What should I do with my life?

[Andrew Soboeiro]

My name is Andrew Soboeiro, and I'm a recent graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with bachelor's degrees in both History and English. I've been working as a freelance content writer since then, and am about to start a Fulbright English-teaching job in Malaysia.

As I prepare for Malaysia, I'm also starting to think about what I want to do in the longer run. Whether I end up going to grad school or directly into the labor market, I'll want to start applying while I'm abroad so I can hit the ground running upon my return. I was wondering if any current or past grad students on this forum could read through my (admittedly long-winded) thoughts on the subject and offer me some advice.

I've thought for a long time about applying to history PhD programs. I definitely have a strong interest in history, and I love reading, thinking, talking, and writing about it. I also have a fairly specific idea about what I would study if I did follow this route. I would focus on the religious, commercial, and political influence of the Portuguese in Early Modern Southeast Asia (along the lines of what Giancarlo Casale has written except not focused on the Middle East). I think I would really enjoy studying that, or any number of related topics, over the long term-- even given how hard it would be and how limited the job prospects in academia are.

It occurs to me, however, that my passion may not be for history specifically so much as for ideas and information more generally. I enjoy reading and discussing everything from literature to politics to business to languages to virtually any other topic I have explored at length. I wonder if I may be able to find the same excitement and fulfillment in any number of other fields, including those with much better job prospects and/or that do not require as much graduate education. That's not to say that I wouldn't be willing to spend 5-8 years in grad school or brave a tough job market-- but if I can find fulfillment without doing those things, why should I?

As an alternative to the traditional academic route, my undergraduate thesis adviser suggested I consider a dual law-history degree program. The programs she highlighted involve earning a Master's or Ph.D. in history or a related field along with a J.D. This would allow me to gain some higher-level academic training in a field of interest while also offering much better job prospects than academia can by itself. What gives me pause about this option, though, is that I've never considered being a lawyer. I haven't interned in a law firm, taken the LSAT, or done any of the other things that I am told one should do before deciding to go into law. I haven't taken this option off the table, but given all I would have to do just to find out if it's right for me, it seems unlikely.

As far as what I could do if I don't go to grad school, I have been working for more than a year now as a freelance content marketer. This job involves writing on a wide range of business, legal, academic, scientific, and other topics, is reasonably well compensated, and is incredibly flexible. While it's probably not something I can viably do my whole life, I think I can parlay this experience into a job as a fundraiser, public relations specialist, or other related worker. Ideally, I'd want to land such a job at a company or nonprofit that focuses on history or something else I care about, which might be more difficult. But because my current freelancing job provides both money and experience, there will be no rush to accept a salaried job, meaning I can search for as long as I need to find the right position.

Finally, it occurs to me that my Fulbright job might open the door to a job as a translator, whether at a translation company or another company that needs an interpreter on staff. I am already proficient in Portuguese and (to a lesser degree) Spanish, and hope to learn Malay by the time I finish Fulbright. In an increasingly globalized world, I imagine someone with these skills would be fairly valuable on the job market. Since I don't have formal training in any of these languages, it might be necessary to get a Master's degree in one or more of them. But I'd totally be willing to do that if I could get into a good program.

So that's where I am as far as thoughts about my career. What do you think? Obviously I don't expect you to make the decision for me, but do any of my ideas jump out at you as particularly good (or particularly bad)? What options did you consider when deciding your career, and how did you make up your mind? Is there anything you think I should consider that I haven't brought up?

To those of you who have made it this far, thank you so much for reading my thoughts and concerns! Any advice you can give me over the next few months will be much appreciated. And of course, if I can somehow offer you advice or support on something, I would be happy to do so!

[MarineBluePsy]

I think that while it isn't bad that you're asking yourself "what do I want to be when I grow up?" at the same time you don't have to decide this now.  Go to Malaysia.  Observe another culture up close and personal.  Have unique experiences.  Let the skills you develop there shape your future in ways you least expect.  When your teaching job is over you may still be uncertain of what you want to do, but you will have options and opportunities to further explore things that interest you.  Everything you mentioned is something you could potentially explore via career shadowing, community service, paid jobs, etc and then you can decide where you might return to school if at all.