Degree in medieval studies.

Worked in retail throughout school. When I graduated, I got a job in grocery management- started as a kitchen manager, left as store director. Moved over to a start up in the food industry. Did that for a couple years, now I'm the director of customer experience for a med tech company.

Never used my degree directly. Never intended to. I studied history because I love it and believe it is worthwhile to study.

I spent 10 years working various jobs in the beer industry (brewing, distribution, retail, sales, shipping, packaging). Got a post grad in broadcast journalism. Brief stint in media. Now I work half the year at a national park and half the year as a stay at home dad. So nothing relating to my degree.

Edit: Rereading my post this morning, it sounds really bitter. In truth I found my degree really interesting and I still love history. Also met the people that I still count as my best friends during that time.

I am not flaired so this may be deleted, but I have a bachelors in history and I work for my local courthouse as a clerk of court. I love my job so much (but am heading off to law school in the fall!) and my history degree in particular helped me get the job because it showed that 1) I can write, and 2) I am comfortable with complex, dry reading, as lots of legal writing can be.

I graduated two years ago with a BA in history and I'm working in higher education right now. It's a job similar to an admissions advisor, but I'm not tied to a specific university.

My research skills and ability to distill complex info in an easy to understand way are both things I learned in my program and use every day at my job.

In my experience, getting a job with a liberal arts degree is all about spinning the soft skills you developed in your program. Communication, research, and problem solving are all super useful and in demand skills!

I have a BA in history and I’m a special education teacher. I Went to college to be a secondary (grade 6-12) history/social science teacher. I ended up in SPED because history/social science teaching jobs are incredibly hard to find in my area.

As others have said, studying history requires a lot of reading, writing, and researching skills. While I don’t teach history per se, I do a LOT of paperwork as a special education teacher. I also have to be pretty well versed in state and federal laws relating to SPED. So being able to read and write clearly and concisely, especially legally binding IEP documents, is a huge plus.

So to specifically answer your question, any job where research, reading, writing, analyzing, or communications is important (which doesn’t really narrow it down at all). But unless you want to go into a very technical or specialized field, a history degree will let you do just about anything whether or not it’s history related.

However, if you’ll allow me to give you the “teacher answer”: Picking a specific job is not what’s important. So many kids/young adults are pressured into choosing a career path and the requisite education, only to find it’s not for them. I think it’s far more important you figure out what skills you have, what your passions are, and THEN look for careers that match those. In my case, I became a teacher because I wanted to work with young people and make an impact in their lives. There’s a LOT of career paths I could have taken besides teaching that would have allowed me to do that, and I wish I had known that 20 years ago.

Having your associates in history (or any of the Liberal Arts) gives you a lot of flexibility. You can pair that with another associates, a Bachelors, or any myriad of certifications. Good luck to you!!!!!

History research for an online auction house. There's a physical warehouse I worked at, where I did my research and did copywrite for the items on the docket. Once I get the approval from the VA to finally start working again, I'll be heading back there to do the job, again.

I always tell my students that a liberal arts degree is like a Swiss Army knife; it can do a ton of different things because you aren’t just taught “history.” If you were an accounting major you’d know how to be an accountant and only do accounting, and even those skills would be obsolete within a few years due to changing technology, laws, etc. But liberal arts students learn timeless skills that don’t grow obsolete: writing, thinking, researching, synthesizing information, reasoning. These are skills that employers want; so while the accounting students might get a higher paying job a little bit quicker than you — because he knows the one thing he has been trained to do — studies prove time and again that liberal arts majors make more money over the long term.

To answer your question: I graduated with a history degree 22 years ago. I worked in politics, education, state government and am now a college advisor. I’ve never been out of work other than willingly, and the last job I actually applied for was in 2005. Since then, all my places of employment have found me and asked me to come work there.

Every person in my family has been a history student (husband, sister, brother-in-law, father, great-grandfather) and we all work in various fields: law, real estate development, decorative arts and art dealing, hospital administration, local government and agriculture.

No regrets with studying history. I’d do it ten times again if I could go back!

