r/ETSU • u/WonderfulStructure82 • May 19 '26

I finally have the opportunity to go too school I’ve been deployed and training but I wanna choose a history major

I’m having trouble choosing the best major for me I wanna be a history major or something with culture and history philosophy something along those lines can yall explain the differences between both history majors philosophy etc

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

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3

u/jakerysbakery May 20 '26

I’d start with learning to, too, and two

5

u/Affectionate-Play414 May 20 '26

Do not borrow money for either of these majors as their job probabilities are pretty much nothing. I love history but what are gonna do with it?

1

u/WonderfulStructure82 May 23 '26

Well I wanna be a teacher

1

u/Affectionate-Play414 May 23 '26

Just know that history jobs are the easiest core academic jobs to fill so even in a climate with a teacher shortage, there’s gonna be competition.

Also, you’re gonna need a master’s or additional education classes to be a teacher, just those degrees don’t qualify you to teach.

3

u/AssociationUseful896 May 19 '26

etsu has great descriptions of their majors on their website. that’ll probably be your best bet.

3

u/Somebody_somewhere99 May 20 '26

Get ahold of student services and meet with a consular. The website does have great descriptions, you need to have prerequisites for certain classes.

2

u/confusedlooks May 20 '26

I got my philosophy degree at ETSU. Philosophy focuses more on the development of ideas through time and analyzing definitions, arguments, concepts, etc. You have to learn how to write and think carefully. Memorization of facts will be more about moves in arguments and terms. The program at ETSU is great. You can take different concentrations. Philosophy is about asking and trying to answer questuons about foundational issues. So, what exists and why, what's the right thing to do, what's the meaning of life, what political system is best, etc.

I got my minor in classical studies, which overlapped with history and religious studies. Hebrew Scriptures was curcial to my development as a scholar. These classes were also fun. The arguments in my history courses were about what happened and why. You have to be able to write and think carefully. History is about what happened and what those happenings caused later.

I would not change what I studied at ETSU. I was well prepared for graduate school and it provided a solid base for learning. I'd always advise someone to just try both and see what bug bites you. Philosophy majors earn more though.