Are you always enthusiastic about learning about the past? You might have had the idea of pursuing a history major but let off the idea just because you were worried that you would not secure a job after graduation. Many people often think that there are limited career options and jobs for history majors, a notion that is entirely wrong. This is one college major that will land you a good job if you are keen.
Earning yourself a bachelor’s degree in history is going to prepare you for a broad spectrum of occupations. And in the course of your studies, you are going to acquire various soft skills including organizational skills, critical thinking, and writing. These skills are all impressive to have irrespective of what you do, but are crucial in a majority of occupations. Here is a list of the top jobs in history majors. To make your way into some, you will require more than a B.A. in History. In some cases, you will need an advanced degree to pursue some occupations. All in all, your undergraduate education is going to create an excellent foundation for your graduate school.
1. Content Creator/Exhibit Designer
When pioneering an exhibit, like aviation history in the United States, museums will mostly outsource agencies to research, design as well as create their desired display. From an industrial perspective, these agencies usually give expertise in interpretive planning and exhibit design services. You should note that there is no need for you to be a designer although you will probably have to work alongside graphic designers who could hone your skills if you are interested in learning.
Your occupation at the exhibit design agency could go for several job titles: content developer, creative director, and exhibit designer. A history major is a perfect fit for a career in exhibit design since this is a job that needs knowledge of various historical and artistic periods, professional writing, and research skills. Exhibit coordinators will mostly work on small teams. You will be working in conjunction with other history majors and individuals who have advanced degrees. You will also work with other researchers, writers, website developers, and graphic designers as you try to create interactive experiences for your museum visitors.
What will you do on a daily basis? Most of your work will entail lots of research. The agency you work for will bid on multiple contracts, so you will have to research new exhibits in numerous historical periods. And during this process, you will be working in collaboration with clients while attending weekly meetings. After the research is complete, you will be required to work on a team to produce various collateral: brochures, creation of content like descriptions of various works, and developing website copies. You will probably have to travel to a new city to bid on a project or present your ideas to potential clients.
What Skills Will You Need To Develop? This role calls for extensive background in history and research. Additionally, you will also need to build skills in copy editing, storytelling as well as interactive communications. You should start by reading several books on subjects like interactive communications, copy editing, communications and storytelling. You could also contact an individual in this area through LinkedIn to have an idea of how they began and the skills you will need to develop so as to secure an interview.
2. Business Analyst
When you think about jobs in history majors, the last career option to come in mind is a business analyst. Companies often produce a lot of data concerning financial forecasts, products sold, and units moved by sales territory. A business analyst is tasked with spending most of their time on spreadsheets and programs like Tableau and Salesforce, analyzing the past trends and producing reports in the health of the company’s sales. While most business analysts often start with a commerce or finance degree, it is possible for a history major as well as humanities majors to secure business analyst jobs.
If you’ve pursued a history major, you will need to avoid the finance-heavy roles like working for health care giants, insurance brands or working in the financial service sector since these industries pay handsomely and attract many graduates with finance majors. However, fast-growing technology firms and small companies will have a preference for some more diverse backgrounds.
So, how do you begin? For starters, there are some two crucial skills you will need to have. First, you must have excellent, practical Excel skills and there is really no shortage of courses in Excel. After acquiring that skill, you should consider taking an introductory course to statistics. Once you are adept with these skills, you can search for entry-level jobs in the areas mentioned above and then move into a business analyst role. You will have to develop a mastery of software like Tableau and Salesforce.
3. Customer Success Manager
Marketers are responsible for driving leads as well as traffic to any business. Salespersons then phone and email those leads. And when a huge contract is signed, like a $200,000 software contract, customers often have unlimited needs. They will need to be educated about the new product. They will need information about the new features. They will also need an individual whom they can meet with and interact from time to time. This is where a customer success manager comes in. It is usually part sales, part customer support. This role is also known as inside sales or value realization manager for large firms.
History majors who possess excellent social skills will easily excel in this area. So what are you required to do during work hours? One day, you will probably need to fly down to your customer’s headquarters and run several workshops on some new product features. On another day, you will probably need to respond to emails from customers, have conversations with them and help them with any product issues they might have. You should remember that some of your customers could be big companies that you need to serve.
