What can I do with a Degree in History?

Introduction

Choosing a career involves more than just finding out what is open to you. Knowledge about yourself is central to the process. It is valuable to start by looking at your individual values, interests, and skills in order to relate career options to you. The suggestions here are only an aid to this decision-making process.

Most employers look for generic skills such as communication, interpersonal, customer-focus and the ability to work in and contribute to a team. Some of these are developed during your degree, whilst others have been developed through extra-curricular activity such as sports, community, or cultural groups.

As more and more employers are developing job titles that are particular to their own environment, it is more difficult to provide a definitive list of possible career options. The ones that follow should be considered to be illustrative rather than exhaustive.

Many professions require a four-year degree - think of Law or Engineering – and any three-year degree should be considered a foundation on which to build. You may find an employer willing to train you, but more often additional vocationally oriented courses (e.g. journalism added to a BA degree) will be required. For many Arts graduates, their first employment position is a 'stepping stone' job to gain experience, particularly as many long-term career options require substantial work experience before entry into the job or onto a training course. Other Arts graduates may be aiming to progress within a particular organisation or industry by starting off in an administrative or sales position.

What skills are developed?

The History Department at Canterbury has an integrated skills-development programme which shows students exactly what skills are fostered at each level of study and from which particular assessment activities (eg: tutorials, seminars, essays). History graduates develop a distinctive mix of skills that are useful in almost any job that involves information-processing: research (sorting, evaluating, classifying); analysis (critical reasoning, problem-solving, judgment); decision-making (selecting and evaluating evidence, handling ambiguities, considering long term effects, reaching conclusions); communication (structuring a logical argument and presenting information effectively). Clear written communication skills are emphasised and students are given training in oral presentations at third and fourth years. Time-management and self-discipline are part of the package. The study of history also develops the ability to focus on an issue and maintain an enquiring attitude, two essential skills for long term career development.

Career options

History graduates are good at analysing a wide range of diverse evidence in relation to specific problems or questions, and are skilled at writing reports and appraisals. These skills have a wide application in commerce, education and government. Yet History graduates also have the advantage of a very broad general knowledge and an understanding of how people behave, both in groups and as individuals, from their study of the actions and decisions of many people in the past. History is a large and inclusive discipline with a wide range of specialist fields: economic, social, cultural, intellectual, gender, religious, political and biographical, to name just the main ones. History combines well with other subjects in the humanities, and reinforces degrees in law, literature, languages, social sciences and economics.

For those graduates with a 3 year degree, the jobs most closely related are administrative assistant, advisory officer, bank officer, book buyer, library assistant and assistant language teacher. For History graduates with further training and work experience, the range of occupations appearing on the History graduate database (over 2000 names) includes:

Ambassador, archivist, air force officer, army officer, art gallery curator, artist, bank manager, barrister, cabinet minister, city councillor, college of education lecturer, company director, deputy prime minister (Dr Michael Cullen), editor (newspaper), guidance counsellor, health administrator, historian, insurance manager, investment consultant, lawyer, librarian (lots), local government administrator, medical practitioner, minister of religion (lots), movie producer, museum curator, musician, ophthalmologist, opera singer, police inspector, policy analyst (lots), politician (several), probation officer, public historian, publisher, radio announcer, retired bishop, retired judge, school principal (lots), social worker, TV presenter, university administrator, university lecturer/professor (lots), union official, writer (lots).

It is important to appreciate that career opportunities in some areas, and in some roles are dependent not only on applicants having certain skills and/or knowledge, but also on personal qualities and attributes such as interpersonal and leadership potential. Such qualities and attributes can have a significant influence on the entry level into a company or organisation, or career progression within it.

Types of employers

Advertising, archives (e.g. Archives New Zealand), broadcasting, business and commerce (e.g. retail, banks, insurance companies), diplomacy, human resources, journalism (e.g. newspapers and magazines), libraries, museums, local and central government (e.g. Office of Treaty Settlements), historical research (e.g. Ministry for Culture and Heritage – the History Group), policy analysis (e.g. Ministry of Health), publishing, public history consultancy and education are all sectors suitable for history graduates.

Where have graduates been employed?

2006 & 2007 graduate destination information for different subject areas and qualification levels is available via the New Zealand Vice Chancellors Committee website.

NZUniGradStats (published in June 2008) contains information on destinations and other outcomes from the annual survey of all graduates from the New Zealand university system.

UC Careers & Employment has free copies of NZUniGradStats and the graduate destinations information by subject.

Further study

History links with a large number of vocational careers. Law is closely related to History (it has been described as Applied History) and many Law students add History courses to their Law degrees, or take History for a combined BA/LLB.

It is possible to study at post-graduate level in subjects both directly related and un-related to your degree. Related courses of study include the Honours degree, and studies at Masters and PhD level. This additional study can impact on the entry level of employment in industry.

If you wish to develop your career as a librarian, consider the Masters of Library and Information Studies from Victoria University; as an archivist, consider a Masters or Post-Graduate Diploma in the area of archival management (available at Massey and Victoria universities and in Australia); as a museum curator, consider the Diploma in Museum Studies from Massey University; as a public historian, consider the Master of Public History at Otago or Victoria universities.

Many Graduates do additional training in for example Teaching, Journalism or Management. Carefully consider your motivation for study, how it fits in with your long-term career plans and whether it is likely to enhance your employment prospects.

How can I find out more?

This should have started your thinking about your future. To follow this up and find out more information on jobs of interest, visit Career Services.

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