Experts Weigh In On Current Job Market Trends
October 21, 2021
Given the change of course that has happened in the world, we wanted to provide expert opinions on what aspiring graduates can do to start off their careers in an uncertain economic climate. We wanted to know what skills will be more important, where the economy is doing relatively well, and if there will be any lasting effects on the job market.
Companies are looking for candidates that can handle the new responsibilities of the job market. Recent graduates actually have an advantage because they are comfortable using newer technologies and have been communicating virtually their whole lives. They can take what they've learned and apply it immediately.
We spoke to professors and experts from several universities and companies to get their opinions on where the job market for recent graduates is heading, as well as how young graduates entering the industry can be adequately prepared. Here are their thoughts.
Our Panel of Experts
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Elizabeth City State University
Pennsylvania State University - Altoona
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
New York University
Virginia Commonwealth University
University of Washington
Gratz College
The University of Texas at Austin
Kentucky Christian University
University of North Florida
Dominican College
University of Minnesota Duluth
University of Texas of the Permian Basin
Christian Brothers University
West Virginia State University
Penn State Altoona
Mercyhurst University
Western Illinois University
University of Maryland
What skills stand out on Historian resumes?
KU Career Development Cente : Research experience. Critical thinking and analytical skills (of literature, data, facts, etc.). Attention to detail, as well as context.
What soft skills should all Historians possess?
KU Career Development Cente : As for any industry, and History is no different, communication is by far the number one most important soft skill. Speaking, listening, reading, and writing are integral to communication. As mentioned earlier, critical thinking is also important as Historians need to pour over information and create summaries, judgments/evaluations, and suggestions with the facts provided.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Historians?
KU Career Development Cente : Data analysis using technology (software programs, such as SPSS, Excel, and Access).
What skills will help Historians earn the most?
KU Career Development Cente : Technology benefits most employers. Data analysis, with an eye of 'context' that history majors bring to the table.
Charles Reed Ph.D.
Associate Professor of History, Program Coordinator, Interdisciplinary StudiesElizabeth City State University
Department of Social Sciences
What skills stand out on Historian resumes?
Charles Reed Ph.D.: While popular perceptions of historians may involve ideas of historians sitting in dusty archives, leafing through pages in ancient manuscripts, or professing from a lectern, historians work in a diverse array of professional contexts from education and training to government and corporations. Advanced study in the discipline of history develops skills valuable in many professions. According to the American Historical Association's Disciplinary Core, studying the past fosters, among other skills, the ability to gather, filter, contextualize, synthesize, and interpret complex and conflicting material, appreciate ambiguity, and communicate, make arguments, and tell stories. Job candidates should customize their resumes/curricula vitae and seek out opportunities, credentials, and training based on their specific goals and interests. Some jobs may involve a preference for specific content areas, while others may prefer experience working with particular groups or populations. A historian position at the Department of Defense may privilege knowledge of military history or military experience, while a teaching position in a small academic department may put a value on having the ability to teach a breadth of courses or experience with underprepared students.
What soft skills should all Historians possess?
Charles Reed Ph.D.: Again, context matters. The experiences of the historian at a Fortune 500 corporation and one working as a curator at a rural museum or historic site are going to be vastly different. Historians who might engage in research work at a government agency or as a scholar at an institution of higher learning need to be prepared to organize and manage their work and time with limited direct oversight. Historical research can be a lonely business, so one must be comfortable and prepared to spend extended time alone with research materials and inside her or his own brain. On the other hand, teaching and training, public history, and other public- or community-facing work require interpersonal skills, empathy, and the ability to engage with different kinds of people.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Historians?
Charles Reed Ph.D.: Reading and effective communication are the most important skills of the historian, and many historians must learn to read, write, and/or speak in more than one language. Historians work with primary sources and have to become skilled in finding and interpreting these documents and materials. One's content knowledge and expertise will lend themselves to particular jobs and experiences over others. For example, academic jobs typically provide one or more areas of specialization expected of applicants. Digital skills have become increasingly important to the field, and the ability to code, develop multimedia and websites and other technology-based skills may expand one's opportunities.
