Potential Majors

 This week's blog topic was very difficult for me because (like many people) I am interested in almost every subject at school, except for math and science, which unfortunately seem to be the only fields in which there is job security and good pay. While researching potential courses and careers for this blog topic, the majors History - Classics or East Asian Studies, English - Comparative Literature, Political Science, Theology, Philosophy, and Spanish caught my eye before I finally settled on a History major with a minor in International Relations, as an umbrella for several careers I am interested in. Picking that was basically a "copout" because I didn't actually choose a specific subject. I still want to have, like, 5 majors. Three careers I could see myself doing in the future are being a journalist or historical fiction novelist, college professor, intelligence analyst.

My dream is to travel the world and write for a respectable publication such as National Geographic or the New York Times. A quote I would want to describe my career by the time I retire is the motto of National Geographic's Traveler magazine: "Nobody knows this world better." I want to be in the middle of political action finding the stories that matter to people, and telling them as world history unfolds around me. I think the first step to solving world problems is to raise awareness about them, and that's what I would be doing with my writing, communication, and social media skills. Social media adeptness would especially come in handy because 90% of National Geographic is digital (measured in June 2011). Maybe more importantly, social media has recently catalyzed conflicts and publicized revolutions and political events on accessible global platforms. A good journalist should be highly disciplined but uncontrollably curious at the same time. Journalists are paid by the article, meaning they are paid by the content they turn in, not a set hourly wage. A good free lance journalist with at least 5 years of experience is paid around $60-80,000. I don't think that's a lot, at least for Bay Area standards, but I honestly think I wouldn't care as long as my job was a labor of passion. 

Another job I could see myself having in the future would be being a college history professor. I am particularly interested in World War II History with an emphasis on East Asian events at that time. To do this job, I would have to immerse myself in my area of interest and dedicate my life to researching and publishing original content on my topic, as well as teaching. The level of education required to be a university professor is a P. h. D., which takes at least 6 years to attain - and that's after one gets their 4 year undergraduate degree. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the highest paid full time professors work at Harvard University and University of Chicago, and receive around $198,000. Realistically, those types of jobs and salaries would be almost impossible for me to achieve. I would probably have to teach at a less prestigious university and work for many years before even coming close to making that type of money. However, I would still like to explore this career more because it might allow me to practice my International Relations minor or the field of Philosophy or Theology (depending on what time period I ended up studying). 

The third job I envision myself doing with my History major and International Relations minor is being a government intelligence analyst. Analysts are subject-matter experts who locate, study and evaluate information from sources around the world, such as through satellite surveillance, foreign newspapers, the Internet, global communications and contacts. The standards for all intelligence analyst positions require a minimum GPA of 3.0 and a bachelor's or advanced degree. They should have strong oral and written skills, an interest in international affairs, a demonstrated foreign language ability in Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish, foreign knowledge obtained through study or travel, financial analysis skills and experience in statistics and computer or mathematical programming. They should also be meticulous with their work and dedicated to serving their country by doing a high-quality job every day. According to the Houston Chronicle, CIA analysts can make between $49,861 to $97,333, with the highest earning analysts living in Washington, D. C. I think this job would be really exciting because you would be doing vital work to the country every single day, but it would also be extremely high-pressured and competitive. I plan to relearn Cantonese and Mandarin in the future (I was fluent in my childhood) and would want to focus on Asian current events, but I also wouldn't object to Latin America-related work either because I love speaking Spanish. I really don't know that much about this career and what it's actually like. Truthfully, I think I put this down because I watched the movie Zero Dark Thirty a while back and thought it was really cool.

Wow, I didn't mean to write so much. If anybody read all of it, then two thumbs up for you because that was kind of a lot. I honestly never considered any career other than being a writer before, and once I thought about it I ended up having a lot to say. No matter what career I end up having, I want to be in the middle of world history, whether it's reporting it as it unfolds, retelling it to the next generation, or anticipating and shaping it before it happens.