How can you get started with this occupation? To begin with, these roles are specific to companies that handle enterprise sales. This implies that they sell expensive contracts to huge organizations. It is for this reason that the role is crucial since such big customers must be kept happy if they are to renew the contract in the future. A quick way to get going is being part of the organization’s customer support team. This is considered less glamorous since you will be responding to help tickets as well as chatting with many customers. Additionally, this will provide you with the relevant product experience, thus eventually making it easier for you to apply for that customer success job several months down the line. On the list of jobs in history majors, this is one occupation that many people often overlook because it appears to be way off the norm.
What kind of companies will you apply to? Most technology companies, including Google, Microsoft, Box, and SAP all accommodate this role. Some smaller tech firms will have a different version of this role and be more inclined to hire from diverse technical backgrounds. And if tech is not your area, large firms will often have these roles, although the more technical your product gets, the higher the chances of you requiring an engineering degree.
4. Product Marketing
In many small organizations, the marketing department is usually packed with jack-of-all-trades. One person might have to run social media accounts, write website copy, and come up with new campaigns. In large organizations, most of these activities are usually divided, with one specialization being product marketing. The product team is responsible for creating the product. The marketing team will then run top-level brand awareness and well as spearhead lead generation activities. The product marketing team will now come between the marketing and products. They are responsible for estimating the customer demand for any new product features, come up with value propositions, and aid in deciding how to bring a new product to customers.
Taking a closer look at this occupation, you will realize that it’s a blend of creativity and research, which is a perfect match for history majors. While this occupation often attracts many business majors, the truth is that there are numerous talented product marketers who have hailed from humanities and arts backgrounds.
How can you get started? While many people say that experience is the best teacher, product marketing usually has quite a lot of theoretical knowledge one needs to master. The best way for you to get started is beginning with certifications from different marketing institutions.
5. Public Relations Manager
Excellent communication skills, as well as an undying love for details, are crucial prerequisites for working in public relations as well as other jobs in history majors. You do not require a business communication degree for you to work in public relations. Actually, a majority of the public relations professionals are usually self-made and come from various arts backgrounds.
What does a public relations manager do? If you secure a job with an agency, you will most probably be working on some few crucial accounts. Generally, you will be looking to obtain press coverage for all your company’s product launches, creating messages for company announcements, and aiding in launching brand campaigns. Agency hours are most often long, engaging and provide you with the experience that most employers want.
And if you will be working in-house, you will only have to work for a few hours. Rather than managing different clients, you will be tasked with working on the same product on a daily basis. You will work on a very small team and have to write press releases, talking to reporters as well as responding to crises, like a product recall or your chief executive officer being found engaging in fraudulent activity.
How will you get started? To begin with, you will have to develop a good portfolio. This implies that you must learn how to write a proper press release as well as master the basics of public relations terminology by reading several books and scholarly articles. Local public relations agencies could be an excellent way to build your early skills in addition to freelancing for companies that cannot afford full-time PR managers. This is one of the jobs in history majors that has a good pay and has accorded most of its pursuant a comfortable life.
6. Internal Communications
Imagine being the CEO of a huge company with more than 100,000 employees across the globe and everything is working correctly for your global conglomerate. While all things are moving well financially, there are also challenges. For instance, you have just spent a staggering four million dollars on a new workforce management software and want to ensure that every employee uses it. Or probably your high-cost consulting firm indicates that your employees in a foreign country feel that their employer ignores them. They are wholly unmotivated and uncommitted to your company. In huge companies, there will often be a small team that handles all the internal communications. Their role is to ensure that essential communications, the company’s vision, and any other crucial information is delivered to the thousands of employees working for the company.
How can you get started? Internal communications is an integral part of public relations, as well as marketing. You will need to begin by mastering skills like crisis communications, writing press releases, and PR messaging. You can look for some entry-level jobs in internal communications teams or start with a similar department then transition your way up.
7. Historian
When it comes to jobs in history majors, the most obvious career is being a historian. These individuals are often required to study newspapers, diaries, and personal letters, photographs, and any other useful resources that can aid them in researching about the past. They often have to collect, analyze as well as interpret the information they come across. Historians often write articles and books as well as make presentations on their theories and findings. Non-profit organizations, businesses, governments, and historical associations employ these professionals. They also teach in universities and colleges. Surprisingly, most historian jobs often need a master’s degree or doctorate.
