History Major

[Bullet]

Allow me to provide my $0.02...

What can you specifically do with a History major from the USNA?

Well, first and foremost, it gets you those butterbars when you graduate, and places you in a career field that provides you opportunities and experience EVERY top company in the civilian world looks for as one of the primary qualities they desire in new hires: leadership experience. Each day in the military adds value to your worth, in their eyes.

The next part is up to you, and is the most important: your goals in life and in the military. Want to stay in the service beyond your initial service commitment? Well, you're only making yourself more valuable in the civilian market. Ten years after you graduate, would they hire you to be the engineer for them with your History major? Frankly, no. But they would hire you to lead those engineers. Your military experience is now more valuable to them than your Bachelor's degree.

But I do agree with bruno somewhat. Get out immediately after your service commitment is up, and your choices WILL become more limited.

Like I said, it all depends on your long term goals in life (or at least your goals for the next 15-25 years or so.)

 

[Bullet]

Forgot to add, what you DO in the military also plays a big factor in your value in the outside world. They ain't gonna hire a pilot (or WSO) with a history degree to design their next airplane, but they'll knock down the door to get a pilot to be the Project Manager for the design team. Same for JAG, Flight Doc, loggy, SWO, whatever...

 

[mom3boys]

When my DS was trying to decide on his major, he had a briefing w/ the dean. The dean said, "major in what you love. You're going to have a job:
2LT." While I thought he should major in something "useful," his foreign language major has been a great experience for him. It also helped him achieve a very high class rank, so it's looking very good for branch night and getting his first choice next fall. He is thinking about what will help him meet his military goals...not civilian goals at some unnamed future date.

 

[patentesq]

When my DS was trying to decide on his major, he had a briefing w/ the dean. The dean said, "major in what you love. You're going to have a job:
2LT." While I thought he should major in something "useful," his foreign language major has been a great experience for him. It also helped him achieve a very high class rank, so it's looking very good for branch night and getting his first choice next fall. He is thinking about what will help him meet his military goals...not civilian goals at some unnamed future date.

If Norwich had a major in "Infantry", that would have been my major. But they didn't, so I decided to stick with Biology (later commissioned as a 2LT, Infantry). I didn't realize it at the time, but the decision to stay with Biology was one of the most important decisions of my life. Biology had nothing to with the skillset of an Infantry officer, but it has had an enormous impact on my post-Army career.

 

[usna1985]

Holy Toledo!!! I had no idea that this thread was running. Thanks, usna1985, you are on target with your statement above.

There is one glaring error, though, with the above statement. I would delete the word "virtually" -- to become a patent lawyer, those degrees are a MUST!!

Being an attorney myself, I'm loathe to use "absolutes."

I'm often asked what major someone should pursue for law school and I tell them "the one that interests you." IMO, if you are likely to be interested in patent law, you're likely already to have an interest in/knack for science or engineering. It's kind of like being an MD -- if you hate science, it's probably not the field for you. Which, BTW, is why I'm not an MD.

I agree that a technical education can be a plus for law school. However, it IS important that you learn to write somewhere along the way. I was amazed at USNA at the number of engineering and science majors who couldn't compose a paragraph. While that may be ok for some careers, most require some need to be able to express yourself in writing. Thus, I would recommend a "balanced" approach -- major in what you want to but try to get some hard core math/science and some hard core writing along the way.

As for history majors . . . I think it depends on what you want to do AND what other courses you take. I've read that med schools don't mind humanities majors and even like them. Of course, those individuals must still take and do well in the required med school courses, etc. But they don't want a bunch of lab geeks.

As for SA history majors, as others have said, what do you want to do with your life and what are you interested in? You can always go back to school and take additional courses. I saw far too many folks at USNA who, for various reasons, majored in something they didn't really like. Sometimes it worked out; often it didn't.

 

[patentesq]

Being an attorney myself, I'm loathe to use "absolutes."

Gotta love attorneys! Even within the legal profession itself, there are no absolutes. I started my legal career as a general litigator after a two-year clerkship for a federal appeals court where I worked on bankruptcy, criminal matters, insurance, environmental, products liability, employment, contracts, etc. (the only military-related issues we had were ruling on the appropriateness of closing certain military installations in the United States that had been targeted for shut-down by the Defense Base Closure and Reallignment Commission). I subsequently joined an AmLaw 100 law firm and, early on, was introduced to patent litigation, where I started representing computer companies in semiconductor patent infringement litigation -- mostly of the sort where the field is saturated with electrical engineering majors. And I was a Biology major! (the only "Biology" case that I recall was a fight over genetically engineered pineapples between two major food companies). I eventually became a Partner at that law firm, mostly doing semiconductor patent litigation for these computer companies.

Well, now I am the General Counsel of one of those computer companies managing other lawyers and law department personnel and where I am back to doing contracts, employment, products liability, environmental, and insurance (hopefully no criminal or bankruptcy, though!), and a heavy dose of intellectual property. The one thing I have observed over my 18 or so years in a career in the legal profession is that the best lawyers are former military officers. Not ex-JAGs, mind you, but former officers with experience such as former Air Force fighter pilots, Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and Marines. People would be really surprised how many of these types are engaged in this line of work. As Bullet points out, former military officers share common virtues: leadership, diligence, sound judgment, courage, aggressiveness, and above all else, character. These are essential traits for success in any career path in the civilian sector and are virtues not taught in any classroom, in any major.

Candidly, when I entered law school, I had no idea whether the legal profession was right for me or whether I'd enjoy it. But I truly love what I do. This is why I chuckle whenever I see a 17-year-old post on SAF that she or he is hell-bent on pursuing a career in the military.

 

[vampsoul]

I am an intended American History major at USMA. Here's how I look at it and the officers teaching history I talked to looked at it: maybe you'll go career in the military, maybe not. Either way, you should bank on attending grad school, because you'll get sent if you stay in long enough and need it if you get out. I love American History, and considering the few number of classes you actually get to pick at an academy, I'm going to take some that I love. Time will tell if I go career as I plan or enter the civilian sector early. Either way an undergraduate degree is not the last level of education I will pursue, so I am not too worried about how it will look on my resume as compared to a computer science degree or something.