Majored in history + computer science. I went to medical school, got my MD, now an anesthesiologist. I love history, and mainly did the major because it was fun and a lifelong passion, did not expect to use it directly in any future career. What I think you should take away from that is that a history degree will let you do whatever you want to do with your life. It is incredibly worthwhile even if you don't plan to go into academics or deal with it for a living. It demonstrates critical thinking, ability to research topics/analyze sources, and also in fields like mine where it's less common it makes you stand out. As long as you do the groundwork and aren't deficient in any areas your eventual career will be requiring, then it's only a benefit both personally and professionally.

I do not have any degrees in history (just in other highly employable fields such as Anthropology, Religion, and Journalism), but I work as a historian! My company does Cultural Resource Management and legal research (mostly environmental histories, corporate successorship, that sort of thing). Obviously, having a history degree is a plus for this sort of job. There will be no recognition of your work, no papers published, but if you love doing historical research (as I do), then it can be a lot of fun. I also get paid very well - although I have a ton of experience at this point and have no idea what starting salaries are like these days. I could possibly make more if I had a history degree, but I am not sure about that. Anyway, I highly recommend this field if you want to use your degree and aren’t set on going into academia.

First job after finishing my history BA was a state government mailroom gig. Worked my way over to records clerk, then staff assistant. All very nice and secure jobs. The only thing the hiring managers cared about was having a BA at all, especially if you hoped to move up to management.

But I got extremely bored with my job (there wasn't enough work! which I realize sounds great but it was SO, so boring) and moved to South Korea to teach English and get out of debt faster. Good move, turns out the guy who I was destined to marry was over here.

Now I've had enough adventure and I'm like...bring on the boring, secure government job again!

I got my undergrad in history and I work for the US Federal government with a job that has nothing to do with history. One friend of mine with the same decree teaches French at a local catholic school and another went on to get his law degree.

AA for transfer in history and BA in history.

I work in the state government as a legislative staffer. I have worked for a US as well.

I am starting an MA in the fall and eventually intend to get a PhD in History. I'd like to be a professor in my retirement.

I did a bachelors in modern history and international relations. First two years after uni I was temping and doing internships and eventually landed in doing media relations for non-profits. Then after a few years doing that I switched to the tech industry, working in customer experience and account management and I now have a long running job and progression in that industry.

Like other people in this thread I primarily studied history because I wanted to. Did history help me specifically? To an extent yes, I think the practice of bringing together different sources and turning them into a cogent and readable argument was certainly useful for working in media relations. But I also had a pre-existing interest in the media and in technology so my careers have reflected that.

Degree - social history and social anthropology.

I teach music. Surprisingly, actually quite useful at times to have a background in history, especially when prepping students for more advanced exams.

I did my dissertation on church music 1485-1642, but that has yet to come up!

I started as an administrative assistant and my current company paid for me to get my masters in a business field so I could transition to my current project management role. I don’t work in history but I get to enjoy it as a hobby, like occasionally responding to threads here and hitting up museums with other museum track historians who didn’t end up working in the field. At the end of the day, for me, the barrier to entry for a career in a museum was too high versus taking a job that would pay the bills and let me have the time to keep enjoying history as a leisure activity.

Two degrees in history - the first because I love it, the second because I wanted to be a museum curator.

Turns out I absolutely hated working at the historical museum that hired me, and because of life (and the very low pay and limited opportunities in my intended field) ended up in a variety of completely different positions. Eventually made my way into a government job where my ability to locate, comprehend, analyze, synthesize, and communicate complex information on unfamiliar topics quickly is invaluable.

I could have gotten this job without those degrees, but the skills I developed have been incredibly useful in every single position I've held - yes, even customer service.

I think history is a super versatile degree to study. My current job is consulting with businesses on their diversity and inclusion work, which I love. I feel like the skills I learned during my history degree (absorbing massive amounts of information, sifting through to the important bits, presenting those important bits in a coherent argument, and in exam situations, thinking through a totally new question on my feet and pulling together a take on it quickly) have served me incredibly well in the world of work generally.

