Humanities

According to the content of your course, studying humanities will help you develop specific skills and understanding of the rich diversity of different cultures, understand social, political and philosophical debates as well as develop your ability to make connections between different ideas and concepts.

Over the course of your degree you develop a wide mix of subject-specific and technical skills, you should consider these 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.

Working as a Trading Standards Officer

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Prospects

In 2010, six months after graduating, half of all humanities graduates were in employment in the UK or overseas. There are few careers which specifically demand a degree in humanities but there are many careers where the skills developed will be highly valued. While teaching offers the best opportunity to use your subject knowledge directly, many advertised graduate jobs are open to graduates of any discipline.

Many humanities graduates go on to use their skills in communications professions like journalism or public relations; some use their research and analysis skills in local or national government roles; others go on to work in human resources or the arts.

Where are the jobs?

Humanities graduates can find opportunities with many different employers across different industries such as:

• Advertising, marketing and PR - broadly involved in the promotion and sales of products. Advertising, marketing and PR includes planning, promotion, media relations, product development, direct marketing, sponsorship and market research.
• Charity and development work - includes organisations registered with the Charity Commission, and other 'not-for-profit' organisations such as housing associations, universities, places of worship, NHS trusts, and small voluntary groups.
• Government and public administration - includes local government such as councils and local authorities and the Civil Service, whose main role is to implement government policy and advise ministers.

Jobs directly related to your degree

• Social researcher
• Information officer

Jobs where your degree would be useful

• Academic librarian or Records manager
• Advertising account executive
• Arts administrator
• Charity officer
• Local government administrator
• Marketing executive
• Newspaper journalist or Broadcast journalist
• Human resources officer
• Public relations account executive
• Secondary school teacher or Primary school teacher
• Commercial solicitor or Non-commercial solicitor

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.

You can find more about the skills you develop during your course, the jobs listed above, plus case studies and where to find these jobs at Prospects.

Included with the permission of AGCAS. For the latest version of this publication, see www.prospects.ac.uk. For permission to reproduce, contact copyright@agcas.org.uk