cornellhopeful

Should I be doing Hindi/Urdu language training...how many years/at what level?

I am sorry that I can't give you advice on these questions, as I have not applied either. I was wondering why you decided to change from a career in law to history? (I am deciding between the 2 fields right now).

Hello everyone, I am new to this forum and I am currently undergoing a dillema of choosing between law school or getting a History PhD. It isn't a new dillema, though. Last year I was going through the same decision making process, and I initially decided on getting a PhD, but then was sort of dissuaded by my parents bc of their opinions of the history job market. I then decided on law school, and I applied and I got into some good top twenty schools. Right now I have to make a decision between going ahead with law school starting in the fall, or starting over and applying to PhD programs. The rational part of me tells me to go to law school simply because there are more job opportunities. However, I am unsure as to whether I would enjoy being a lawyer. I am not exactly what you think of when you think of the lawyer "type" and a lot of people have told me that I am too nice to be a lawyer. I have also heard some pretty bad stories about legal firm jobs and I guess I just don't want to be unhappy with my career choice if I decide on law. I know history is no walk in the park, though, but I have always been very passionate about being a historian, and I just love researching. I really enjoyed the thesis writing process my senior year and I developed close relationships with my professors and could actually see myself doing what they do. Has anyone else interested in history been in a similar dillema abt choosing a career path? What have been some useful techniques you used to resolve your indecision and decide if pursuing a History PhD is the right path for you? Any lawyers or law students out there who have changed their mind to do history? Any advice would be appreciated. Also, I guess I will give you more background about myself to see if you think I would be competitive in History PhD admissions for this year. I have a 3.7 gpa from a top ten liberal arts college with a BA in History, and I am interested in British colonial history in India. However, I have not published anything. Is that GPA competitive, and is it bad that I haven't published? Thanks