Degree in History, worked full-time for two years at a heritage site. My duties mainly involve giving tours and designing content (guidebooks, interpretation boards, social media). I recently dropped down to part-time hours so I could pursue a masters degree. Heritage can be a fun sector but be prepared for crummy pay and a competitive field to move up in.

I used it and my own focus, as a trans person, in gender and queer theory to go on to a masters in gender studies, which I’m just finishing up while teaching intro courses on transgender studies and research methodologies. The skills I developed studying history are really useful for the kinds of analysis we do in gender studies, which is concerned quite often with understanding the context behind a given situation or norm. Archival studies, the history of trans and queer activism, historical theories of gender, the development of particular social roles, studies of sex and sexism, all are topics that a history background can equip one to explore. Queer archival studies in particular is a really interesting and important field. Questions we ask about identity and whether it is ultimately linked to specific historical contexts on the one hand, or a given that has simply been interpreted through different frames in different times and places, are still a topic of major discussion today within queer historiographical circles.

I have a tentative job lined up after finishing my thesis involving outreach and advocacy work for queer youth, but if that falls through I’m also looking at a number of archival jobs relating to trans history.

Spent 13 years teaching esl abroad. Now run a small cattle ranch. From what I’ve read on here, the real historians have at least a masters.

Greetings. I graduated with a BS in history a few years ago. My main interest so far has been in public history. I was really interested in frontline interpretation, and that's where I was focusing my career. I had several gigs working as an educator in different museums, however Covid shut that down. I have since had two small articles published, so that is a plus at least.

I would recommend checking out r/MuseumPros if you have more specific questions you want to ask.

BS History, graduated last March right into the recession. I work for an insurance company with a position regarding claims. Was attending night school to get a paralegal cert until I realized that paralegals work just as hard as a lawyer for less pay.

The skills I got make me good at writing good emails and good at learning new things. My work experience also played a large role as I was able to leverage what was effectively a school maintaince/warehouse role into an office job.

I work in a fairly niche project management job. One of the things history teaches you is how to spot bullshit, which is absolutely invaluable for this.

A family member has a masters in history and English. She works in government archives.

BA in War Studies (basically a history/politics degree, focused on conflict). First job as a teacher at a Uni, second as a personal tutor/guidance counsellor at a Uni and now a slightly different kind of teacher at a Uni. Most of my class ended up on various graduate programs which didn’t really care about what they had studied.

I have a BA in history and one in archaeology. I worked as an archeologist for a decade plus and then transitioned to architectural History. I got my MS in Historic Preservation and work for the DoD.

Friend from high school has a BA in History and he's a police officer.

Got a job teaching history and econ in a private high school. Did that for three years, got burned out on the education system and became a private multi-subject tutor, with the majority of my students studying for the AP tests.

And now I work in sports advertising and broadcasting for a company I started with a high school friend. The road is rarely straight!

BA in history. I am in the AML sector of banking. My history degree was considered in this role due to its heavy focus on analysis as well as proof that I can write professionally. I moved up from alert analyst and am now a Quality Control Investigator. I also did some time in the casino industry but that had nothing to do with me having a degree.

I have a BA in History and am a teacher. SO is a business analyst. History is versatile in the job market.

Got an MLIS and worked in several kinds of libraries. I work at a university as an part time instructor.

I have a BA in history, an MA in Public History, and an MLIS, specializations in Archives. I worked processing manuscript collections in a historical library and now homeschool my children.

I thought I wanted to be a history teacher...until I actually got in a classroom and I sucked at everything about it. By then, I was 3/4ths of the way done with a major in history (and the schooling was paid for by the GI Bill), so I just finished the degree.

I ended up getting an entry-level job in an auto body shop and training on-the-job for promotions there. Now I replace front and back windshields on cars and do work with the auto paint process.

I should probably see if I can talk my degree and veteran status into a higher-paying, less-physical or dirty job and actually build myself a reasonable future. Sad face emoji.

