What can you do with a History Degree?

"The people I work with on a daily basis have a wide range of college degrees, including History. Outside of actually writing code, many young, trendy software companies are simply looking for intelligent, organized, hard-working people that are willing to learn and be trained." -Mark Ostendorf, Perceptive Software

Historians as Communicators: writers; editors; journalists; documentarians; producers of multimedia material; archivists; records managers; librarians.

Historians as Teachers: elementary schools; secondary schools; TESOL in other countries; postsecondary education; service to education (e.g., Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Alliance for Catholic Education); historic sites and museums; education administrators; military officers.

Historians as Researchers: think tanks; data and intelligence analysts; museum and historical organizations; cultural resources managers; historic preservation.

Historians as Advocates: lawyers and paralegals; litigation support; politicians and legislative staff; non-government organization leader; lobbyists; civil servants.

Historians in Business and Associations: business people; data managers; contract historians; market researchers.

Learn More: For more ideas and resources, see the American Historical Association's guide, "Careers for History Majors."

 
  • Clear and effective writing
  • Sophisticated research strategies
  • Critical thinking
  • Organizational techniques
  • Oral communication
  • Ability to synthesize diverse and complex information
  • Data analysis
  • Recognition of the interconnection of humanity past and present
  • An understanding of the role of the past in creating the present
  • The significance of memory to community belonging
  • Narrative construction
  • Cultural analysis
  • Humility and confidence
 
  • politics and government
  • law and criminal justice
  • philosophy and psychology
  • business and economics
  • people, societies, and religions
  • art, music, and pop culture
  • social justice
  • the complexity of the world today
 
  • Non-profit Organization's Strategic Communications Director
  • Museum Curator
  • Non-profit Organization's Development Director
  • City Mayor
  • Legal Assistant
  • University Administrator
  • High School Social Studies Teacher
  • Middle School Social Studies Teacher
  • University Professor of History
  • Volunteer Coordinator
  • U.S. Marine Corps Officer
  • U.S. Army Officer
  • Accounting Assistant
  • University Archives Assistant Curator
  • Property Management Services
  • English and Foreign Language Teacher
  • Public Policy Fellow
  • Advertising and Marketing
  • Journalist
 
  • University of Oregon
  • Indiana University
  • Marquette University
  • University of Washington
  • Washington State University
  • John F. Kennedy University
  • University of Wyoming
  • Oxford University
  • University of Louisiana at Lafayette
  • University of Michigan
  • Georgetown
  • University of Colorado-Boulder

Thinking about graduate school, but not sure where to apply? See the searchable directory at https://www.historians.org/ on the American Historical Association's website.

 

Send a message
502 E. Boone Ave
Spokane, WA 99258