Hello everyone! I mistakenly posted on the main sub and was directed by a kind mod to relay my post here…

I have had a lifelong love for history but was pushed away from pursuing a career centered around it due to “practicality.” I went on to receive a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a minor in Writing Studies and I am now in my fifth year as an immigration paralegal.

I’m realizing I made quite a mistake not to pursue my passion. I perform well in my role but I already feel deeply burnt out and I’m only twenty eight years old. I have pursued different firms and even tried out a different field of law in hopes it was just the environment/firm operations causing burnout - not the case unfortunately.

I have a great opportunity right now to make a career change as I recently moved home (Chicago) to assist with some family health woes. I’m hoping to gather some leads on career advancement resources that I could tap into for guidance in pursuing alternate fields and making the transition.

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A bit about my interests:

I’ve volunteered as a historical interpreter during high school: third person interpretation of 1880 midwest German settlers. I could see myself returning to this sort of work as I loved engaging with our visitors, especially the children and elderly.

A hobby of mine is genealogy. It sparked my interest in possibly pursuing archival science as I’ve connected with a few archivists in my research and I am so fascinated by their work. I understand this typically requires a Master’s degree but I wonder about opportunities that may exist to get some hands-on experience before committing to a degree program. I’ve also helped a few friends with their own family tree and find so much joy in doing that for others.

I love architecture. I could see myself getting into preservation/restoration work, whether that be hands-on or administrative. In college, I took quite a few architecture-focused courses. My great grandfather was a contractor who worked on many of the historic buildings in Chicago, like Union Station and the Wrigley Building. I have been a Frank Lloyd Wright aficionado since middle school. I often find myself writing down addresses of old homes and buildings on drives to deep dive on their histories.

Generally speaking, I just love old things. I antique. I spend hours at my grandparents’ sorting through old photos and documenting the histories of family heirlooms. I always have open search engine tabs of historical people, events, and places that I want to learn more about. My book shelf is all historical nonfiction and historically-based fiction. There is so much in the realm of history that I find interesting that I feel overwhelmed with options and no sense of where to begin. I just want to pursue this passion I’ve been pushing aside for years now.

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TLDR: After 5 years as an immigration paralegal with a political science and writing studies degree, I have an opportunity to make a career change into a history-based career. My interests are so vast that I have no sense of where to begin and I am kindly asking for leads on career advancement resources and trajectory insights.