What can I do with a degree in History?

Not knowing the answer to this question keeps more people from studying history than anything else.  Everyone wants to be marketable and find a job when they graduate from college.  So what's the answer?

The possibilities are endless.  Really.

But you must understand that a getting a degree in history isn't "job training."  Studying history is not a professional program, it's an education.  The education you get as a history major has its roots in the Classical education, centered around the Seven Liberal Arts, that developed in medieval universities.

Today, we have a lot more than seven subjects, but the effect is the same:  History offers you an education that develops your thinking, communication, and problem solving skills. The diverse training of a Liberal Arts education teaches you to view problems from a variety of perspectives and gives you the tools to determine the best way to solve each problem. This is a valuable skill, but whether you use it in education, law, government, business, the military, or any of a number of other careers is up to you.

We provide the education, you decide how you want to take on the world.

For some possibilities, keep reading  ...

The Iowa State University LAS Career Services Office has a number of ideas on what you can do with a degree in History.  See:  http://www.las.iastate.edu/careerservices/html/history.htm
But don't take the History Department or ISU's word for it.  Lots of other experts have put a great deal of time and thought into this question.  See the links below for much more information ...

The American Historical Association offers information at these sites:
http://www.historians.org/pubs/Free/careers/Index.htm
http://www.historians.org/pubs/careers/index.htm

The honor society Phi Alpha Theta catalogs possible careers here:
http://www.phialphatheta.org/careers.htm

The Department of History at the College of Staten Island CUNY has a great site full of resources:
http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/career.html

Likewise, Portland State University has a great site with lots of useful links:
http://www.pdx.edu/careers/majorhistory.html

Professor Robert F. Pace, of McMurry University, offers his thoughts here:
http://www.mcm.edu/academic/depts/history/career.htm

Career Services at SUNY Oswego offers an annotated list of possibilities at this site:
http://www.oswego.edu/student/career/careersin/history.html


Are you still looking for proof that people can succeed in the world if they major in History?

Then see this list of successful people who majored in History, cataloged by the History Department at Bethel University:  http://cas.bethel.edu/dept/history/famous_majors