History

• Studying: 25%
• Employed in graduate job: 27%
• Employed in non-graduate job: 31%
• Unemployed: 9%

• Average graduate salary: £19,869
• Average non-graduate salary: £14,279

Although history is a subject viewed by some as non-vocational, history graduates go into a very wide range of careers. This indicates that employers widely respect history graduates as having a valuable combination of 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 history degrees.

Prospects

In 2010, six months after graduation, nearly 50% of history graduates were in employment in the UK or overseas. A further 8% were combining work with further study.

It is unusual to go straight into a job that is directly related to a history degree until you have completed some kind of further study. Because of this, many graduates are working in roles that appear unrelated to their degree, but a degree in history provides an entry to a huge range of professions.

Where are the jobs?

With their flexible combination of skills, it is not surprising that history graduates who can demonstrate their abilities, pursue a wide variety of careers including teaching, law, research, accountancy, journalism, administration, information management and the media.

Typical employers of history graduates include banks, television and radio broadcasters, national and local government, management consultancies, law firms, schools, higher education institutions and retailers.

Jobs directly related to your degree

The transferable skills a degree in history will give you, means you could make a career in a variety of jobs, such as:

• Academic librarian, information officer, records manager
• Archivist
• Civil Service administrator
• Heritage manager
• Museum/gallery conservator
• Politician’s assistant
• Trade union research officer

Jobs where your degree would be useful

A degree in history will also equip you with the skills for other jobs, including:

• Barrister
• Broadcast journalist, magazine journalist, newspaper journalist
• Education administrator
• Solicitor
• Primary school teacher
• Secondary school teacher
• Writer

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.