How A Degree In History Can Change Your Career
Majoring in history today is considered a waste of time and money. Other more hands-on majors are taking over when it comes to popularity. However, a degree in history can be a pathway to a successful career. It’s even better if you’re passionate about the field. This short guide will show you how a history degree can change your career.
Job opportunities for history graduates
The fun part about studying a history major is learning about the American Revolution and the role a civil rights attorney in Fresno, CA, would have played in that time period. However, just knowing history isn’t enough to land a job. So, what job opportunities are there for history graduates?
A history degree gives you valuable skills that most employers are searching for. You’ll hardly find a history student who’s not good at analytics and research. These two skills place you ahead of job seekers who majored in other courses.
Next is the writing skill, which opens a world of opportunities for history graduates to work with online publications or as curators in museums. There are job available for history graduates in the legal field as well as management positions in various organizations.
If you’re passionate about passing down your knowledge, you’ll also find roles in the education sector. Most history graduates work as high school teachers, and some may even prefer to work in the school library as the custodians of history.
As a history graduate, you can also work towards becoming a professor in college. But academia is not where it stops for historians. There are other more unconventional career paths for them.
Unconventional career paths for history graduates
Historians are not restricted to fields where they research, analyze, and write. They can also take up roles in business and finance, either working in their industry or acquiring more skills. It’s also not uncommon to see historians working in government departments and influencing public policy based on the facts they have learned over the years.
Finally, working in tourism and hospitality is another exciting job opportunity for history graduates. This role is perfect for people who love to travel. It also gives them an opportunity to meet people from all over the world and experience a bit of their culture, like a library but for people.
Getting established as a historian
A bachelor’s degree in history is enough for most roles in this guide. However, for more advanced roles, such as college professors, you need to get a doctorate degree. Also, for a high school teacher, a bachelor’s degree may be enough to secure the role, but getting a master’s degree will greatly increase your salary range.
Besides the potential of a higher salary, you can also increase your chances of securing a higher position with more perks. Master’s programs last anywhere from one to two years. However, some schools offer joint master’s and PhD programs. The courses offer a master’s degree to students two years into the program and a doctorate when they graduate fully.
