You can use a graduate degree in history in a variety of professional settings. As the American Historical Association (AHA) suggests, it’s not just about what you can do with a history major, it’s about what careers are open to you if you want to be a “practicing historian.” This page is designed to help connect WSU History graduate students to careers in history and to resources for learning more about those career paths.

Where are all the historians?

What careers are open to me?

Historians commonly work in education, museums, libraries and archives, government, international relations, business and finance, nonprofits, tourism, publishing, and the law (some of these career paths require additional training through certificate, professional, or graduate programs).

ImaginePhD is a great place to start learning more about careers paths that may interest you. This is a free online career exploration and planning tool that helps humanities and social sciences Ph.D. students and scholars at any point in their careers evaluate their work, skill sets, and goals both inside and outside academia.

Below you can find regularly updated job information, resources, and open positions, organized by category.

Teaching

About	Links/Info
Skills	At least a bachelor’s degree, preferably in education and a minor in history. For some postsecondary levels and higher, a master’s degree in education or Ph.D. may be required.
Job Boards	School Spring K12 Jobs (for teaching positions in Michigan)
Job Posting sites/tips	Be sure to check specific school district job boards, as well as university-specific job boards.

Non-Profits/Foundations

About	Links/Info
Industries	Research, social advocacy, religion, health services, trade associations, education.
What does this work entail?	Public speaking, communications, budgeting, planning, research.
Required Skills	Often, bachelor’s degrees are recommended but not required, depending on the position within the nonprofit/foundation. Interpersonal skills, self-motivation, and time management are commonly needed for nonprofit sector work.
Types of Positions	Program manager, researcher, data analyst, communications, finance/accounting, grant writer, human resources, historian.
Job Boards	Idealist Nonprofit Career Network
Job posting sites/tips	Check out Idealist.org, or the specific job/career page for individual nonprofit organizations. In addition, often volunteering with the nonprofit organization first will help get your foot in the door.

Museums

About	Links/Info
Industries	Research, education, finance, design, art, science.
What does this work entail?	Public speaking, communications, research, event planning.
Required Skills	Bachelor’s degrees are preferred, especially those in museum studies or other related fields. Master’s degrees in museum studies are sometimes required for higher positions. Ph.D.s may be required for research collections management.
Types of Positions	Director, curator, collections manager, educator, conservator, development and grant writing, public relations, security, museum shop manager.
Job Boards	American Alliance of Museums Smithsonian Job Opportunities Michigan Museums Association (for museum positions in Michigan) NEMA Jobs (for museum positions in the New England region)
Job posting sites/tips	Check out specific museum job boards, and/or usajobs.gov.

Library/Archives

About	Links/Info
Industries	Academic library, special library (serving a particular group of people), public library, and national library.
What does this work entail?	Research and communication with patrons, writing and oral reports, event planning.
Required Skills	Bachelor’s degree, Master of Library Science degree for higher positions. Research, interpersonal skills, communications, computer literacy, information curation, organizational skills are all required to serve patrons.
Types of Positions	Librarian, library technician, library assistant, public relations, administrative services, IT support.
Job Boards	ALA Job List Michigan Library Association (for positions in Michigan) LibGig
Job posting sites/tips	State and local library association job boards, specific school districts or universities for academic library postings, usajobs.gov.

Research/Analysis

About	Links/Info
Industries	Legal, editorial/publishing, journalism, STEM, public policy, social sciences, teaching.
Required Skills	Masters/Ph.D., proof of strong research and writing skills, critical thinking, survey, experience working with large quantities of data .
Types of Positions	Legal researcher, writer, academic researcher, public policy research, scientific/quantitative research.
Job Boards	LinkedIn Indeed
Job posting sites/tips	Remember to check Indeed often, as well as specific company job boards.

Writing/Publishing

About	Links/Info
What does this work entail?	Bidding, presentations, networking, writing and editing skills, communication skills (oral and written), social events, academic/scholastic research.
Required Skills	Evidence of writing and communication skills, experience in editing, publishing, or related skills. Typically preferred to have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, though not explicitly required.
Types of Positions	Content specialist, editor, publisher, writer, author, journalist, technical writer, copywriter, medical writing, medical publishing.
Job Boards	LinkedIn Indeed
Job posting sites/tips	Check out Indeed, LinkedIn, various print/web publications, or academic presses. Social media, software companies, and networking events are also good resources here! Keep in mind, many in this pathway do a lot of freelance work.

Marketing/ Communications

About	Links/Info
What does this work entail?	Social media and marketing, brand recognition and advertisement, event planning, data tracking, presentations and quantitative data, public relations.
Required Skills	Web design, marketing and advertisements, brand protection and design, brand affiliation, social media presence, fast-paced environment constantly changing.
Types of Positions	Data analysts, social media manager, editor in chief, editor, brand coordinator, legal communications/marketing, government marketing, non-profit management, liaison, etc.
Job Boards	LinkedIn Indeed
Job posting sites/tips	Indeed, USAjobs.gov, LinkedIn, university job boards, company job boards, government job boards are all good places to start. Don’t forget about freelance work.

Government/Public Sector

About	Links/Info
What does this work entail?	Legal, government, non-profit, for-profit, contract work.
Required Skills	Experience in industry, typically these positions require a masters and/or law degree/other certification, specialized positions requiring specific industry experience or skills
Types of Positions	Attorney, investigator, analyst, policy maker, public relations, managers, secretary, congresspeople, finance, scientific research, academic institutions, public safety/health, etc.
Job Boards	LinkedIn Indeed USA Jobs Government Jobs
Job posting sites/tip	Indeed, USAjobs.gov, LinkedIn, and government job boards are all good places to start. Don’t forget about freelance work.

Good luck in your search and don’t forget to stay involved!