What skills will help Historians earn the most?
Charles Reed Ph.D.: There really is not a way to align a specific set of skills with earning potential in this field. Earnings are largely going to be determined by the kind of employer, experience, and credentials. A historian working in a corporate environment or a law firm is likely going to earn more than an instructor at a small college or high school, for example.
Jared Frederick
Instructor of HistoryPennsylvania State University - Altoona
History Department
What skills stand out on Historian resumes?
Jared Frederick: Historians must be multiskilled, interdisciplinary, and engaging. These traits can be demonstrated through a variety of means. Practicing history requires more than being intimately familiar with the people, places, events, and ideas of the past. Scholars must convey the importance of those themes to audiences of all manners--whether it be at an academic conference or a grade school field trip to a museum. Be engaged and connected with the field. Speak at seminars, help curate an exhibit, conduct historical demonstrations in period clothing, or volunteer at a local museum. Perhaps most importantly, write, research, and share your scholarship with as wide an audience as you can find.
What soft skills should all Historians possess?
Jared Frederick: Communication and teamwork are vital skills for a historian of any background. Whether you are a professor, blogger, or museum docent, you will have to impart the lessons of the past in verbal and written capacities--and you will need to do so in a competent fashion. Teamwork is also key. In academic circles, professors plan curricula, schedule courses, and brainstorm ways to grow their programs. In the Public History world, historians must be able to wear many hats--sometimes within small teams assigned with many diverse duties in venues such as museums or libraries.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Historians?
Jared Frederick: Fundamental hard skills for historians include archival research, transcribing documents, curatorial expertise, writing, reading, sourcing information, and solid public speaking abilities.
What skills will help Historians earn the most?
Jared Frederick: All historians must be critical thinkers. In many ways, historians are detectives of the past. In the same way, an investigator might try to connect pieces of evidence at a crime scene, historians connect the dots to understand how and why the forces of the past shape us today. To earn the most in the History field, one must network with professionals from all backgrounds within the field. When I was in high school, I attended historical tours, volunteered at a national park, and even authored/illustrated historical books for young readers. I met as many historians as I could. As the old saying goes, your professional development depends not merely on what you know but on who you know. Casting a wide net and demonstrating your diverse skills will help catch the eye of potential employers. The history field is a highly interconnected one. You can't attend an academic conference without meeting mutual friends of colleagues. Above all, be flexible. Historians today must research and present but also harness the technology and educational practices that determine how people learn. Infuse passion into your job. It will show. History encompasses the story of everything. How could that possibly be dull? As a friend recently reminded me, "A Mercedes isn't a symbol of success if you have to drive it to a job you hate." Historians generally don't make as much money as accountants or stockbrokers, but they believe in a higher calling when it comes to their profession. They love what they do. History provides us a clear moral compass about some of the most complex and divisive issues of our times. You can't put a dollar amount on that value.
Bryan Salvadore
Director, CommunicationsKutztown University of Pennsylvania
Marketing & Communications
What skills stand out on Historian resumes?
Bryan Salvadore: Research experience. Critical thinking and analytical skills (of literature, data, facts, etc.). Attention to detail, as well as context.
What soft skills should all Historians possess?
Bryan Salvadore: As for any industry, and History is no different, communication is by far the number one most important soft skill. Speaking, listening, reading and writing are integral to communication. As mentioned earlier, critical thinking is also important as Historians need to pour over information and create summaries, judgments/evaluations and suggestions with the facts provided.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Historians?
Bryan Salvadore: Data analysis using technology (software programs, such as SPSS, Excel and Access).
What skills will help Historians earn the most?
Bryan Salvadore: Technology benefits most employers. Data analysis, with an eye of 'context' that history majors bring to the table.
Guy Ortolano
Professor of History & MA Director of Graduate StudiesNew York University
History Department
What skills stand out on Historian resumes?
