Options with history

Your skills

Although history is a subject viewed by some as non-vocational, history graduates go into a very wide range of careers. This indicates that employers widely respect history graduates as having a valuable combination of skills.

Studying history improves the depth and range of your personal transferable skills and allows you to develop:

• critical reasoning and analytical skills, including the capacity for solving problems and thinking creatively, often through extensive reading; 
• intellectual rigour and independence, including the ability to conduct research using different types of tools, such as information and communications technology, and sources;
• the ability to construct an argument by selecting and ordering relevant evidence and then to communicate findings in a structured, clear and persuasive manner, both orally and in writing;
• additional communication skills, such as negotiating, questioning and summarising;
• self-motivation and self-reliance with the ability to work without direct supervision and manage time and priorities effectively;
• the ability to discuss ideas in groups, accommodating different ideas and reaching agreement;
• the capacity to think objectively and approach problems and new situations with an open mind;
• an appreciation of the different factors that influence the activities of groups and individuals in society.

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree

• Academic librarian, information officer, records manager - responsible for the selection, acquisition, organisation and dissemination of information within an organisation, often with a user training and liaison role.
• Archivist - plans and organises systems and procedures for the safekeeping of, and public access to, historically valuable collections. Archivists identify, evaluate and select important items, and negotiate the acquisition of material with the relevant providers.
• Civil Service administrator - interprets and applies complex written information relating to policies and procedures, produces high-quality materials and reports, researches and conducts analysis, and delivers findings.
• Heritage manager - are responsible for the conservation of as well as the public access to a range of heritage sites, including ancient monuments, historic buildings, museums and gardens.
• Museum/gallery conservator - acquires, maintains, develops, displays and interprets a collection of artefacts or works of art in order to educate, entertain and inspire the public.
• Politician's assistant - provide administrative, secretarial, research and publicity support for elected politicians.
• Trade union research officer - inform the activities and strategic development of trade unions by collecting, analysing and disseminating information on socioeconomic and political issues.

Jobs where your degree would be useful

• Barrister - responsible for understanding and interpreting the law, managing legal briefs (cases), researching and writing opinions, preparing cases for court, and preparing and presenting legal argument.
• Broadcast journalist, magazine journalist, newspaper journalist - responsible for investigating, gathering and reporting on news and authoring journal-specific features.
• Education administrator - organises and manages educational institutions’ administrative systems and processes. Areas of work can include central administration (such as admissions and recruitment) or an academic or support department, such as finance or careers, where the role is likely to involve more direct contact with students/pupils.
• Solicitor - advises individuals and organisations on legal aspects of personal and business matters.
• Primary school teacher - plans, prepares and presents lessons for pupils aged 5 to 11, motivating pupils, and assessing and recording pupils’ progress.
• Secondary school teacher - develops schemes of work and plans lessons, encourages, monitors and records the progress of individual pupils, and devises and adapts resources to suit their own students. Secondary school teachers must also keep up to date with developments in their subject area, and new teaching and learning methods.
• Writer - produces writing in various styles including fiction and poetry, non-fiction and material for the theatre, screen, radio and the web. Most writers work freelance and are self-employed.

Other options

A history degree provides openings to a wide range of other careers but it is also important, in order to boost prospects, to gain as many of the relevant skills and as much relevant work experience as possible prior to embarking on a particular career.

Volunteering, internships, part-time jobs and student projects can help to increase confidence and improve skills in communication, organising workloads, using initiative, working collaboratively, conducting research, project management and working to timescales.

It is also possible to make speculative approaches, especially to employers whose business is in the line of work that you are considering. Related work experience always helps to increase knowledge of the sector and can help you to establish important contacts.

Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it’s not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here. Look at your degree... what next? for informed advice on career planning and graduate employment, or login/register with My Prospects to find out what jobs would suit you, a helpful starting point for self-analysis.

Explore types of jobs to find out more about the above options and related jobs.

Career areas

A 2012 HESA survey of 2011 graduates indicates that, six months after graduation, 53% of history graduates were in employment in the UK or overseas. A further 9% were combining working with further study.

It is unusual to go directly into a job that is directly related to a history degree until you have completed some kind of further study. Because of this, many graduates are working in roles that appear unrelated to their degree, but a degree in history provides an entry to a huge range of professions.

For example, approximately 13% of those in work were in clerical and secretarial posts, 24% in retail and catering, 10% in managerial roles in commerce, industry and the public sector, 11% in the business and financial professions and 9% in professional roles in marketing, sales and advertising. Approximately 8% were believed to be unemployed.

Where are the jobs?

With their flexible combination of skills, it is not surprising that history graduates who can demonstrate their abilities pursue a wide variety of careers, including teaching, law, research, accountancy, journalism, administration, information management and the media.

Typical employers of history graduates include banks, television and radio broadcasters, national and local government, management consultancies, law firms, schools, higher education institutions and retailers.

For more information on potential career areas, see:

• creative arts and culture - includes activities such as art, crafts and design, dancing, music, acting, writing, photography;
• teaching and education - includes work in schools, further education and higher education;
• public sector - incorporating a huge range of opportunities within the civil service and local government.

For further information on possibilities in other employment areas, see job sectors. 

Statistics are collected every year to show what HE students do immediately after graduation. These can be a useful guide but, in reality, because the data is collected within six months of graduation, many graduates are travelling, waiting to start a course, paying off debts, getting work experience or still deciding what they want to do. For further information about some of the areas of employment commonly entered by graduates of any degree discipline, check out What Do Graduates Do?  and your degree...what next?

Further study

A 2011 HESA survey of 2010 graduates indicates that six months after graduation 22% of history graduates had gone on to full-time further study. Some chose to specialise at Masters or PhD level in an area of history that interested them during their undergraduate degree course. Others chose to gain an essential qualification for a specific career area.

Many postgraduate courses accept graduates from any subject, and this allows history graduates to choose subjects as diverse as accountancy, journalism, law, museum studies, teaching and librarianship. These courses provide you with vocational training skills in discrete occupational areas.

Popular areas for further study include the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in primary and secondary teaching, Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), Masters courses in information management, and certificates in corporate finance and personnel practice.

For more information on postgraduate study, training courses and funding opportunties see:

• Institute of Historical Research (IHR)  
• Royal Historical Society  
• Higher Education Academy - Subject Centre for History, Classics and Archaeology  

These trends show only what previous graduates in your subject did immediately upon graduating. Over the course of their career - the first few years in particular - many others will opt for some form of further study, either part time or full time. If further study interests you, start by thinking about postgraduate study in the UK and search courses and research to identify your options.

For details relating to finance and the application process, look at funding my further study.

AGCAS

Written by AGCAS editors

Date: 

March 2011

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