Students often ask, “what can I do with a history major?” History alumni have pursued successful careers in business, law, teaching, government, and the non-profit sector.
The following are good sources of information on careers in history:
- The American Historical Association, “Careers for Students of History”
- Robert Pace, “I would like to major in history, but… What Can I Do When I Graduate?”
- Julie DeGalan and Stephen E. Lambert, Great Jobs for History Majors (McGraw-Hill, 2001)
- Blythe Camenson, Careers for History Buffs & Others Who Learn from the Past (Chicago: VGM Career Books, 2002) ZSR Call Number E175.C33 2002
Careers in Public History:
- Archivist positions: Society of American Archivists, Employment Bulletin
- Federal government: Office of Personnel Management. This site lists all available federal jobs, so job seekers will have to do a subject search to find relevant listings. Many (but not all) history positions are classified under the “GS-170 Historian” job classification.
- Historical societies: The American Association for State and Local History, Dispatch
- Museum positions: The American Association of Museums.
- State and local government: use this list of links to check the web sites of individual states and cities.
- The National Council on Public History (NCPH) and the Society for History in the Federal Government also post employment advertisements.