Guy Ortolano: Historians have an understanding of the wider world, its many cultures, and where they came from. They study human societies, present as well as past, and the issues that divide and bind them. They understand connectivities of many kinds, from information to transportation to international relations. Historians, most importantly, are naturally curious about the world around them: they have dedicated themselves to understanding societies, cultures, and periods other than their own.
What soft skills should all Historians possess?
Guy Ortolano: A history major is deeply familiar with the process of reading and processing vast amounts of information, often about unfamiliar subjects, and translating it into accessible writing for different audiences. Historians are deep and careful readers and clear and persuasive writers. They are natural and experienced researchers and work well both collaboratively and independently.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Historians?
Guy Ortolano: A history major is deeply familiar with the process of reading and processing vast amounts of information, often about unfamiliar subjects, and translating it into accessible writing for different audiences. Historians are deep and careful readers and clear and persuasive writers. They are natural and experienced researchers and work well both collaboratively and independently.
Leigh Ann Craig Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in HistoryVirginia Commonwealth University
Department of History
What skills stand out on Historian resumes?
Leigh Ann Craig Ph.D.: History teaches a core bundle of skills which are listed on the VCU History website (scroll down to 'the historian's skill set':
https://history.vcu.edu/about/why-study-history/
What hard/technical skills are most important for Historians?
Leigh Ann Craig Ph.D.: The fundamental historian's skill of critiquing evidence: understanding its value in light of its origin and context These core skills in gathering, sifting, matching, and making a larger narrative out of loose bits of evidence, and of being able to convince others of the accuracy of your narrative, truly makes historians stand out. Majors in a variety of fields learn where they may access, or how they may produce, a certain amount of information, but very few spend time considering how to integrate new information with other things we know, to consider the whole, or to read specific information in light of broader cultural factors.
Meredith Clausen
ProfessorUniversity of Washington
Department of Architecture and Division of Art History
What skills stand out on Historian resumes?
Meredith Clausen: Knowledge of architectural history (at least a general introduction to global archer and at least one if not more upper-division courses); language skills (at least one if not more foreign languages)
What soft skills should all Historians possess?
Meredith Clausen: Personality traits such as cordiality (ability to get along with others) and tenaciousness (got to be able to stick to a problem even when the going gets tough)
What hard/technical skills are most important for Historians?
Meredith Clausen: Digital savvy, to be sure; photography; beyond that, those skills cited in #1.
What skills will help Historians earn the most?
Meredith Clausen: Language skills, I would think, over and beyond the knowledge of the architectural history field.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Historians in the next 3-5 years?
Joseph Davis Ph.D.: During the pandemic, all religious institutions have gone online to a great degree. No one knows to what degree they will stay online after the epidemic is over and to what degree they will go back towards in-person events and interactions. So online skills, such as the ability to run different kinds of online meetings or events on other platforms, teach online, and so on, are crucial right now and are likely to remain important afterward.
But the second side of this is equally important. Even before the pandemic, one crucial aspect of any job connected with religious institutions was listening deeply, being present in interactions, being authentic in relationships, and being genuinely sympathetic. This is one of the crucial differences between, say, rabbis and, say, lawyers. As our realm of human interaction has shrunk during the pandemic, and as more and more of our businesses are with bots, with Twitter feeds. With the Internet, this social aspect of religion becomes more prominent, and a larger part of any job.
What type of skills will young Historians need?
John Clarke Ph.D.: In addition to the traditional crafts in research, writing, and publishing, recent graduates in the humanities will need a deep understanding of how global politics shapes academic work. As college students' demographic changes, new professors must find ways to teach and direct research that speaks to the interests of a culturally and racially diverse student population.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Historians to find work opportunities?
John Clarke Ph.D.: Job opportunities are cyclical and unpredictable, since they change as current faculty retire or move to other jobs, and universities reassess their instructional priorities. Impossible to say.
How do you envision technology impacting Historians in the next 5 years?
John Clarke Ph.D.: In the wake of the pandemic, and given the universality of teaching on Zoom and other digital platforms, many colleges and universities will extend virtual instruction. Even as libraries open to in-person research, they will increase their digital materials, embracing them as a cost-effective alternative to physical books and periodicals.
