History Degree
Mastering the past to shape the Future!
What can I do with a degree in history?
The answer is: many, many things.
A guide from the American Historical Association As a liberal arts major, of course, the world is your oyster and you can consider a multitude of careers.
Among the jobs you can consider are: advertising executive, analyst, archivist, broadcaster, campaign worker, consultant, congressional aide, editor, foreign service officer, foundation staffer, information specialist, intelligence agent, journalist, legal assistant, lobbyist, personnel manager, public relations staffer, researcher, teacher . . . the list can be almost endless.
More specifically, though, with your degree in history you can be an educator, researcher, communicator or editor, information manager, advocate, or even a businessperson.
The very useful guide, Careers for Students of History, written by Barbara J. Howe and jointly published by the American Historical Association and the National Council on Public History (available to members at $6 and $8 for nonmembers from the AHA's Publication Sales), discusses in its 94 pages the numerous career tracks open to the student of history.
Here is a brief list of the career opportunities available to the undergraduate history major. This list is based on the pamphlet (with appropriate paraphrases from its text), but reflects also the changes in the recent past.
- Elementary Schools
- Secondary Schools
- Postsecondary Education
- Historic Sites and Museums
- Museums and Historical Organizations
- Cultural Resources Management and Historic Preservation
- Think Tanks
- Writers and Editors
- Journalists
- Documentary Editors
- Producers of Multimedia Material
Historians As Information Managers
- Archivists
- Records Managers:
- Librarians
- Information Managers
- Lawyers and Paralegals
- Litigation Support
- Legislative Staff Work
- Foundations
Historians in Businesses and Associations
- Historians in Corporations
- Contract Historians
- Historians and Nonprofit Associations
For more information on all these career opportunities as well as other possibilities, consult the pamphlet referred to above and, of course, the Guilford College Career Guidance Center.