Professional Opportunities for History Graduates and Minors
It is widely assumed that most individuals who earn bachelor's degrees in history teach in the public schools. Actually, because of the analytical and literary skills developed in their undergraduate programs, 90% find employment in other areas, while fewer than 10% become teachers. More history graduates find careers in top and mid-level management as executives and administrators than in the public schools, according to the 2008 edition of Julie DeGalan and Stephen Lambert's Great Jobs for History Majors.The
most recent edition of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational
Outlook Handbook reports:
Employment
of historians is expected to grow by 11 percent, about
as fast as the average for
all occupations, reflecting the relatively few jobs outside of
federal, state, and local government. Nonetheless, historians
possess broad training and education in writing, analytical research,
and coherent thinking, so their skills can be applied to many
different occupations. As a result, many workers with a history
background will find work in areas with specialized titles, such
as researcher, writer, or policy analyst.
The
following list indicates some of the areas which offer employment
to history graduates:
In
the Private Sector
The private sector offers opportunities
for students with a history background, who can research, document,
analyze, synthesize, and communicate effectively.
Advertising,
Publication, Promotion, and Marketing
*
Studying and analyzing market trends
*
Placing
corporate activity in historical perspective
*
Managing
corporate archives
*
Preparing
historical data for corporate promotion
*
Developing
historical financial, economic, and political risk analyses
*
Managing
archives
*
Researching
policy issues affecting the public and private sectors
*
Writing
and teaching corporate history
*
Developing
historical displays
*
Researching
and writing historical documentaries and narratives
*
Identifying
and analyzing public trends
*
Providing
background and documentation for motion pictures, network and
cable television, and independent production companies
*
Researching
and evaluating case histories
*
Preparing
studies of policy matters
*
Lobbying
at all levels of government in behalf of the corporate interest
*
Analyzing
the impact of legislation on company operations
*
Maintaining
corporate archives
*
Managing corporate records and maintaining its
archives
*
Conducting
research and analysis for firms that purchase, issue, and sell
corporate equity, including brokerage firms and investment banks
*
Researching
records and archives to provide historical perspective for current
events
*
Conducting
oral interviews
*
Writing
and editing newspapers, news, trade, and professional journals,
historical and popular periodicals and magazines, textbooks,
and other works of non-fiction
*
Researching
public and private archives and records collections
*
Collecting
oral history for depositions
*
Developing
support material from historical evidence
*
Charting
and evaluating markets, finances, economics, and political risk
*
Instructing
new employees in corporate history
*
Conducting
workshops on cultures and historical background of countries
in which the company operates
*
Gathering
information and oral histories documenting organizational history
*
Managing
company records and maintaining its archives
*
Writing
the corporate history
*
Preparing
and displaying exhibits of archival materials and memorabilia
*
Analyzing
political risk and key political figures with reference to economic
implications for business
*
Researching
claims and geographical and land use history
*
Planning
and managing conventions, meeting, and other events
*
Collecting
and analyzing information
*
Planning,
directing, and guiding tours
*
Reviewing
local issues and concerns
*
Making
policy and management studies
*
Providing
information services
*
Performing
historical analysis
*
Managing
archives
Industries
in general
*
Researching
*
Performing analysis studies
*
Writing public relations and educational materials
*
Writing corporate communications
*
Documenting organizational history
*
Managing archives and information retrieval services
The
Public Sector
The
executive branch
Congress
Federal
Courts and judicial system
Smithsonian
Institution
National
Archives and Records
Library
of Congress
National
Park Service
Intelligence
services
Foreign
service
Civil Service
*
Studying
current issues
*
Analyzing
policy performance, long-range trends, etc.
