I was wondering if it is possible to makor, minor, or have an area of concentration in Geneology? Is there such a field of study within college history departments? - Jinx
No, but it may be possible to study genealogy. Sorry, as an amateur genealogist, I couldn’t let it slide.
Eh, I bet the first genealogist sounded it out to figure out the spelling. S/he probobably discovered that the family roots go back to photagraphy (sic) on one side of the family who married into etymology on the other side of the family! Thereby making it okay to change -ology to -alogy! 
Sorry, I couldn’t resist!
Oh sure, don’t follow the rule that -ology means “study of”!
They’ll get theirs when they accidentally discover that their fathers all smelled of elderberries! 
- The Monty Python side of Jinx’s Family
There are a few genealogy-specific colleges out there, though I’m uncertain of their reputation. That school linked above actually offers a bachelor’s degree, which I had never seen before.
Generally, a genealogist becomes a genealogist by becoming certified, or recognized by one (or perhaps more) certification boards after taking course-work which appears to be about the equivalent of an associates’ degree. Once you do that, you can start tacking acronyms to your name–CG, CGL, et cetera.
Genealogy most definitely has its rules and methods like virtually any other discipline, and just like any other discipline, some certifications are the real deal and some are bullshit. Perhaps because there are many ways to appear as if one is a competent genealogist, there are a lot of charlatans out there, too.
When a real genealogist decides to take on an amateur, the results are particularly bloody and embarassing, in my experience. It’s hard to find the whole story online now, but one guy I know, Roger Joslyn, CG, FASG, took on author, Indian-fighter, and self-promoter Jeff Benedict and his book Without Reservation. Joslyn trashed Benedict’s credentials, methodology, and conclusions about the ancestry of a Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, and boldly concluded that Benedict was either being deliberately misleading or he was an utterly incompetent genealogist. Benedict was trying to run for Congress that year; his public weaseling after being utterly beat down by Joslyn’s work in the press went a long way toward (temporarily) terminating his political career.
How would one make money at it?
It’s always been my understanding that we help each other out: you look up my dead ancestor in your library for free and I do your dead ancestor’s grave rubbing. I’ve never seen genealogists charge anyone anything except expenses related to digging up the information (copying, postage, etc.).
Genealogists can make a decent living in Indian affairs. Tribes which wish to be federally recognized must prove that their current membership primarily descends from their historic tribe (among a whole lot of other things). For groups with large memberships that is a monumental task, and I think the going rate is anywhere from $90 to $125 per hour.
Once federally recognized, the singlemost contested issue among tribes is their membership. Professional genealogists are often called in to help untangle ugly membership disputes.
Similarly, genealogists are also sometimes needed to track down ownership of allotted Indian land. Some tribes, like the Mashantuckets, actually employ teams of genealogists in order to track down potential tribal members.
I know one person who occasionally consults with law enforcement. She won’t tell me what she does but I surmise that she helps track down fugitives by identifying family members with whom the runner might be shacking up.
The old joke used to be that if you ever wanted to look up your family tree all you need to do is run for Congress. Your opponent’s campaign is sure to hire a genealogist to do a little skeleton-hunting for you.
And, related to my little story in the above post, the second someone tries to come after your ancestors with genealogy, the best thing to do is to get a genealogist yourself, hopefully a better, more professional one. Sort of like you have to do with lawyers.
After running into a complete dead end while tracing my German ancestors, I contacted a bilingual genealogist living in Europe and paid him $120/hr to do the legwork for me. It was well worth it, as he had access to very old church records in the eastern part of the country and could translate them.
The free exchange of information is common amongst people like you and me who are just trying to fill in some gaps. For this guy, it was a business.
Sofa King pretty much nailed it. Anyone can set themselves up as a professional genealogist, but it’s caveat emptor. No licensing is required as yet, and anyone can look up information in the LDS database and claim to actually be doing decent research.
Jinx: Nicely lobbed! 
Your opponent’s campaign is sure to hire a genealogist to do a little skeleton-hunting for you.
Why?
What on earth does it matter if a candidate’s great-great-great-grandfather was a bootlegger or whatever?
Brigham Young University offers a Family History major for the Bachelor of Arts degree.
“Genealogy” comes from genea, meaning race, and logia. The spelling is easy once you realise it isn’t “-ology” that’s the last part of the word, but “-logy”.