NSU’s Bachelor of Arts in history teaches students valuable skills in writing, information analysis and research that would benefit them in a variety of fields. History majors can find careers in education, journalism, law, politics and much more.
According to Charles Zelden, a professor of history and politics at NSU, a degree in history “is great preparation for going into public service and for going to law school, but also for getting a business degree. The skills that we emphasize in history are analysis, clear communication, the ability to construct a clear argument about why something should or shouldn’t be done and why something happened or didn’t happen. All of these are skills that translate well for just about any job you can think of. These are [skills] that are portable to other fields and other areas.”
Here are just a few of the common career paths that history majors can take and how they can get there.
Education and academia
Education and its related fields make up the largest careers for history majors. Roughly 20% of history majors go on to work in education, according to the American Community Survey 2010-14 and the American Historical Association. Education careers that history majors can utilize their degrees in include working in schools, libraries and museums.
With the addition of a teaching certificate to your degree, you could teach history in a K-12 school. You could also put your information analysis and research skills to use in a library helping patrons to learn about a variety of topics — however, this career may also require a master’s degree.
The American Community Survey 2010-14 also found that roughly half of all history majors go on to get a graduate degree. This offers more career opportunities in research in academia. With a master’s or doctoral degree in history, you could take on a job as a history professor, historical researcher or historian.
Law and business
A degree in history is one of the first possible steps that students interested in becoming lawyers and attorneys take. The skills taught to history majors can prepare them for what kind of work they will do when they get to law school. In the same vein, if a history student wants to go into law, but not law school, they can put the same skills to work as paralegals or legal assistants.
Becoming a paralegal is an entry-level job that history majors can get to see if this is the path that they want to take moving forward. A degree in history is also applicable in business as a consultant or as a market analyst. Careers in these fields are common paths for history majors, with over 50% of history majors going into these combined fields, according to the American Community Survey 2010-14 and the American Historical Association.
Paul Sturtevant, a medieval historian and author, wrote, “Career prospects for history majors are good. You get to decide where your path lies: your degree is a springboard to one of the many fields that value the skills you learned in college.”
A degree in history can lead to a wide variety of careers. There is a career out there for every student, you just need to find the one that fits you.
