What are you going to do with that major? This is the question often posed to humanities graduates. The assumption behind it is that while it may have been enjoyable to study the humanities while pursuing your degree, you will have difficulty securing meaningful employment following graduation. Although this myth has been addressed many times, it has influenced policymaking. One example is Australia’s recent reform of its university fees that increased fees for humanities degrees by 113 percent while decreasing STEM degree fees. This made humanities degrees among the most expensive degrees to complete in Australia. The purpose of this fee reform was to strengthen graduate employability by responding to “modelling showing 62 per cent of employment growth in the next five years will be in health care, science and technology, education and construction” (Conor Duffy). Given the areas of growth, the fee reform effort was designed to discourage students from pursuing humanities degrees.
Although federal and state governments have not taken a systematic approach to limiting the study of the humanities in the United States, the attitude towards the relationship between humanities degrees and employability is similar to that in Australia. This attitude, however, is based on false assumptions. Contrary to popular belief, humanities graduates, particularly History majors, not only find meaningful employment but often outperform peers in fields like business in terms of salary and career flexibility.
One perspective on History majors’ employment outcomes is provided by data from the 2020 National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Classification of Instructional Program to Standard Occupational Classification Crosswalk (NCES CIP SOC Crosswalk). The Crosswalk identifies what occupations graduates are prepared for due to the completion of their specific major. For example, a graduate of a nursing program is prepared to be a nurse; however, very few majors have this type of direct connection to occupations. Five occupations are listed for History majors: Historians, Postsecondary History Teachers, Managers, Secondary History Teachers, and Tour Guides and Escorts. According to Gray Decision Intelligence’s analysis of Public Job Board Sites, these occupations have an average salary of $56,000 and reflect the perception of what people might expect History majors to do following graduation. There is one problem: The NCES Crosswalk is not based on actual empirical data. While it is unclear how much the Crosswalk contributes to public perception of what occupations specific majors enter, what is clear is that it does not provide an accurate picture of the earning potential and flexibility that History majors have once they enter the workforce.
Gray DI’s analysis reveals a stark contrast between the limited occupational pathways suggested by traditional datasets, like the NCES Crosswalk, and the more nuanced and flexible career paths uncovered by the US Census American Community Survey (ACS). While the NCES Crosswalk narrowly defines occupations for History majors, Gray DI’s analysis of roughly two million records in the Public Use Micro Sample from the 2016-2020 American Community Survey demonstrates that History majors go into 498 occupations, demonstrating much more flexibility for History majors than suggested by the NCES Crosswalk. The ACS is the long form of the US Census that asks questions about educational attainment and occupational employment. Using data for respondents with at least a bachelor’s degree, one can see which occupations are filled by graduates of each major. This measures actual outcomes rather than intentions of these programs.
What is interesting is that the top occupation for history majors can best be categorized as work in the legal field: lawyers, judges, magistrates, and related workers. The second most common occupation for History majors is managers followed by education administrators and management analysts. This suggests a different path for History majors than what is suggested by the NCES Crosswalk and from what is portrayed in public discourse. ACS data highlights that History majors have good employment opportunities likely due, at least in part, to how they have developed through the study of history as well as the interests that led them to study history and interests cultivated by the study of history. It should be noted that many of these occupations require an advanced degree beyond the undergraduate degree in History.
ACS data also demonstrates another interesting employment outcome for History majors. The average income for all age groups for History majors is more than Business majors ($95,000 to $81,000). This counters popular advice to major in something useful (i.e., a vocationally-focused major) as many believe that degrees like business degrees set students up for high salaries following graduation. However, according to ACS data, History majors do well in salary, which is in part due to their work in the legal field, or as managers, education administrators, or management analysts.
While the data on History majors is by no means the final word on the issue, it does suggest that there is more work to do on creating an accurate picture of employment outcomes for History and other humanities majors. Securing meaningful employment, along with socioeconomic advancement, are typically at the top or near the top of reasons students pursue degrees. Understanding how graduates with humanities degrees succeed in the workforce will enable students to make informed choices about their majors. It may be what some students need to hear, allowing them to study a discipline that they love while at the same time graduating with a path to satisfactory employment outcomes.
Accurate data will also enable an exploration of why humanities majors do or do not do well in certain occupations. Humanities majors are known for how well they foster the development of human skills such as critical thinking, communication, learning how to analyze and discuss ambiguous and contentious topics, and recognizing the importance of culture and empathy, to name a few. Knowing the top occupations humanities majors enter can focus research on identifying the value they bring to employers. This will enable higher education institutions to communicate to employers and students how humanities students develop in ways that make them employable.
The ACS results on History majors are encouraging and warrant further study, given that they contradict the narrative of how poorly humanities majors do in the workforce. By using accurate, data-driven insights, colleges and universities can better guide students toward successful, fulfilling careers. History and other humanities graduates aren’t just finding jobs—they’re thriving in them. Continued research will not only dismantle the myths surrounding humanities degrees but will also empower students to make informed decisions about their education and future careers. Exploring this data further will provide a way to separate fact from myth and provide useful information for students, colleges and universities, and employers.
