No, You Can't Do What I Do

A few days ago, I saw a friend who goes to medical school on the bus, and we got talking about school, etc. As we were swapping stories, I told him how that I wouldn't like being in his position in medical school, to which he said something along the lines of:

It would be hard for you to do what I do (go to med sch), but I bet I can do what you do (history PhD).

Again, this are not his exact words but that was the gist of it. My jaw dropped, and I looked at him (with an evil eye) and said, "No, you wouldn't be able to do what I do." To which he replied, "Well, what do you do? Just read and write, right?"

Wow, if only. I got off the bus, (pardon my language) pissed off. Like really really really pissed off, so much so that I am still fuming and hence, am venting it here.

I do read and write A TON, but doing a history graduate degree -- or any humanities/ social science graduate degree for that matter -- is much more than that. It's about exploring ideas, and getting to the core of human nature and morality (e.g. what drives people? Money? Family?). It's about synthesizing your thoughts and then communicating them in a coherent and cogent manner. It's about persuading your readers to the validity and strength of your arguments, and convincing them that you have something important to say. History, in particular, fascinates me because it explains the society I see today and why it runs the way it does. I can't describe that feeling of "enlightenment" and relief I felt after taking a American history after 1945 course in college. That class finally explained American society and politics to me, and showed me the repercussions of certain historical choices. I'm not the only one though. Why do you think so many history majors become lawyers and politicians? Because they utilize the same set of information and skills.

I understand that doctors do invaluable work that save lives, and I salute them for that. I'm just fed up that some professions treat the humanities/ social sciences with contempt, as if our work is any easier or less valuable, and that anyone can do what we do. Just because I'm not directly saving people's lives doesn't mean my work is any less valuable than yours. Medicine improves the quantity of life, but it is the Arts and Humanities that improves the quality of life. And frankly, which one is a harder skill set to acquire-- diagnosing people or persuading people? [Okay, fine, they are both difficult and are two different skill sets that don't merit a fair comparison, but let me vent please!]  

Frankly I shouldn't be surprised since this is a societal problem. Compare the incomes of doctors/ lawyers/ engineers versus teachers/ social workers, and it's obvious which professions are valued more. I'm resigned to this but still, it's a whole different thing when your friends say it outright to your face. My friend is very bright, and is in a joint medical degree-PhD program. Given how intelligent he is, there is a possibility that he will do well in a history PhD... as long as he realizes that we use a whole different skill set, and read and write way more than he will in medical school (I'm pretty sure of that). But it's not his intelligence that galls me; it's his lack of respect and tact. Just as I salute doctors for what they do, I hope that they will in turn treat what I do with the same level of regard, recognizing that we are all just trying to make the world a better place in our own different way.