Only a small percentage of history majors go on to be professional historians; most go on, instead, to become lawyers, librarians, businesspersons, writers, archivists, researchers, teachers, politicians, and even entertainers. Leaders in every industry, from business to the arts, can point to their training in history as the starting point for their success. Below is a brief examination of the sorts of skills developed by the study of history and various career options available to history majors. By examining the varieties of approaches historians use, the discussion below seeks to identify the advantages of historical study in fostering well-rounded intellectual development as well as developing valuable career skills in research, writing, argumentation, and documentation. One of the key ways of thinking about what a history major prepares you to pursue after graduation is to focus on the skills one acquires as a history student. These include:
Because of the skills and knowledge gathered as undergraduates, history majors have an excellent record of success in graduate school. Some go into Masters and Ph.D. programs in history. Others choose to enter public policy, gender and sexuality studies, sociology, public health, and anthropology programs. Still others continue their studies to specialize in law, social work, library science, and sometimes Business Administration.
For all of these paths, planning is very important. You usually apply for graduate school one year in advance of entering, typically in the fall. History faculty can help you with the process of selecting schools and getting your application materials together. You will sometimes need to take a graduate school exam. These include the GRE, GMAT, and LSAT. You will also need letters of recommendation from faculty members.
Historians as Educators: Many history majors go on to become educators, focusing on the communication of their ideas. Educators include teachers in K-12 education. They also include higher education, including teaching at community colleges, undergraduate colleges, and universities. But educators are also important members of other educational institutions that you may not think of as immediately as schools. These include historic sites and museums, where history majors can become docents, education directors, curators, guides, interpreters, and labor union researchers. In addition, there is work as historical consultants, contract archivists, public historians, writers, and even filmmakers.
Historians as Researchers: Many history majors go on to careers as researchers, emphasizing their skills in evaluating and analyzing documentary evidence. Historians as researchers include public historians as well as policy advisors, who serve as planners, evaluators, and policy analysts, often for state, local, and federal governments. In addition, historians often find employment as researchers for museums and historical organizations, or pursue additional specialized training to become professionals in cultural resource management, environmental consulting, and historic preservation.
Historians as Writers and Editors: Because success as a history major depends upon learning to write effectively, many historians become writers and editors. They make their living as authors of historical books, or more commonly, they work as editors. Many historians become print and broadcast journalists, and others become documentary editors who oversee the publication of documents such as those produced by government agencies.
Historians as Information Managers: Because history majors must learn to deal with documents, many pursue a one- or two-year graduate program in library studies (commonly, a Master of Library Science, or MLS, degree) or archival management and enter careers as information managers. With this additional training, they enter the fields of archives management, information management, records management, and librarianship.
Historians as Advocates: Many history majors find that historical training makes a perfect preparation for Law School, as historians and lawyers often do roughly the same thing--they argue persuasively using historical data to support their positions. Many history majors become lawyers; others undertake careers in litigation support as paralegals. Others enter public service and become policymakers, serve as legislative staff at all levels of government, work for labor unions and social justice organizations, and become officers of granting agencies and foundations.
Historians as Businesspeople: Most people overlook the value of historical studies to prepare for a career in business. Yet, historians track historic trends, an important skill for those developing products to market or engaged in corporate or financial planning. Many history majors enter banking, insurance, and stock analysis. Historians also learn how to write persuasively, and this training gives them an edge in advertising, communications media, and marketing. Finally, many industries depend on an intimate knowledge of government policies and historical trends; thus, history majors have found their skills useful in extractive industries and in public utilities.
Historians as Public Historians: Public historians do many things. The work as historical consultants, museum professionals, government and corporate historians, oral historians, cultural resource managers, curators, film and media producers, local historians and community activists. All share an interest and commitment to making history for the widest audience possible.