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As a teen how would i start working towards my career as a historian?

I love history its intresting and fun to me its something i look foward to seeing and hearing. #history #career-path

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Thank you comment icon work hard gorl Ileana
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Ken’s Answer

Historians are found in many diverse career areas. The most important task for you is to determine which area fits most closely with your personality traits and meet and talk to people who are doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can see what they do, how they got there, and what advice and suggestions that they might have for you.


Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
Here are some important tips on how you can reduce the cost of college. Too many people spend way too much on an education and end up with unnecessarily high debt. ## http://www.educationplanner.org/students/paying-for-school/ways-to-pay/reduce-college-costs.shtml
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
Thank you comment icon thank you so much for your response jalynn
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David’s Answer

Find the branch of the tree that is right for you. Academics in social sciences very often have a focus in certain part of the world. If your goal is to become a professor begin developing a passion for a certain area of the world and/or time period. This would be a great thing for you to know early on as you'll very likely need to get proficiency in the language of that region for graduate studies. If your branch of history is to be something like a museum curator that is a different matter. Good luck!
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Kim’s Answer

You have been given some excellent advice to get you on the right track for your goals. I am excited to see that you are so passionate about history. It it such an important part of our lives. We learn from it, we live it, we make it. To augment the guidance that Ken has given you, I recommend that you take a look at StrengthsFinder. It is my favorite assessment because it identifies your true strengths and provides recommendations on educational and career options. Best of luck with your journey.

Kim recommends the following next steps:

Research the StrengthsFinder assessment to determine if it meets your needs.
Take the StrengthsFinder assessment and review the resulting report for opportunities that enhance your strengths.
Retain the report for reference as your career progresses.
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