Life Decisions

When I previously returned from University, having completed my BA in History, the next step was seemingly obvious. Get a job and save up to do an MA at some point in the future, depending on the rate at which I could save and the prospective course fees. Thankfully I was able to do this relatively quickly and that goal has been completed.

So now, I am in a situation that is both similar but also quite distinct. What do I do now? What is the next goal? There are several options that present themselves but, sadly, I am not as young as I once was and it is no longer realistically feasible to contemplate them all. Nonetheless, I feel it useful to have something in life to strive towards so as to provide focus and motivation.


So, in no particular order, are several possible career/life choices:

1. Read another Masters. I am not quite sure what to make of this potential option. It almost seems like a step backwards, aiming to repeat something that I already possess. It's also fairly unusual, very few people do a second masters. But why should that stop me? I've always wanted to study at St. Andrews, maybe this would be the perfect oppertunity. Perhaps I could read a Masters in a related but slightly different discipline, such as political science.
2. Read another degree in an different discipline. If doing another masters seems almost like stagnation, this option really does seem like a step back, at least initially. But I love the idea of broadening my horizons and combining my history with something else. History and Sociology? History and Economics? I would be able to do genuine economic history! Career wise this option is unlikely to lead anywhere and is really just for my own personal gratification. But is that a problem?
3. Get a job and just live a little. This is what most normal people do after all. There is no reason I cannot now secure a position with a decent salary and do all the usual things involving consumer spending on shit like holidays and wanking monkeys etc. Yet, this also seems like it has the potential for stagnation, full-time employment and intellectual stimulation so rarely go hand in hand, you are usually too shattered at the end of a working day to start slogging through some wordy tome. A normal long term job would enable me to do things like saving for a flat or a car or retirement.
4. Do a doctorate. This is by far the most obvious next step on from a masters and one that I have been encouraged to do. However, it also has the potential to become a rather large white elephant, as I don't particularly want to work in higher education upon completion. In addition, I have little motivation for such an endeavor right now, the thought of having to write an entire thesis is just too much to contemplate! Many, many people embark on a doctoral program for all the wrong reasons and live to rue their decision. It's bloody expensive and time consuming and given that I have no desire to teach/research in higher education it seems to be a bad idea. Then again, if I am able to find a topic that would sustain my historical curiosity for three years then it might be worth doing for the sheer bloody sake of it. This is also the only option that has the potential to involve external funding sources.
5. Obtain alternative professional qualifications. Why not do a law conversion? Admittedly, it would have been preferable to do it before now but that's not say to say its too late (yet). Perhaps there are other professional qualifications out there worth doing, I really don't know.

So, what to do? I don't bloody know and I wish I did. This is undoubtedly one of life's cross roads but I have no idea which path to start down. In the short term, I guess I don't have to decide quite yet. Without money from employment I cannot truly contemplate any of these options (except for the doctorate, although even that can be self funded) so I guess that's the first step.