What is your history graduate doing next?

[Treviarpelli]

Dd seems a bit clueless as to what to do with her history degree. Not averse to further study if necessary but would probably prefer to get started on a career.
Didnt apply for grad jobs this year as just got there head down with getting her degree but is feeling a bit rudderless now

I am just here watching with interest. My son is just finishing up his 1st year as a History undergraduate.

Did she do anything connected to History over the summers by any chance? volunteering at a museum, an archive, anything like that?

Is she interested in further study? I would be tempted to encourage that if possible because the job market appears to be utterly f**ked for everyone at the moment.

A history degree opens up opportunities in a very wide range of areas eg: law, accountancy, consulting, civil service, media, publishing, teaching, academia, charities and museum work.

Agreed. Helps to know which of those directions you want to head into tho.

Watching with interest as parent of a first year undergrad as well. Mine does volunteer in a museum. But not sure what she wants to do career-wise yet.

Mine is just completing a Masters in EU Studies. We're based in Brussels though. She has applied for various internships linked to the European Parliament with a focus on culture and education. I think if she's not successful she wants to do another Masters - International Relations was mentioned. I'm not paying for that one though :) She's very interested in the museum side of things.

She does have work experience in museums and heritage but feels that taught her how hard it is to get into that sector. She has a cracking cv but I think between working flat out on her degree and the narrative that there’s no grad jobs any more plus the fact that none of her friends seem to have a clue either she’s a bit lost just now.
It’s hard to watch though I’m certain she’ll be fine in the end

Just tell her to apply more. My SIL has worked in an art gallery and now at a heritage place as a manager.

Her uni careers service should offer help and advice- access to online tests to assess skills/ interests and possible paths.

Friends son now works in IT.

I'm from a family of history grads. Between us there's a history teacher, an archivist, two tax advisors/accountants, three ministers, a counter-terrorism specialist and a charity worker.

All the general options are open to you, as well as some which specifically relate to heritage and history. When I was at Leicester Uni, looking at careers, I considered a masters in Museum Studies. Someone mentioned recently that on their website they have a full list of all relevant heritage-type vacancies - I just looked and it's very useful, both for those seeking positions and for anyone interested in what's out there. There's also archiving, which can be very history-adjacent, depending on where you work. My sister works in a very old school and comes across some fascinating archives.

I did half a PGCE, thinking I wanted to be a history teacher, but changed my mind and went into accountancy.

Perhaps your dd would benefit from some work shadowing/experience?

Thanks for the replies. Perhaps I should have been more specific with my question, I was hoping to hear from parents of this years history grads as to what their child is doing next as I don’t know how much of the press so scaremongering or whether there are genuinely hardly any openings this year

Mine did IR for undergrad, which is not that dissimilar. She got a job but didn't pay well, so is now doing a masters in strategic communications and marketing for more practical experience.

DD2 is just finishing her second year of history. She (and us) are looking at what she can do as a masters when she graduates.
she’s undecided what she wants to do as a career at the moment but we’ll be encouraging her to chose her masters subject relative to which direction she wants to go in.
DD1 graduated three years ago and even then graduate jobs were becoming like hens teeth. It took two years to get into the field that she wants a career in.
in her case it was a matter of applying for any and all jobs. Ultimately it did her no harm because she learnt and gained skills she didn’t know or care would be useful. Her degree wasn’t history.
I would encourage your DC to pursue a masters. TBH it’s almost becoming the norm now

Mine got a job immediately after graduating just to keep her cv open and current and to earn money...then an admin job in an engineering consultancy in the City. Moved into project management at the same firm, worked her way up. Then moved firms with a jump up into programme management at another consultancy in the City, and promoted into senior consultant this year.

Local Govt graduate management scheme, it’s very competitive though.
If she’s not sure then I’d look for a job at local council. They often struggle to fill temp or fixed term roles. Once in she’ll have access to free IT and development courses and see range of jobs available in heritage or democratic services etc. If she like old maps and historical investigation then public rights of way officer may be an option.

As a journalist I worked with a huge number of history grads.

Friend's DD graduated last year and did a PGCE this year (to teach something other than History). I think she'll have no bother finding a job.

https://publicsectorgradschemes.co.uk/
Anything on this take their fancy?
As well as Local Government graduate management scheme I mentioned above there’s a graduate scheme for training Planning Officers. It’s work producing detailed reports so would suit a history graduate and very in demand walk into job once qualified.

I’d encourage a job with transferable skills over a panic masters. Take a bit of time to think carefully about a masters. When I’m interviewing young graduates for legal roles those with some paid work on cv usually fare better.
If she’s struggling to get paid role I’d look at volunteering at somewhere like CAB, they will give her a ref and useful skills and examples for interviews.

My friends ds graduated a couple of years ago with history degree. Did history masters immediately after at same uni. Now training as a history teacher.

Just remember that if you’re funding a masters via student finance - it’s a separate loan to the undergraduate one. It will be paid back concurrently with your undergrad loan, I think it’s 5 or 6% of salary over the threshold so you could be looking at 15% deductions over the 40 year period, instead of 9%.

This is a really important point, Master's loans salary deductions are brutal. I worked for several years to fund my Master's for this reason.

Yes I agree about masters cost. Plus if you use your funding of a history masters as a time filler then do want to do a job that needs a specific masters you’ve already used your funding.

I did history and had a career in marketing. Ds did ancient history and works in an investment bank.

My niece became an archivist which she loves so that’s an option.