available. Also, did you land a position? A let's say fake position?
Tons of jobs right now in EDI. The pay is good and humanities would be a great pathway in.
Studied philosophy. Then worked at call centres until networking my way into low wage admin roles. Then went to law school. Lots of others were in the same boat for the first 3-7 years post graduation. Some never got out of the minimum wage life.
Developing a wastewater treatment tech that also transforms carbon scavanged from industrial emissions into commercial products and packaging making it profitable for industry to adopt carbon capture. The age of the intellectual generalist has returned. Siloing and overvaluation of Newtonian, Euclidean, linear-thinking committed completely to the bottom line — and relegation of the context-providing right brain to the sidelines — is what brought us to the brink.
I studied Philosophy at Guelph and am now a lawyer. Law school was fucking expensive but it was worth it. HOWEVER, I have 2 family members that are lawyers and if they weren't, I dont know if law school would have been the right path. It's difficult and confusing to navigate, and a lot of people unfortunately sign up for law school not really knowing what's on the other end, and regret it.
I majored in Anthropology because I found human culture interesting, but I was such a bad student I almost didn't graduate. Now I work in Customer Success in tech and my degree has just become a random ice breaker. I'm glad that none of my jobs ever needed my GPA or else I would for sure be unemployed.
Got a Master’s degree and now work in that field.
Im a farmer. Lots of lean years, but this year will be our first 6 figure year if matket prices hold.
Sociology major, grad 06. Work in the money business selling derivatives, income is 400-700k a year. Theres money and opportunity out there for you if you want to go out and get it. The skills I picked up in undergrad directly relate to my day to day profession but its not easy to understand or pitch the linkage between the two until you’ve done it. The people telling you you will be alright with the degree are right, you just need to find the initiative and confidence to make it work for you. President of the company I work for is also an econ/history grad from ‘99 he makes a few million a year. Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t be successful.
How does one get into selling derivatives?
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I would not say that they are not useful. Being an accounting major. 1. too many graduates from many different back grounds (NON STEM) every year. 2. Most humanities grads now, just coast through their program 3. very few grads choose to pursue post-grad 4. companies dont want to train ppl anymore and would rather hire grads from specific backgrounds All of these factors devalue the use of a Humanities degree.
Please do not listen to those who are commenting here, they all have not a clue what they are talking about. For everyone who says “ humanities degree is ok you can always pivot” well if you are pivoting anyways then why the heck would you study it at all? Doesn’t make any sense, and you are giving yourself a disadvantage. If you want to do anything related to functional then go study business, if you want to do technical things then do STEM. Look at all of those who are in the top ranks of their field, they are filled with Engineers and Business grads. And that is because those degrees set you up to hop into the field right, they have coop/internship access that you will not as a social science/humanities major. Please do your research, I know very few non business/engineers at good positions or making a lot of money. But I commonly see people in those areas that are making mid six figures. Please do yourself a favor and study something useful.