*
Preserving
and organizing institutional records
*
Editing
public records and documents
*
Gathering
and digesting information
*
Organizing
and publishing bibliographic material
*
Serving on congressional and legislative staffs
*
Providing
research assistance
*
Providing
assistance to constituents
*
Collecting
and preserving records
*
Analyzing
issues
*
Drafting
studies, reports, and routine office correspondence
The foregoing list applies to state and local government as well
*
Serving
in all components of the armed forces
* Managing
the museums and archival and records centers for all branches
of the military
* Conducting
studies of various issues
* Researching and writing institutional histories
State
Government
*
Archives,
libraries, and legislative reference bureaus
*
Museums,
parks, and historic sites
*
Arts
and humanities councils
* Municipal archives
*
Urban
planner
*
Grant
specialist
*
Historic
preservation specialist
*
Research
analyst
Other
Opportunities
*
The
public sector offers other employment opportunities in libraries,
historic sites, museums, national and state parks in historical
interpretation and re-enactment, and at community history education
centers.
*
History majors have been employed in oral history
projects, public administration, cultural resource management,
genealogy and family history, folklore, public works, land-use
management, urban history and development, demographic history,
environmental history, and archeological projects.
Non-Profit
Sector Career Possibilities
The
non-profit sector offers positions in research, administration,
education, and exhibition. Some history graduates find employment
raising funds for organizations in this sector.
History
majors often secure appointments in the following institutions:
*
Historical
commissions, associations, and societies
*
Scholarly
and professional associations
*
Museums
*
Colleges
and universities
*
Research
foundations and institutional "think tanks"
*
Service
institutions (agencies, foundations, etc.)
*
Volunteer
coordinator
*
Other
philanthropic organizations that provide educational, social,
and cultural services to the public
Employment opportunities for graduates
with a B.A. in history exist in:
*
Public
and private elementary and secondary schools
Graduates
with advanced degrees find employment in:
*
Community
colleges
*
Small
and large undergraduate and graduate colleges and universities
* Complete an internship in a potential area of employment
* Enter as many scholarly paper and research competitions as possible
* Submit papers written in class for publication
* Actively participate in campus organizations
* Take challenging courses and maintain a good academic record
* Consider continuing your education in graduate or a professional school
* Seek summer employment in areas that offer opportunities for full-time work
* Develop proficiency in a foreign language
* Volunteer for work that will afford experience that will enhance your resume
* Hone research, analytical, and writing skills
* In selecting courses for your degree, choose those that offer the best preparation for the potential career path
* Develop computer skills in a variety of programs used in possible areas of employment
* Select a minor that enhances your prospects for employment
* Compile a portfolio that showcases your potential
* Take advantage of opportunities to make classroom and extra curricular presentations to improve oral communications skills
Links
to useful sites:
- AHA's Careers for History Majors
- Why Become a Historian
- Phi Alpha Theta's So You Want To Be a History Major
- Perspectives on History
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Social Scientist
- CNN Money's Working Your Degree
- BOA's Career Service Center
- What Do I Do With a History Degree?
- History, What Can I Do With This Major?
- History Jobs
- Many colleges and universities have websites
listing professional opportunities
For information on the National Park Service's Summer 2010
Internships for the Cultural Resources Diversity Internship Program,
click below:
http://www.nps.gov/history/crdi/internships/projects10.htm
Northeastern history graduates in positions beyond the classroom
Anna M. Eddings
(aeddings@ou.edu)
received a B.A. degree in History
from Northeastern State University in 1996 and a M.A. degree
in History with an emphasis in Applied History from Oklahoma
State University in 1998. Her degree requirements at OSU
included an internship with the Tulsa Urban Development Department,
participating in the historic preservation functions of city
planning. Since 2000, she has been employed as Historian/Architectural
Historian with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT)
Cultural Resources Program. Anna assists in fulfilling
ODOT's obligations under Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act by surveying areas of potential effect for transportation
construction and enhancement projects to identify historic resources
and assess their eligibility for the National Register of Historic
Places. This job entails writing Cultural Resources Survey
Reports, completing Historic Preservation Resource Identification
Forms, and conducting statewide historic bridge surveys.