I finished my master's degree in history in 2012. Did some odd jobs and tried my hand at teaching, which wasn't for me. Now I'm a cultural advisor for the Dutch armed forces.

Affinity with cultural topics, writing skills and the ability to efficiently process a lot of information and translating it into something useful for the 'client' are skills I learned during my bachelor and master that make me good at my job today.

I have a degree in Modern History. I’ve been working in the digital sports industry for a few years now. We make fantasy sports games, I mostly do client services but with a few other responsibilities mixed in.

I think the great thing about having a history degree is you’re really not limited in any way shape or form. Sure you’ll never be a doctor, or work for NASA or something, but other than that you’re free to pursue any career you want.

I have a good friend with a BA in History. He has worked IT since he left retail post-graduation. He started as a contract worker, moved up to project manager, and then got hired full time at a major company as a project manager. Now he does security IT work for them.

He does take his vacations to archeological dig sites, including dive sites after he became scuba certified. So his degree is relevant to his side hobbies in a way.

At last a question I can answer!

TLDR: never worked in a history related field directly, but the skills involved in historical research, assembling evidence, developing and testing hypotheses and writing essays have stood me in good stead as I became a monitoring and evaluation consultant working on poverty reduction programmes.

So: first job after university, working in a company that manufactures scientific equipment that measures for trace levels of environmentally dangerous chemicals such as mercury, arsenic, selenium. Why? Nepotism - it's my uncle's company. History skills? Writing and editing various types of copy, from scientific papers to adverts to brochures.

Next job: editor of scientific papers for the International Livestock Research Institute based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. History skills used: once again, editing and writing, but also the ability to think about the evidence in front of me and start to spot weaknesses or presentational issues even though I wasn't an "expert" at the subject matter.

Then carried on scientific editing for a different project, while filling in slack time carrying out admin, logistics, office management type activities. The ability to understand and organise paperwork was also beneficial here!

This gradually morphed into getting deeper into project management and business development, I.e. writing tenders and then managing the projects once we won them. Again, history skills of analysing tender documents,assembling arguments, being able to write them down were invaluable.

Moved on to being a Team Leader on overseas projects, running a Governance Facility in the Philippines, a scholarships programme for almost every country in Africa, and a livelihoods programme in Bangladesh.

By then I was really interested in monitoring and evaluation, I.e. using evidence to find out if projects had done what they said they'd do, how well they did it, if there were any unexpected effects, and so on. This is obviously a major area to apply qualitative research and writing skills, so once again, my history training is still useful, even if it's vanishing into the haze of memory by now.

I never really planned any of the above, as such, but the core skills that my History degree taught me have been useful pretty much every day of my working life.

But yes, I'm very glad I'm not a historian! I was sick to death of it by the end of my bachelor's...

I have a BS in Education and a MA is History. I taught middle school for 7 years before I transitioned into corporate training. I’m a trainer in the financial sector now and couldn’t be happier. History jobs are notoriously difficult to find/have very low pay and there is always a large group of applicants to compete against.

I've got a MA in history (actually historical science, but that was just the name of my degree in Germany) now I'm still at university (a different one) working on my PhD and working at a chair, teaching and doing some admin stuff for the professor and other lecturers

I have a BA in history and after a decade or so of non degree related work I've ended up as a researcher in a military archive. The pay is terrible but the work is insanely interesting.

BA in History and I work in compliance for a non profit. Took some luck to even get in the door, but playing up my critical thinking/research skills definitely helped.

I have a Bachelor of Arts, did units in History (though not enough for a minor due to my double degree in Education). I'm a history teacher in high school, though I'm more known for running a YouTube channel that occasionally dips into history.

Majors in history and political science. Now I'm a Business Process Advisor for a soulless oil and gas company. Basically just doing project management for supply chain improving things when they don't work or break down. Also did some IT before this.

Tried countless times getting jobs using the bachelor. No dice. By now, I've made my peace with it.

I'm in the UK. I got a grad scheme in marketing, then ended up working in digital product. Now I'm a senior product manager.

Most important thing is to get work experience, internships, etc.

