To ask what career you’d go into after a History degree?

[dearfatherpraybuildmeaboat]

DD has almost finished and is in a rut. She’s the first in our family to go to uni, and hopes to get a 1st. She is at a RG uni and studying History, but now unsure what to do. She’s considering becoming a history teacher but isn’t very passionate, and from what I’ve read on here it’s a bad idea.

Apart from that she is stuck, and even after research she seems to have understood her only other decent options are law and accountancy, but thinks her chances for these are tiny. Her main aim is to earn decently and move away from our tiny deprived town in the North— but what careers would allow for that? I’d love someone who knows about skilled jobs to throw some ideas into the mix

I think doing professional qualifications like law, accountancy, auditing is a particularly good choice for students who are first in family at uni/not from back ground of middle class professional jobs.

It's more meritocratic - if you can pass the exams, you move on up to next level. It's hard work for a few years but you get rewarded if you succeed.

Lots of other jobs are all about social capital and knowing the right thing/people so some privileged graduate have a real head start and progress quicker

Don't rule out museum work if that's what she's had her heart set on. There are actually loads of museums outside London and whilst pay is low compared to eg. being a lawyer, it's probably still higher than 'average' page, or pay for people without a degree. Doing what you love is so important.

No original suggestions, I'm afraid, but I'd second law - it doesn't have to be a KC barrister level - which I admit is a very elite profession. Lots of other openings. What about a paralegal?

Civil service - yes - loads of options and a career structure.

Obviously teaching, but as an ex-teacher I frankly wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't have a very, very strong vocation. If you can teach in an independent school or a grammar school, though, I think you actually get to TEACH some of the time.

But there are other teaching-related options: museum and gallery teaching, working for say the NT or English Heritage, training to teach SEN or in contexts where you work with smaller groups and get a chance to make a difference.

Tourism?

Agree with general statement on some professions being more apparently meritocratic than others - but how will this ever change if kids don’t go for the “social capital” jobs?

the OP’s daughter is obviously bright and has credentials that gives her many avenues to potentially go down - she should go for what she is most passionate about and not limit to what might (seemingly) be best for her background. Not saying she couldn’t have a great and fulfilling career in those professions - but that would be if she’s truly interested in them and not just because she feels like she can fit in better.

Start up?

There are lot of jobs which won't require a specific degree subject, but which will be looking for candidates with a 2:1 or above in a humanities-type discipline - the first thing that comes to mind for me would be jobs in policy, communications, stakeholder engagement, research etc. Civil service, lobbying firms, advocacy groups, local/regional government, think tanks, consultancy firms, certain types of PR firm etc all have these kinds of roles.

The people I know are now teachers, lawyers, working in business, healthcare professionals, librarians and university administrators.
Many people did more focused post graduate qualifications once they had some idea what they wanted to do.

Lots of history graduates in academic publishing! It's not super well paid, especially compared to something like law or finance.

Of the other historians I was at college with 10+ years ago:

• International Development
• Civil Service
• Health NGO (but started out in management consultancy)
• Post grad medicine degree
• Accountant
• Medical trial administrator
• Author & freelance editor
• Journalist
• Academic
• Venture capital funding
• Research analyst for an investment firm
• Several lawyers
• Founded a tutoring business
• Senior management for a supermarket - started on their grad scheme
• University administration
• Museum curator (took about 5 years of post grad study)

There are a million things she could do. One of the most valuable skills I have from my degree is the ability to synthesize information and write a clear and concise narrative. I work with teams of people who are wonderful with numbers but hate writing or presenting - I'm the link who tells clients what the analysis means for their business. I have to be reasonably numerate, but the more important skill is communication.

It isn't a numerate degree so not quite sure why people suggest numerate careers, because a) you don't have a numerate qualification and b) if you choose history as a first degree maths probably isn't a great strong point anyway.

AFAIK history boils down to (non numeric) analysis and reporting so I would expect history degree holders to be pretty good at any job that involved those skills and there is a lot of jobs in those areas about, market analysis etc.

Law is pretty competitive so you need to be both good and committed to succeed in that area.

Which languages does she have? I would encourage her to use them or make a plan for how she's going to keep them fresh. Examples would be to look for UK offices of companies from those countries, as there will likely be liaison with HO and other sites.

Another option is to look at UK companies with offices in those locations where a transfer or secondment might be feasible.

She's not too late for grad schemes (epseiclally for 2024 entry) but she does need to spend some time using the uni careers service and tapping up the alumni network

History can be very involved with stats, though. It's a very multiskilled subject; after all, every discipline has its history. Plenty of historians end up in accountancy and tech.

She could do a lot worse than apply for a grad scheme in a big company where she'll get exposure to a wide range of functions if she wants to.

I'm not up on what the best programmes are, but companies like Unilever, P&G, M&S, the banks - that kind of thing. They'll have everything there from accounts, to R&D, to comms, to marketing, to operations. If she's lucky, she'll get to try stuff out and see what suits her. Then that's a brilliant springboard to working in those areas, or moving into things like consultancy.

It isn't a numerate degree so not quite sure why people suggest numerate careers, because a) you don't have a numerate qualification and b) if you choose history as a first degree maths probably isn't a great strong point anyway.

That’s what calculators and computers are for - especially Excel! Ime, most accountancy is about basic arithmetic and percentages in practice. GCSE maths is all you need.

Being able to write good English is equally important - for business letters and report writing for clients. Hence people with humanities degrees can do well.

At the time I qualified, the top success rates for non-relevant graduates were first Classicists and second English graduates.

Graduate training programe for a national or international company like Coca-Cola, Mars, Boots etc. in brand, buying and marketing.

https://www.icaew.com/learning-and-development/aca/aca-employers/routes/chartered-accountancy-from-any-degree-discipline

I know a historian who received a 2:1 from a very middling university and now is a highly successful IFA and wealth manager. You can really do anything with a history degree. Don’t become an academic or teacher if you want to earn well.

Can I just say that you don't actually need ANY degree to go into chartered accountancy or become an independent financial advisor/wealth manager! Lots of professions have non-graduate entry routes.

@GasPanic

It isn't a numerate degree so not quite sure why people suggest numerate careers, because a) you don't have a numerate qualification and b) if you choose history as a first degree maths probably isn't a great strong point anyway.

Professions such as IFA/accountancy don't actually need highest level Maths skills. The actual "maths" involved is pretty basic, say a good pass at GCSE will be enough for some professional bodies. As long as you're numerate, it's fine.

I did a history degree and am a lawyer, but my classmates are journalists, a lecturer, a sales person (not sure of what!), an investment banker, a couple of people working in PR/ marketing, one in TV production, some other lawyers (of course), a writer and one person who does something in politics.

TbH this thread is not a great advert for her gumption and research skills. She's on track for a first, and she hasn't been to her careers centre yet?

That said, does she have EU citizenship? If so I would look into becoming an EU translator with her language skills, there is a massive shortage and starting salaries are huge. Even without EU citizenship translation and language tech could be a good choice - happy to share more via DM about the sector.

People can be snotty about sales, but I have a few friends in tech and professional services sales jobs and the money they are on is wild. They all have arts degrees.

If she has the right personality for that kind of role, it could be a good choice.

Not actually too sure how to use DM on here, but please do message me Human and I’ll work it out, thank you :)

I agree. A friend of mine is an accountant. She works for a big firm and one of the perks is that they give her a few weeks off every year to go and help a grass roots charity of her choice, anywhere in the world, sort out its finances. She adores that part of her work and has travelled all over and made lots of friends.