What Can You Do With a History Degree?

From the American Historical Association:

What can you do with an undergraduate degree in history?... Many, many things

As a liberal arts major, of course, the world is your oyster and you can consider a multitude of careers.

Among the jobs you can consider are: advertising executive, analyst, archivist, broadcaster, campaign worker, consultant, congressional aide, editor, foreign service officer, foundation staffer, information specialist, intelligence agent, journalist, legal assistant, lobbyist, personnel manager, public relations staffer, researcher, teacher . . . the list can be almost endless.

More specifically, though, with your degree in history you can be an educator, researcher, communicator or editor, information manager, advocate, or even a businessperson.

Here is a brief list of the career opportunities available to the undergraduate history major. This list is based on a very useful pamphlet, Careers for Students of History, written by Barbara J. Howe and jointly published by the American Historical Association and the National Council on Public History in 1989. While this online miniguide is based on this pamphlet (now out of print), with appropriate paraphrases from its text, it discusses also some of the new opportunities that became available to the history major in the recent past.

History BAs intending to pursue an advanced degree in history may profitably consult the excellent new guide, Careers for Students of History, by Constance Schulz, Page Putnam Miller, Aaron Marrs, and Kevin Allen (2002: 64 pages, $7 members, $9 nonmembers. ISBN 0-87229-128-6).

Historians as Educators

Elementary Schools
Secondary Schools
Postsecondary Education
Historic Sites and Museums

Historians as Researchers

Museums and Historical Organizations
Cultural Resources Management and Historic Preservation
Think Tanks

Historians as Communicators

Writers and Editors
Journalists
Documentary Editors
Producers of Multimedia Material
Historians As Information Managers
Archivists
Records Managers
Librarians
Information Managers

Historians as Advocates

Lawyers and Paralegals
Litigation Support
Legislative Staff Work
Foundations

Historians in Business & Associations

Historians in Corporations
Contract Historians
Historians and Nonprofit Associations

http://www.historians.org/pubs/Free/careers/index.htm

A Major in History can provide you with the skills and knowledge you need to succeed in nearly any field. Successful people who have majored in history include:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA player and coach, author, actor
David Ackerman, legislative attorney, Congressional Research Service
Larry Agran, mayor, Irvine, California
Sarah Baker, documentary film maker
John E. Baldacci (D), Governor of Maine
Ellen Barkin, actor

Sacha Baron Cohen, comedian, "Da Ali G Show"
William J. Bauer, U.S. Appellate Court Justice
Chris Berman, sportscaster, ESPN
Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court
Gordon Brown, Prime Minister, United Kingdom
J. Carter Brown, former director, National Gallery of Art

Jimmy Buffet, musician, author and entrepreneur
Ian Caldwell, novelist
Dean Cain, actor
Julia Child, chef, author, television program host
Shaun Copelin, deputy chief, US Airforce Information Warfare Center
Russell Carollo, journalist, Dayton Daily News, and Pulitzer Prize winner (1998)

Robert Chusid, Senior Media Planner, Round2 Communications
Max Cleland (D-GA), former US Senator and 9/11 Commissioner
Seb Coe, Olympic athlete (track & field) and British Member of Parliament
Lance Conn, Executive Vice President, Vulcan, Inc.
Larry David, television producer, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld
Brian Dennehy, actor
Bob Dole (R-Kansas), former US Senator and Senate Majority Leader

W.E.B. Du Bois, founder of the NAACP
Eric Edelman, US Ambassador to Turkey 2003-2005
J. Adam Ereli, US State Department Deputy Spokesman 2003-2005
Carley Fiorina, former President and CEO, Hewlett-Packard
Micheal Flaherty, co-founder of Walden Media
Craig Flourney, journalist, Dallas Morning News, and Pulitzer Prize winner (1986)
Tom Fox, publisher, National Catholic Reporter

Alix Freedman, journalist, Wall Street Journal, and Pulitzer Prize winner (1996)
Dan Gadzuric, NBA player, Milwakee Bucks
Janeane Garofolo, comedian, actor, and radio program host
Patrick Gillam, former CEO, BP
Laura Gilman, executive editor, New American Library
Brent Glass, Director, Museum of American History
Douglas Greenburg, former counsel, 9/11 Commission
Vartan Gregorian, former president, Carnegie Corporation
Michael Hayden, Airforce general and Director of the CIA
William Hammel, Chair and CEO, Synovus
John Heinz (R-PA) former US Senator
Katharine Hepburn, actor

Seymour Hersh, journalist, The New Yorker, and Pulitzer Prize winner (1970)
Charles Hill, CEO, Veritax et Lux and writer for RealMoney.com
Lauren Hill, musician
Tony Horwitz, journalist, Wall Street Journal, and Pulitzer Prize winner (1995)
Joe Howry, editor and vice president, Ventura County Star
Lee Iacocca, former CEO, Chrysler

Arthur Lee Jacobson, photographer and author
James Jeffrey, Ambassador to Albania 2002-2004
Lyndon B. Johnson, former US president
A. Elizabeth Jones, Ambassador to Kazakhstan 1995-1998
Elise Jordan, speech writer for US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
George Joseph, former chief judge, Oregon Court of Appeals

Michael Kelly, journalist, Atlantic Monthly and Washington Post (killed in Iraq, 2003)
John F. Kennedy, former US president
James M. Kilts, former president and CEO, Gillette Corporation
Bobby Knight, college basketball coach
E.E. Knight, novelist
Chuck Knox, former NFL coach
Alan Lafley, CEO, Procter & Gamble

Joan Lappin, Chair and CEO, Gramercy Capital Management Corp
Kenneth Scott Latourette, ordained minister and former president American Baptist Convention
Harvey Martin, vice president, Cambridge Asset Management, Inc.
Pedro Jose Martin, US State Department Program Officer
Shirley Martin, novelist
Larry Maze, Biship, Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas
Christa McAuliffe, teacher and astronaut

George McGovern (D-SD), former US Senator
Stephen M. McNamee, U.S. District Court Judge (Arizona)
Ved Mehta, journalist, The New Yorker
Sid Meier, video game designer
William C. Merwin, former President of Florida Gulf Coast University

Reggie Miller, NBA player
George Mitchell (D-ME), former US Senator and Senate Majority Leader
J.R. Moehringer, journalist, Los Angeles Times, and Pulitzer Prize winner (2000)
Andrew Morton, writer and author of a biography of Princess Diana
Sonia Napario, journalist, Los Angeles Times, and Pulitzer Prize winner (2003)

Edward Norton, actor
Conan O'Brien, comedian and talk show host
Ursula Oppens, classical pianist
Michael Palin, travel writer, actor and comedian, Monty Python
Rebecca Pallmeyer, Federal Court Judge (Chicago)
Chuck Parrish, Vice President and General Counsel, Tesoro Corporation

Lester Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada (1963-68) and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1957)
Sharon Kay Penman, novelist
John Pensky, editor, Houghton Mifflin Company
Katherine Peterson, Director of US Foreign Service Institute 2001-2005
Steven Pihlaja, County District Court Judge (Minnesota)
Robert Quackenbush, author and illustrator

Jack N. Rakove, actor and Pulitzer Prize winner (1997)
Philip Reeker, US State Department deputy spokesman 2001-2003
Brenda S. Reger, Director, US National Security Council Office of Policy and Security Review
Stuart Robbins, former managaing director, Donald, Lufkin & Jenrette
Charles W. Robinson, former director, Baltimore County Public Library
Anita Roddick, founder of Bodyshop

George Rodrigue, journalist, Dallas Morning News, and Pulitzer Prize winner (1986)
Wayne Rogers, actor, businessman, Fox News commentator
Salman Rushdie, award winning novelist
Peter Sarsgaard, comedian and actor
Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court Justice
Simon Schama, historian and documentary filmmaker

Robert B. Semple, Jr., journalist, New York Times, and Pulitzer Prize winner (1996)
Tom Siebel, CEO, Siebel Systems
Alan Simpson (R-WY), former US Senator
Bruce Smith, Senior Vice President, Gateway, Inc.
Roland Smith, former director, Bank of England
Richard Sokolsky, former director of the US State Department Office of Policy Analysis

Mira Sorvino, actor
Howard Springer, CEO, Sony America
Michael Sragow, movie critic, Baltimore Sun, Salon
Harry Stein, journalist, Esquire
Martha Stewart, former CEO, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
Whit Stillman, journalist and screen writer

Sting (Gordon Matthew Sumner), musician and actor
Ray Suarez, award-winning journalist, NPR and PBS
Linda Norbut Suits, curator, Lincoln Home National Historic Site
Miyuki Suzaki, CEO and President, LexisNexis Asia Pacific
Will Swaim, Publisher, OC Weekly
Herb Tate, former assistant administrator, US Environmental Protection Agency

Francis X. Taylor, former Airforce general and State Department Assistant Secretary
Neil Tennant, musician, Pet Shop Boys
John Tindall, public relations coordinator, Milwakee Public Museum
Philip Tondreault, Director of Property Management, Port of Los Angeles
Ruth Whiteside, Director of the US Foreign Service Institute

Woodrow Wilson, former US president
Marie Yovanovitch, US ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, 2005-present
Stephen Young, US ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, 2003-2005
Pauline Yu, President of the American Council of Learned Societies
Howard Zinn, historian and playwright