Humanities is an educational concentration that can give you a firm base for a surprisingly wide range of careers—some things you can do with a humanities degree are not immediately obvious. Humanities studies concentrate on communication—writing, analyzing, researching—and these are skills that can be applied in many areas. The following five career opportunities are just a small selection of the jobs a humanities student might pursue.
A Career as a Technical Writer
Technical writing is a specialized area of communication. The job requires writing precision, research skills, and the ability to communicate with a wide range of people, including engineers, end users, and management. Technical writers have to understand their audience and be able to write at the level of audience understanding. Sometimes that can entail simplifying instructions, using graphics for clarity, and modifying materials for different levels.
How Does a Humanities Degree Help?
Humanities courses are heavily weighted towards clarifying your thesis and delivering a clear message in written and oral assignments. Being precise, having the ability to research, and understanding your audience are skills that will develop in your humanities studies.
A Career as a Lawyer
An undergraduate degree in humanities is a good way to prepare for taking law school entrance exams and for succeeding in law school. As a lawyer, you will have to make quick decisions, advise people, and understand the legal system thoroughly.
How Does a Humanities Degree Help?
Humanities studies teach reasoning and critical thinking, skills you will use every day as a lawyer. While legal writing is a particular kind of communication that you will learn more about in law school, having a solid base in expository writing and research writing will serve you well in your legal studies, leading to this great humanities degree job.
A Career in Counseling
Counseling is a large field where trained professionals work in the areas of mental and behavioral health. Counselors can work one-on-one with individuals or with groups or families. This humanities career requires empathy and skill in dealing with people.
How Does a Humanities Degree Help?
While most counseling jobs require an advanced degree, humanities studies can lay the groundwork for training in this important field. Your studies will train you to think critically and help people make wise decisions about their lives. Communication skills, both written and oral, are a large part of a degree in humanities.
A Career in Teaching
Teaching is all about communicating. The job requires successful communication with students, parents, administration, and colleagues. Teaching is one of the most versatile careers. There are many opportunities in education from teaching elementary and secondary school to administration and even to transition into another area such as sales.
How Does a Humanities Degree Help?
The focus on written and oral communication in a humanities degree is key. Having a broad background in humanities prepares you for working with many kinds of people and in diverse situations.
A Career in Public Relations
In our media-conscious world, public relations has become increasingly important. Understanding the intricacies of image and projecting that image to the public is a challenging and fascinating job.
How Does a Humanities Degree Help?
Studying humanities will hone the skills you need to read and think critically. Beyond this, your training will help you understand people and the way they interact. Humanities provides a strong foundation to understand media and its message.
Keep in mind that while humanities studies can be a pathway to a solid career, they can also enrich your life. Mark Edmundson, author of “Why Teach?”, says that humanities students excel because they learn insights into themselves and others, and this helps them to lead better, more fulfilling lives. We hope you’ve enjoyed our article about things you can do with a humanities degree.
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