8. Archivist
Another of the many jobs in history majors is being an archivist, an individual who specializes in the acquisition, preservation, and organization of historically important documents and availing them to anyone who needs to access them. Archivists often work for corporations, colleges, governments, museums, and other institutions. After completing a bachelor’s degree in history, you will need to pursue a master’s degree. You could further your education in history or study archival science or library science in a graduate school.
9. Journalist
Journalism is one of the most common jobs in history majors. It has often been a myth that you require a journalism degree for you to get hired. However, the truth is that most employers really care about one’s ability to write, get good stories, and connect well with audiences. Developing your portfolio of writing samples is crucial to getting in your door. Of course, it is evident that journalism is an industry that is experiencing a decline, Even the famous New York Times is facing some serious business challenges. And with the local media jobs gradually drying up, things are really bleak for the traditional reporters.
If journalism is your passion, you should consider exploring some well-performing digital media firms like Vox or go for the smaller online media companies. For better job security, many journalists often seek to work in hybrid media/PR agencies since brands are currently paying more for their content.
10. Librarian
While many people do not categorize this among the top jobs in history majors, the truth is that this is one of the easiest areas to make entry if you have a degree in history. Librarians are individuals who make information readily accessible to the persons who need it. They choose, organize, and show patrons how these materials can be used effectively. While history is a course, you will need to study; most high-end library services will require that you have a Master’s degree in Library Science. The librarians working in business, law, school, academic, and public libraries will be in a position to utilize the basic skills acquired through a college major. They are excellent communicators, proficient researchers, have excellent critical thinking skills and are very comfortable explaining things to other people. Since most academic librarians should be specialists in a specific subject, a Bachelor’s degree in history provides the required background.
11. Attorney
Also commonly known as lawyers, attorneys are responsible for representing clients in criminal and civil cases as well as provide legal advice. These individuals often research and analyze all the facts surrounding such cases. If you are looking to pursue this line of work, the mandatory requirement is that you should have a law degree from college. Surprisingly, most of the law school applicants usually hold history degrees, which makes this one of the jobs in history majors.
12. Communications Officer
From national agencies to local governments, a communication officer can aid in crafting communication strategies as well as inform the public. This is one of the most suited jobs in history majors since it requires keen attention to detail, stellar communication skills as well as the ability to synthesize sophisticated information into messages that can be readily understood by the public. Most often, communication officers work at government branches, and this means handsome pay, few working hours and pension. And while you will definitely earn less than a seasoned public relations professional, you will enjoy a good salary and comfortable job security. Your daily activities will revolve around creating communication plans, like deciding how you should launch your press strategy for a new project, research as well as writing various pieces of content like social media updates, website copy, and press releases. You will often have to work with a team and collaborate with the relevant stakeholders like elected officials, community organizations or various government agencies.
How will you get started? Usually, you will have to complete multiple writing samples which are often a necessity in most government jobs. And if you have never had any communications role previously, you could apply for an entry-level role in the government and later apply for communications opportunities as they come. You could also volunteer at a community or non-profit organization since it will provide you with similar experience to help you secure your first real job interview.
13. Content Editor
As companies seek to create more content, from branded campaigns to product infosheets to website updates, there is a great need to govern the quality of content. Subsequently, the gradual rise in content creation has added a new career to the list of jobs in history majors, a content editor. Content editors are responsible for developing style guides, ensuring editorial consistency, standardizing content processes, and editing content from various sources. While the skills for this job are almost similar to those of a conventional editor at any magazine, this type of material will be more inclined to marketing campaigns. You could develop processes that stipulate when content requires an update or create a system that tags content in a content management system. You will probably need to train new writers according to the organization’s editorial principles, attend meetings, and aid in refining the organization’s approach to content production.
14. Management Consultant or Analyst
Management consultants help organizations improve their efficiency, become more profitable or successfully alter their business structure. Management consultants are usually self-employed while management analysts will often work as full-time employees.
How does specializing in this area prepare you for jobs in history majors? History majors are mostly inclined to the concept that learning about the past helps inform the future. Your research skills can help you learn about a specific company’s history. Critical thinking skills can let you make an informed decision about strategies. And while you might have the desire to earn a master’s degree in history, an undergraduate degree will still equip you with the skills you require to succeed in the field.
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