BA in history, graduated in 12. I work on submarines for the US navy

I graduated with my Bachelor’s back in 2011, and have been a history teacher ever since. I did get my Grad Certificate and Masters in Education, but honestly those were just to prove I’m actually qualified to teach. I learned more in my first year of teaching than I did in the years it took me to get my high degrees.

Honestly, I love my job. Despite any challenges from the past decade to just this past school year, it’s the only job I’ve had that I’ve never considered quitting. Seeing my students use History to make arguments about today is one of the best parts of my career. Granted I often discourage most of my students from becoming a teacher. If you don’t have a passion for it AND the grit to stick it out in the tough times, bad teachers can do more damage than a lack of teachers in the workforce.

Another History BA here! I walked out of college and almost immediately into a job in museum education. It paid almost nothing, even after working my way up into a managerial role, but I got to create my own programming from scratch and (because we were understaffed) help catalogue objects and create exhibits. That seems to be the trade off for a lot of us in the museum field - low pay but TONS of experience doing a lot of different tasks.

I now work as an admin at a university - definitely less interesting but the pay's good and I'm significantly less stressed now that my work/life balance is better.

BA, 1st class in History, ended up in Accounting.

Software developer, after some time in tech support and before that general technical admin assistant. Graduated bachelor 5 years ago

Got my masters in library science and work ant a academic military library. So I use my bachelor's some.

BA in History and I work on the commercial side of a tech startup

I graduated with a B.A. in History nearly 10 years ago now. Initially wanted to go the grad school route but decided that wasn't for me after doing for a while and seeing the kinds of outcomes available for PhDs in the field. Did a lot of odd jobs and part time work before eventually finding my footing in libraries, working as a public library assistant helping with digitization and project research as well as circ. I've also done some archival processing and metadata internships here and there, and am now back on the grad school grind trying to get my MLIS. A lot of people in libraries have a background in history, and it can be especially helpful if you want to concentrate in archives.

I have my BA in history. I’ve worked in SaaS since I graduated, most of those years in marketing.

I teach for VipKid. BA in history, minor in humanities.

I do not have a history degree, but there are 2 people I know who have their bachelors- my father, who didn’t “use” his degree and was a sandhog for over 30years. He has said before he has no regrets going to school to study something he loved. My friend however, uses his degree as an interpretive ranger for the NPS at a historical park.

Got my BA in history in 2017 and am currently working as a librarian--although, technically, you need a Masters degree to actually be called a "librarian," so I'm more of an assistant. I was able to get work in libraries as a tangent to my history degree--I spent so much time in my school's library for research papers that I managed to convince their Special Collections Department to hire me as a student assistant, and the rest is history (pun intended). I love my my job a lot, although I wish my pay was a bit more, and really, the benefit to a history degree is the skills outside of the actual content--how to do research, critical thinking, analyzing large amounts of information and organizing them, navigating information databases and sources, etc.

I graduated with major in History and Social Science, with my minor in Psychology (15 credits off a dual major). I completed my degree in 2020, spent 5 years in retail getting my degree, left for factory work, and then have moved into higher education as a enrollment specialist.

I am currently getting interviewed for a career counselor role at the local work connections, and will be exploring careers with High Schoolers. I have been accepted into a mental health counseling program, but on the fence because of the cost (over 20,000) and I would be barely making more than would I would be making now.

Honestly with a History degree, I feel like out of all the liberal arts majors, it is one of the strongest. You have to think about how long the degree itself has been around, basically there since the beginning of college being a thing. You can find ample positions in education outside of a teacher role. You can go into a lot of masters programs and specialize into another field. You can even go to law school. Shoot, I know a History major that ended up being a Dr.

There is a very negative stigma on people who get a History degree, but the research, the critical analysis, the ability to observe large amounts of information and understand it make you a great candidate for multiple jobs across fields. Those that say History was a waste can not network, or are not able to showcase their talent on a resume. Sell yourself, be confident, showcase your talents soft or hard skills, and you'll be equip to find employment with any degree.