Who Do You Think You Are?

5Can You Have a Good Career with a Degree in the Liberal Arts?

It took just seven words to strike fear into my parents' hearts: “I want to be a history major.” Even though my father majored in English, my mother majored in communications, and both had successful careers as educators, my parents had something different in mind for me (your author, Steve). My father strongly encouraged me to get a degree in business. My mom was never quite as blunt about it, but it was clear she shared my father's anxiety that a liberal arts degree wasn't the most logical step to a successful career and—top of mind for them, I'm sure—a big enough paycheck to keep me from moving back home after graduation.

I was a pretty good student in high school. I liked most of my classes, but my favorite by far was AP American history. I took American history as a senior, and even as many of my classmates were counting the days until graduation, my history class kept me deeply engaged all year. I enjoyed the reading and writing. I loved the discussions in class each day. Intellectually, I had found a passion.

As I was applying to college, my interest in history was never far from my mind. That said, it seemed a bit impractical. I wasn't really sure what I would do with a history degree. Should I teach high school? That was an obvious career path, and in a sense teaching was the family business. My dad taught English for many years before he moved into school administration as a high school assistant principal ...