Diane Eilenstein (Diane_Eilenstein@nps.gov)
a park ranger with the National Park Service at the George Washington
Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri, earned a bachelor of
arts in social studies education from Northeastern in May 2000. She was
a Student Conservation Association intern at the Carver National
Monument during the summer of 1999 and did her student teaching at
Charles Page High School in Sand Springs that fall. In the spring of
2000, Diane participated in the Student Career Experience Program, in
which she was employed by the National Park Service in partnership with
NSU at the Carver site. The following summer, she was employed
full-time as a park ranger there, where her duties included
interpreter, education program manager, and volunteer program manager.
Diane considered her education at Northeastern a pivotal experience in
her life. She wrote, "The outstanding faculty delivered challenging
curriculum and the student teaching experience was excellent. I felt
well prepared to enter the workforce as an educator. I chose to work
for the National Park Service and use my background in education
daily." George Washington Carver National Monument is the birthplace
and childhood home of the famed scientist, educator and humanitarian.
Born into slavery on the Moses Carver farm in southwest Missouri during
the Civil War, Carver overcame racial barriers and other obstacles as
he pursued an education. In 1896 he earned a Master of Agriculture from
Iowa State College and moved to Tuskegee Institute where he built a
career inagriculture, leaving a legacy of service to mankind.
David Fowler (murrellhome@okhistory.org), Site Director of the George M. Murrell Historic Home, at Park Hill, Oklahoma, earned a Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in Native American Studies from Northeastern in 1996. After graduation David worked for Oklahoma Natural Gas, but in 2001 he made a career move because he wanted to do something more related to college training. "An opening came up at Fort Gibson, and I decided it was time to put my history degree to work," he explained. Employed by the Oklahoma Historical Society, David spent eight years as an historical interpreter at Fort Gibson Military Park, where he directed all the educational programs, the volunteers, and the collections. During his tenure he organized and participated in historical reenactments depicting life at the frontier post at various periods in its history. In addition to drawing large numbers of people to the site, the reenactments provided a new perspective on the important role the post had played in the pioneer era of Oklahoma. When the long-time director of the historic Murrell Home, the state's only remaining antebellum residence, retired in the summer of 2009, David was named to replace her. The appointment was a good fit, a native of Claremore and citizen of the Cherokee Nation, David is a descendant of the pioneers whose history he is responsible for preserving and presenting at the Park Hill site.
Lisa Conard Frost (Lisa_Conard_Frost@nps.gov)
is the superintendent at Washita Battlefield National Historic site, located in Cheyenne, OK. Before transferring to Washita, Lisa served at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site in St. Louis. An Oklahoma native, Lisa is a tribal member of the Cherokee Nation. She holds a bachelor's gegree in history from Northeastern and a master's degree in human relations from the University of Oklahoma. As the park superintendent, Lisa leads the NPS staff and oversees the entire park operations, including administrative, facility and interpretive management and preserving and protecting the cultural and natural resources for this and future generations. Washita Battlefield National Historic Site protects and interprets the setting along the Washita River where Lt. Col. George A. Custer led the 7th U.S. Cavalry on a surprise dawn attack against the Southern Cheyenne village of Peace Chief Black Kettle on November 27, 1868. The attack was an important event in the tragic clash of cultures of the Indian Wars era.
Amanda (Burnett) Pritchett
(murrellhome@okhistory.org)
graduated from NSU with a Bachelor's degree
in History and a Bachelor's degree in Meetings and Destination
Management in 2005. In 2007, she earned a Master of Arts
degree in American Studies from NSU. She is currently employed
as a Historical Interpreter at the George M. Murrell Home, an
1845 historic house museum in Park Hill, Oklahoma. As an
undergraduate, Amanda interned with the museum and was then hired
part-time. After graduation, she went to work as a historian
at the Five Civilized Tribes museum, working with collections
and designing exhibits. In 2007, she was hired at the Murrell
Home as a full time interpreter and gift shop manager.
Her duties include management of museum collections, exhibit
design, tours, event planning, education programs, and managing
the museum's gift shop.