If you’re considering studying history at university, you may have heard a few concerns from family and friends.

Many people say it’s challenging to find a reliable career after studying history, or they assume your only option is teaching. These comments may have made you worry about how to get a job with a history degree and the viability of studying history at all.

Rest assured, the skills you gain from a course in history apply to many interesting jobs across varied career fields. Read on to learn about seven good careers for history degrees.

History Teacher

Depending on the level you’re teaching, this can be one of the best career paths for history students. As a teacher, you can continue studying the subject you love while sharing your passion with others.

Many of the skills you’ve developed as a history student will prepare you for the rigors of teaching, including solitary study, research and writing, organization, and the ability to ask contextual questions and investigate topics deeply.

To become a teacher after completing your university course, you’ll need to take a teaching qualification and have some experience in the classroom. If this is your trajectory, make sure you research and apply to these programs while completing your degree.

Heritage Manager

Working in the heritage industry means you’ll be preserving living history across the country. Valuable historic buildings, monuments, and historical sites all need upkeep and management to keep them stable and untouched for the next generation.

The skills you’ve honed in your history course are well-suited to this role. For instance, you’ll need time management skills, a love for research, and the ability to communicate the respect and awe you feel for historical sites to others.

It’s possible to work in the heritage industry with just a history degree. However, you’re more likely to get the job if you have specific experience and higher education before applying. Popular heritage companies to join in the U.K. are English Heritage or the National Trust.

Archaeologist

A career in archaeology combines the roles of a heritage manager and a scientist. Your work will require you to complete contextual research, then visit and gather information from historic sites.

After completing the research phase, you’ll bring your findings back to a lab or office to study and understand them. You’ll question how they fit into the historical record. Finally, you’ll share your work with others through written or oral communication.

This role is ideal if you love researching history, are a hands-on person, and enjoy doing many different things with your time. Many of the skills you learned in your history degree fit this job, including research, contextual study, and analytical and communication skills.

Museum Curator

Working at a museum is an excellent fit for those who love history. Depending on your role, you could teach visitors about artifacts, prepare collections, and complete administrative tasks.

All of these roles will keep you close to what you love and empower you to share it with others. Museum jobs also offer you the opportunity to keep learning about your subject and witness the intersection of history and modern culture every day.

History-specific work often takes further education, such as an advanced degree or voluntary experience. If this is your dream job, do your research and make sure you’re preparing for it in more ways than one.

Archivist

If your favorite part of history courses is learning about historical documents, this job may be for you. Archivists spend their time reading, recording, and preserving historical documents and images.

These documents are then accessed by professionals in other fields and contribute to ongoing research and society’s understanding of itself and the past. As every history student knows, forgetting the past would mean reliving it, so preserving historical memory is incredibly valuable.

Archivists can make a solid yearly salary, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As usual with history-specific work, you’ll likely need further education and training to enter this role.

Lawyer

If you’re interested in finding a career outside of specifically history-focused jobs, you should consider pursuing law. The description for a paralegal or a lawyer lines up extraordinarily well with the skill sets you’ve developed while studying history.

Lawyers need reliable research skills, the ability to think in terms of historical context, and strong written and oral communication skills. They should have strong critical-thinking skills and pay close attention to detail. A background in history can give you an advantage in completing legal training.

According to research, about 14% of history students go into law in some form after school. A career in law is a way to take your love of history and apply it to improve society in the present.

Wild Card

Regardless of what you study at university, your degree is what you make of it. If you apply yourself to learn advanced research, contextual, and communication skills, your degree will be helpful for a wide range of jobs in varying fields.

Your best plan of action is to consider possible careers as early as possible. An early start doesn’t mean you’ve already made a decision. However, it gives you time to learn about each kind of work and prepare for any additional education requirements.

A history degree is incredibly flexible and develops mental and communication habits that can take you far in many different career fields. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and apply for jobs in areas completely unrelated to your degree. To find the best matches for you, search for work with similar skills sets rather than career titles usually associated with a history degree.

Mapping Out Your Future

A history degree provides a solid and valuable set of skills for university students. While finding your first job after graduation may take some work, that is true for many different fields. Use this list to consider your options, and decide whether or not to pursue history in higher education. The future is yours!