Explore these 5 career Opportunities After Graduating in History 

I love history. There is a whole universe of things you can learn about while studying history. You pick up a good book on any historical event, study it, and, find that there is so much more to it than just an enumeration of events from the past. I tell you, if you want to understand human motives and actions from a multidisciplinary perspective, history is a great option. Not many think that it has multidisciplinary characteristics but it does. History tells you what living beings do, how they do it, why they do it, and whether we should learn anything from these events. History is a package deal!

It was only a couple of years back that I went back to history books and read them the way they should be. Now, I wonder about the amount of exposure history graduates must have got from reading and analyzing history from varied perspectives. In all honesty, I envy them at times. The beauty of studying and graduating in history is that you are prepared for a whole range of awesome career opportunities – aside from the amazingly voluminous pool of knowledge, the graduates get to bathe in.

Let us consider a few of these career options.

1. Archaeologist
   There are many facets to archaeology. You can go to fieldwork and excavate civilizations or you can engage in studying specific forms of antiques such as coins or ancient jewelry. Your job is to understand what humans have been creating all this while and why they have created what they did. From deciphering manuscripts to digging out old cities, you bring yourself in direct contact with the last few remnants of the bygone human civilizations. Every country endeavors to protect and preserve its heritage, and it can’t do that without its army of archaeologists.

2. Museum curators
   I don’t think I need to stress the relevance of museums for history enthusiasts. But, museums don’t run on their own. Everything within the confines of a museum requires special, detailed attention something which only a museum curator can offer. A museum curator is a caretaker of the artifacts but this job is more than simply administrative work. She is expected to have knowledge about the artifacts, their history, their required necessities of preservation, and whatnot. You are not there just to maintain records; you are expected to know everything there is under your supervision.

3. Writer
   The world loves reading history from different viewpoints. Back in older times, our understanding of history was very mechanical, and there weren’t many books that undertook detailed analyses of events. Things have changed with time and as human societies grew more complicated than ever. Today, there are writers who explore intriguing, never-thought-before angles to historical events, and this has helped them earn laurels. You can be one of them too. Become a writer and offer to the world your perception in a literary form. Let me tell you, it was William Dalrymple’s The Anarchy that pulled me into the fantastic world of history, and I haven’t stopped ever since. You can do the same to others!

4. Academicians
   How about using your knowledge to teach others? One of the most commonly opted careers upon graduation is in academia. Apply to a good university, use your knowledge to educate others, and inspire them to take up history seriously. While many naysayers regard history as a second-grade subject, universities, and colleges actively reach out to potential candidates for professorships. History is necessary because everyone deserves to know where they have come from and what was gained and lost along the way. You shouldn’t forget your roots, and good universities and colleges acknowledge this fact.

5. Journalist
   I have personally known quite a few people who went on to become journalists after getting a degree in history. One of them told me that history had helped her develop a comprehensive understanding of the topics she covered. Whether it was the coverage of ethnic clashes or simply a political decision to waive off loans, she was well-prepared from the historical point of view. With her knowledge of history, she was able to not only trace the origins of disputes but also evaluate motives and determine the flow of events. This only happens when you know how a particular thing has started, and it is history that tells you all that.