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Surprising Career Options for Humanities Majors

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UPR chapter.

Studying Humanities tends to bind its student population together with the uncertainty of which career choices to pursue. An engineering student may end up working an engineering job and a psychology major will likely become a psychologist or a social worker. But studying humanities–a range of fields of study that focus on exploring culture; including history, literature, languages, and various other disciplines–can be vague if you don’t plan to be a professor or teacher. Before I show you the list, read this inspirational quote from Indeed.com:

On a personal level, humanities help students develop writing and critical reading skills. The subject also teaches students to think creatively and consider every question from different perspectives. More importantly, humanities help students think critically and logically when faced with complex and often subjective information.

These are only a few of the career choices that you may have not known were within the reach of humanities: 

Travel agent

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This may surprise you, but travel agents only require a high school diploma. However, the demands for travel agents include, according to Indeed.com, courses related to the field, organization skills, and willingness to travel to the places for themselves. This is ideal for those that have a wanderlust that wasn’t satisfied during their college years, even more so if you enjoy helping others. The Humanities requirement to learn a third language is another plus to the resume. At approximately 44,050 dollars a year nationally, this job may be an option if you want to have a creative and social career with only a bachelor’s degree. Just try to get travel-related electives. If not,  you can always self-educate and use sites like Udemy to get courses to impress the bosses.

hr specialist

You may have heard of HR, also known as the department where you have to address your cover letters. The HR department is where employees are tested, recruited, and turned down. You could say that they occupy a high position within any given company or organization. To quote  Indeed.com: “Employers look for candidates with a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources, or any related field, even in behavioral sciences. A big bonus is being able to confront people and any problems they encounter in the workplace.” If you enjoy climbing up the social ladder, taking part in competitions,s and exercising leadership, this could be a good option for you. A national average salary of $53, 919 a year makes it quite neat for a bachelor’s job. However, I would recommend looking into the industry beforehand and seeking mentorship.

social media coordinator

Social media coordinators are a staple in student organizations, but it can be a post-graduation job as well.  According to Comparably.com, this career’s salary may range from $18,700 to $120,460; with a median salary of. It might sound risky, but you see millions of people doing it in their free time as social media influencers and   Tik Tok creators. If you’re already active on social media, this could be a good job fit and aid you with valuable networking opportunities. 

creative director

“A creative director is in charge of the creative department at advertising and marketing companies. Their duties include planning company advertisements, monitoring brand campaigns, revising presentations, and shaping brand standards. Also referred to as a design director.”-Betterteam.com. This is a career fit for leaders with creative tastes that are ready to deal with dozens of team members and clients. The requirements in the Betterteam site is asking for a bachelor’s degree in “art, graphic design, marketing, communications, journalism, and other relevant fields.”. But most importantly, it requires digital experience. Communication and organizational skills are top-notch in this job. This would be the highest paid on the list at $141,841 per year in median salary. It breaks the stereotype of the humanities major in poverty, but it would definitely be a competitive position. It wouldn’t hurt to start below it, such as a social media coordinator or a graphic designer.

Public Relations Manager

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PR team jokes aside,  working a public relations job can turn out to be  an advantageous career. It includes the duties of a creative director but with a greater focus on the social media area. PR teams usually promote their client and manage the articles written about them, as well as brainstorm damage control strategies if the client were to do something negative in public. As long as you avoid chaotic and abusive people, the $56,399 per year salary is quite neat. All it requires is a humanities degree or a business one, which can be managed with free electives and online courses. 

Endnote: These are only five careers that are fit for humanities majors. There are so many more, that a single article isn’t enough to explain them all. To make the most of your career-hunting journey, I highly encourage you to seek advice from students and/or professionals that work in the field of study you’re interested in. Last but not least, don’t be afraid to self-study by researching online magazines, blogs, and even books that may educate you further on your dream job.

I am a English Literature student from the University of Puerto Rico. I am a bookworm with tastes that go through fiction, psychology and history. Tik Tok, Twitter and Instagram is where I seek fun and news at the same time. I hope to entertain and educate the readers.