Classics & Ancient History

• Studying: 31%
• Employed in graduate job: 28%
• Employed in non-graduate job: 23%
• Unemployed: 11%

• Average graduate salary: £20, 073
• Average non-graduate salary: £15,374

Although classics has traditionally been seen as a strongly academic subject, modern degree courses in classics, classical studies and ancient history are designed to equip students with a broad range of different skills.

Consider the skills developed on your course as well as through your other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. Think about how these can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes. Then you can start to market and sell who you really are, identify what you may be lacking and consider how to improve your profile.

View the best universities for classics & ancient history degrees.

Prospects

Perhaps surprisingly, around 12% of classics graduates entering full-time work choose professional roles within the business and financial sectors. However, classics graduates are well-suited to professional services roles with their ability to analyse and understand complex information and also to research, document and present findings.

The next most popular choices are professional roles within advertising, sales and marketing and also secretarial/administrative roles across all sectors, which together account for just over 20% of classics graduates.

Where are the jobs?

Museums are a key employer for classics graduates wishing to use their subject knowledge. Similarly, teaching provides an opportunity to share your expertise and there is currently a shortage of classics teachers in the UK. The public sector offers a variety of career paths including roles within government administration, research, information management and heritage. Classics graduates are attractive to recruiters from all sectors, including law, finance, consultancy and management.

Jobs directly related to your degree

The skills a degree in classics and ancient history will equip you with will prepare you for a number of different jobs:

• Archivist
• Museum education officer
• Advertising copywriter or public relations officer
• Historic buildings inspector/conservation officer

Jobs where your degree would be useful

You could also find your classics and ancient history degree useful for positions such as:

• Secondary school teacher
• Solicitor
• Civil Service fast streamer
• Information officer
• Social worker
• Editorial assistant 

Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it's not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Included with the permission of AGCAS and Graduate Prospects. For the latest version of this publication, see www.prospects.ac.uk. For permission to reproduce, contact copyright@agcas.org.uk. We would welcome your comments on this section of The Complete University Guide. Please email us at admin@thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk.