History
Career perspectives for graduates
As a History graduate with a bachelor’s degree in History or a bachelor’s degree in Culture and Economy: History, you can choose from a wide spectrum of professions. The traditional fields of work include working at museums, archives, and scientific publishers. Teaching history in educational or cultural institutions is also an option. Graduates may also work in Public Relations, cultural management, publishing houses or journalism.
Research skills, presentation skills, analysis skills, complex thinking and critical reflexion are key competencies that you acquire while studying. This qualifies graduates for a large number of professions in cultural institutions, the private sector or public institutions.
Possible career paths
With a degree in History, you can start your career in many sectors. It is not possible to compile an exhaustive list. Here are some typical careers:
Museums
The traditional field of work for History researchers includes working in museums, memorial places, or galleries. They collect, conserve, research, present, and teach contents. Within a museum, there may be different fields of work, depending on the focus and the size of the museum. The fields of work may include curation, administration, Public Relations, research, visitor services, collection management, marketing etc.
In order to pursue a career in museums, a traineeship (Volontariat) is recommended. Many institutions offer traineeships for graduates.Job titles:
- Cultural manager
- Curator
- Exhibition manager
- Museum educator
- Academic staff member
- Provenance researcher
- Archivist
- Tour guide
- Museum guide
Example for the field of work: Curator
The curator of an exhibition is responsible for choosing exhibition items and presenting them to guests. They make collections accessible for use, maintain and expand them. The curator establishes a network with other museums, collectors, lenders, and research institutions.Public Relations
All tasks in public relations are focused on creating and maintaining a positive identity for an organization and its work. These may be companies, cultural institutions, public authorities, parties, or non-profit organizations.
Those working in public relations develop communication strategies and concepts to represent the institution. In larger organizations, internal communication is important as well.Today, digital channels are the most important venues for communication, which led to the creation of fields of work such as social media management or community management. Like traditional communication jobs, those jobs also require a high level of text, language, and media competency.
Job titles:
- Media spokesperson
- Public Relations manager
- Communications consultant
- Communication manager
- Content manager
- Social media manager
- History marketing consultant
Example for the field of work: History marketing
For history marketing, History researchers research a company’s past and develop a company history which can be used as marketing resource. Specialized agencies and Public Relation departments of companies across almost all sectors offer jobs in history marketing.Science journalism/
editing offices A journalist’s task is to provide the public with factual information. This includes not only writing but also researching, evaluating, and compiling the information collected. Then journalists edit the contents for their audience and share them with the public. They may publish texts, images, video, and audio contributions. Careers in journalism often start with a traineeship (Volontariat). Journalists-to-be can complete these one- or two-year traineeships at publishers, broadcasting corporations, companies, and other institutions. For starting a career in journalism, it is indispensable to start gaining practical experiences in journalism or editorial departments early on.
Job titles:
- Science journalist
- Journalist
- Author
- Subject-specific editor
- Web editor
- Online editor
- Blogger
- Social media manager
Example for the field of work: Science journalism
Scientific journalism is an interesting option for History graduates. From a large quantity of subject-specific publications, they extract the knowledge which is relevant to the larger public and make it accessible. They are the bridge between science and the public. With profound historical knowledge, excellent research and analysis skills as well as text and language competencies, History graduates qualify for science-oriented journalism.
Academia
If you decide to get a master’s degree in History, you can also pursue a career in academia. The master’s program in History is the perfect choice if you plan to continue your academic training with a doctoral program in order to pursue a career in science and research.