What can i do with a History degree

[necrosharpe]

I am a second year History student and about to take a few (scary) finals in advance. I have been looking around for some advice as to where to go when i have completed my final year but at the moment i feel a bit lost. Is this normal? and is there anyone out there doing anything interesting with a history degree?

[acw]

Go to your carrers centre at uni.  They have a surprisingly large number of ideas.  Maybe ask your Profs too?  You could always go into teaching, or do a CPE and convert to law.  Such a conversion may also be possible for other professional/vocational degree subjects.  Good luck with the exams!!

[hugoboss]

Yes it is normal, in my experience, to feel a little disorientated at your stage in the career process. History degrees generally lend themselves to careers in teaching, museum work, writing and so on. You must have a careers service at your institution - they can be very helpful. Also, i recommend googling 'history graduate jobs' or something like that, for inspiration. Good luck!

[acw]

Also, unlike in my post, when applying for jobs or googling, try to spell careers with 2 e's rather than 3 r's! oops!

[necrosharpe]

Thank you everyone. I went to the careers center today and i think i am going to fill out a graduate aptitute (i think that is ow you spell it) test. Cheers for all the advice

[a person 538]

nope sorry a history degree is totally useless one of my relatives had one and after 5 years looking for a job went back to uni and studied something else sorry for the bad news mate.

[themodgrover]

dont listen to the nay sayers mate, i took a history degree and am soon to qualify as a journalist- my dream career. History is a well rounded degree and having one shows you are able to sift through and distill enormous amounts of info (whats bigger than the past?) and constuct focused answers.

Also it is a classic degree,  unlike marketing or some other 'means-nothing-really-despite-sounding-relevant' degree which totally useless for anything except marketing or working in a call centre.

History is a flippin great degree so good luck and don't give up. Also, it makes a more knowledgable person which is great for interviews and stuff like that. just because someone can spew out business mumbo-jumbo jargon on tap, in a seemingly never ending s**t storm, you wouldn't really want to actually talk to them would you? Well i dont anyway.

[CT]

My house mates and a couple of my old uni mates are doing History PGCE's. Another guy I know is looking to join the Foreign Office in some capacity. There's loads of options for careers if you spend some time looking for them.

[flip-it]

shouldn't you have thought that through before you started the course ??

[Miss Zippy]

A know a handful of lawyers who have history degrees (one has combined history and archaelogy degree I think).  According to them, if you have an aptitude for one, you'll get on well with the other. I didn't study history beyond GCSE but did two law degrees and can see where there is a huge overlap in the skills needed for those kind of subjects. Remember, it's not so much what you study at university that is important (though, pesonally, I do see 'mickey mouse' subjects like Film Studies and marketing as a bit of a cop out), but the skills you acquire through studying at that level, be it independent research, working in a team and communication skills (written and verbal, including public speaking) etc etc, that is valuable.  

[kazza12345]

I graduated in History in '96.  I now work for one of the big Civil Engineering companies as a Safety Advisor.  I have found my reporting and research skills help me enormously.  Don't think that because you have done History you have to become a Teacher or Museum Curator.  The transferrable skills you have acquired will serve you well, whatever path you choose.  The possibilities are endless!

[cassimer]

As a history student about to graduate in a few weeks, i can safely say that my degree has helped me to be offered lots of graduate jobs, from accountancy and consultancy to management training schemes. In fact, I have learnt of one merchant bank which only employed history students one year because they came with the best analytical and interpretive skills.
The field is really open - I am going to do a management training scheme, but the field is open to anything. One thing I should mention - if the idea of working in a museum attracts you, have a look at the pay. I know that money isnt everything, but it really is a very low paid profession.

[fishers]

It sometimes comes in useful on the quiz machine in the pub. 

It doesn't close many doors but it doesn't really open any either.  Think about what you like doing and try to find applications for it. 

Otherwise do what I did, sell out, get a crappy office job and live for the weekend.

[piefacecant]

No, history is for sailors....get a boat

[Ivankafka]

I wish you the best of luck. I absolutely adore History and it is a prestigious degree within academia. Unfortunately, outside in the real word, it seems to mean little with the 'uneducated'. I graduated with a 2:1 B.A and after 5 years still haven't found a graduate job, let alone one related in the slightest to History. Am I unlucky? Well, I am still in contact with 3 others who I graduated with, and they are in the same situation. So it is more common than you are led to believe. I recently read that each year there are some 86,000 graduate jobs going, but with 200,000 graduates chasing them.

However, I wouldn't have wanted to study anything else. It is not the subject, it is how work and business has changed, and we are now at the mercy of big business who want graduates tailored to THEIR needs.