What jobs can you get with a history and/or social studies degree? Please specify degree needed?

[Doot]

I'm looking into what I want to do for college and I was wondering what a History major or and other social studies major could do for me in the job world. Could you tell me which major get which jobs? Thanks a bunch!

[Steve M]

McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's and Wal-Mart.

[paris_capulet]

An advanced degree in history could lend you a teaching position, or a job within a private or public think tank. History is about predicting the future by examining past events that correspond with the situation at hand. Since man only has 8 motives, predicting the future is not that hard. But, as Spanish Philosopher Jorge Santyana said, "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it". "Social Studies Degree" is too vague a genre to comment on.

[Pandak]

My suggestion is: go to college and declare a tentative major, if you have to, but take your courses for a full year before you decide what your major should be--find something you're good at and like doing. That said, you can, of course, teach with a history or social science degree. You could also work in business or government. Business and government don't always care what your major was/is, they just want bright, intelligent people they can train to do their jobs. The main purpose of college is to learn how to learn, because you'll have to learn all your life. Of course, if you want to go into business administration, for example, a BA in business would be better than a BA in history, but not absolutely. Forget the job end of the college experience for now, if I were you.

[R H]

there are a lot of jobs that you can get with a history degree, but they are all really specialized type things that you probably woul dneed an advanced degree for. i moajored in history and intended to go to law school, but got married had kids and now work as hotel manager. the upside: i can BS the tourists about history of my area and more often that not, event he history of their own area. my suggestion, if you are even remotely interested in geography (i've found lots of history and social studies people are) then learn as much as you can about GIS. it is big now, but will only get bigger and bigger and those people who get in now will have a good career ahead of them.

[scott.braden]

I got a poli sci w/ minors in history, english and econ.

Good news: you will have better thinking, research and communication skills than 90% of the people.

Bad news: this isn't a "trade" degree like Accounting or Chemical Engineering, so your job oppotunities are wide open and you'll have to use your critical thinking skills to find a job you like

Good news: many employers understand this and are looking for lib arts majors.

Advice: do take a few business 101-level courses. I took a minor in Econ, which was very useful, also the intro courses in accounting, biz law, marketing were useful. Also found statisitics and survey design helpful. Don't shy away from the math, you will need "business math" skills.

p.s. If you let "a good job" be your guide to you major, there's a risk of being very unhappy and stuck in a career you hate. Take the courses that are interesting, with a few "practical courses" thrown in.