Finished my phD in History, and now I'm basically a NEET for the time being. How's everyone going? Haven't active;y used this site for a while, and it's cool to see the same familiar faces are still here. So, I'd like to ask everyone: on what subjects do you consider yourself most knowledgeable in, and is there anything about it that you think is the most interesting to know?

  • thethirdgracchi [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Wow, very jealous. I almost went down the PhD in History route (would have focused on American Empire in the early 20th century and my thesis on Firestone Tires in Liberia) but alas the siren song of Money and Stable Job was too strong. Maybe someday I'll go back... what did you write your thesis on? Would you recommend a PhD program in History from an intellectual standpoint, as obviously the "job prospects" are dire?

    • dinklesplein [any, he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      3 years ago

      It depends is always an unsatisfying answer IMO, so I will try to force myself to take a stance here and say that it was in general too much of a slog to be anything I can in good conscience recommend to anyone. There was a lot of academic grifting, and in general, I preferred authoring journal articles every now and then on specific topics than working on my dissertation, which I wrote on French, Italian, and Soviet cruiser operations during the Second World War.