A List of Careers for History Majors
A person who has earned a degree in the study of history has a variety of career paths open to them in a number of fields of work. A history graduate is prepared for all sorts of employment positions that involve reading, conducting research, writing summaries of their research findings, and interpreting historical facts. A person who specializes in the study of history has developed these and other research skills that will prove helpful in almost any career endeavor.
Historians as Educators
High School History Teacher: A high school teacher instructs teenage students on significant figures and occurrences in history.
Middle School History Teacher: A middle school history teacher guides students, who are in the sixth to the eighth grade, on important happenings in history.
Elementary School History Teacher: A teacher of elementary school students introduces the children to the basics of history study.
Private Tutor in History: A person with a degree in history is qualified to instruct an individual student on history in general or on a particular period.
Historians as Researchers
Historical Home or Building Researcher: A person conducts research on a particular house or building to find out as much as possible about its previous owners and history.
Historical Researcher of a Town or City: A researcher delves into the history of a particular place including its population, famous citizenry, and notable landmarks.
Historical Researcher of a Company: A person conducts research on the history of a company, its various owners, and its financial successes.
Historians as Communicators
Historian of a Famous Residence: A person leads tour groups through a famous individual's childhood residence and explains the history.
Lecturer of History: Someone has conducted research and study on an important place or person then shares his or her knowledge in a lecture.
Historical Writer: An individual studies a particular place or person and conveys their research to the public in the form of a book.
Historians as Information Managers
Family Historian: A person who manages and/or studies the pertinent records regarding the generations of a notable family.
School Historian: Someone who deals with a collection of historical records that concerns a particular school.
Librarian: A person who helps to manage a library's collection and certain types of archives.
Historians as Advocates
Legal Assistant: Someone who researches the law for particular historical precedents that may assist a lawyer in dealing with a case.
Lawyer: A person who researches previous rulings in the law in order to help his or her client.
Historians in Businesses and Associations
A Historian of an Association: Someone who researches and manages the archives of a particular long-standing association.
A Historian of a Business: A person in charge of keeping track of the historical records of a business.
- Federal Jobs by Major: Displays the types of jobs within the federal government of the U.S. that may be of interest to a person who majored in history.
- Careers for History Majors: The American Historical Association lists a wide range of careers available to history majors.
- Career Fields Open to History Majors: A look at the different career fields in which a history major would be welcome.
- Job Future of an Archivist: Among other careers, the Occupational Outlook Handbook outlines the future of work as an archivist. An archivist can have a background in the study of history.
- The Career Choices of a History Major: An overview of the interesting variety of career options available to history majors. Also, how a background in history can be helpful in these fields of work.