Careers in history do exist

Don't do the same mistake I did. When I came out of university lightly armed with a Major nothing in History I shrugged my shoulders and headed straight to St. Laurent street to act cool. I had no clue in what capacity I could have used my history skills - which apparently I possessed according to a couple of professors.

In one class - history of Latin America - the professor decided to read two exams she thought were very strong. One was from a guy we kinda hung out with named Victor. Vic was from Ecuador so no surprise that his paper was selected. He also happened to be a very smart and cultured guy. A little leftist - who isn't down there - but we had a superb time sharing an espresso or beer with him.

The other happened to be courtesy of the writer of this lousy blog. I sat reading a magazine when my interest was aroused by her sultry voice reciting my exam. I looked over to my buddy of now 25 years and smiled, "that's my paper". He didn't believe me at first. Still suspicious, all apprehensions were laid to rest when she called my name right after reading it.

I was eager to see my grade because I was convinced I bombed the multiple choice part of the exam. I never did quite understand why the hell history professors in university loved the fricken multiple choice. Historically, excuse the shameless misplaced pun, I have always stunk at the multiple choice. I don't know why. I just did - and probably still do. And this was not just any typical garden variety MC. It was one of those "there is not wrong answer just choose the most accurate one" MCs.

C-

Or thereabouts was my overall grade. The written part was an A+. The MC was, well, really bad. I rarely ever went to a professor to complain about a grade in my life - except on certain occasions where I absolutely felt I had a legitimate shot at redemption. I thought this one merited at least discussing with the gal. All I did was silently place the exam on the desk.

"You're the one!"

"I'm the one."

"What happened?"

"I have no clue."

"Tell you what. I will forget the multiple choice part if you can repeat this performance on your final paper."

Nice lady she was.

I got an A on the course.

Man, it's 1am and I almost forgot the purpose of this post.

Let's wrap this trip down self-indulgent memory lane. I took my degree and ended up in the financial world. By the time I was in my late 20s I realized I would have felt at home as a corporate historian. But by then I had no clue how to go about it. I meekly tried to inquire but it proved unsuccessfully.

The end.

However, if you have aspirations of having a career in history I strongly recommend this post over at the The Pen and the Spindle.

It mentions corporate historian and provides a great illustration of how diverse history as a practical and artistic discipline can be. Yes, you can even earn a pay check with it. And you don't even need a locked-jaw and a tweed jacket.