What experience really stands out on Historian resumes?
Gerald Dyson Ph.D.: Most experience directly related to the historical field stands out for me, even if it's a volunteer. That usually tells me that a person has actively pursued work in the area and speaks to the individual's work ethic.
What Historian skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Gerald Dyson Ph.D.: If a student is going on to graduate school, I would recommend that they work on either a modern or historical language. Most American students don't have a solid grasp of another language. Academic knowledge of French, German, or a relevant historical language like Greek or Latin (or non-Western languages for other fields) can be invaluable. I also recommend volunteering or working with local historical societies in one capacity or another - offer to help run their social media, help catalog and photograph items, or serve in whatever capacity is needed. It can help you make connections and looks good on a resume or CV.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Historians in the next 3-5 years?
Gerald Dyson Ph.D.: While technology has been useful, and perhaps I'm old fashioned, I think that at present, history could benefit from investing more in deep engagement in sources than investing in new technology that can at times be a distraction from the heart of what the discipline does.
What type of skills will young Historians need?
David Bennett: Historians are uniquely poised for finding employment in our current environment because our field applications are quite broad. The study of history provides a solid foundation of knowledge and skills applicable within many areas. Historians' research skills can help them find positions within the legal, medical, and education fields. I've even seen graduates apply their knowledge of rhetoric to careers in tourism and sales. A recent survey of history graduates from the University of North Florida, where I teach, showed our alumni employed as "museum professionals, college professors, school teachers, park rangers, consultants, business professionals, and nonprofit professionals, among other things." This kind of flexibility is particularly useful during an era like our own when the nature of American employment is shifting foundationally.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Historians to find work opportunities?
David Bennett: There is no specific location that I would recommend because historians interested in putting their content knowledge to work for them are well-prepared to fit almost anywhere, especially since the specialized study of the history of a particular location anywhere across the globe can qualify them to work with nonprofit and tourism industries in that location. Helping organize and run both in-person and virtual tours of key historic sites can be emotionally and financially rewarding to graduates. Students like me, who are dedicated to research and the thrill of investigation, can find entry-level research positions within the legal, medical, business, and academic fields to apply the skills they have learned while learning what they need to know to succeed in the area. The most crucial decision a history undergraduate must make upon graduation is whether they want to pursue a higher degree. Getting a master's or doctorate in history can be an excellent opportunity for graduates to become much more competitive in the job market.
How do you envision technology impacting Historians in the next 5 years?
David Bennett: During the last fifty years, the historical profession has started to pivot immensely, and computers are at the heart of that shift. All history graduates should become highly computer literate because technology is fundamentally shaping how scholars approach our field. First, technology changes how we conduct research. Many historians, like myself, now go into archives with digital tools to facilitate the research process. Graduates need to have a solid understanding of word processing and database software to help catalog and organize the massive amounts of evidence we engage in. Second, technology changes how we present our analyses, making it possible to bring information to the public in entertaining and useful ways. Digital historical projects, like the Trans-Atlantic and Intra-American slave trade databases, the Mapping Old New York City project, and Histography.io, are becoming increasingly popular. The integration of mapping tools with historical information is an incredibly exciting area of study, allowing digital history projects, like my own, Visualizing Southern Television. Digital history projects are attractive opportunities for scholars to get the public thinking about the past in new and exciting ways.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Historians?
Scott White Ph.D.: The answer to this question is "yes." The degree to which that impact will be is what's to be seen. College graduates of this pandemic period have already been impacted on many levels, including for some, the tragic loss of loved ones. They have adjusted to a new learning environment that includes more online and remote learning. Coming out of the pandemic, students will have learned adaptability, flexibility, and perseverance.
Students of all majors are learning transferrable skills in technology that will augment what they are learning in the classroom. In addition to technology's impacts, they have had to adjust to new protocols in college to control the spread of COVID-19. These are attributes that students will carry with them into their professional lives. As COVID comes under more control, the economy will improve, and there will be a greater need for educated and skilled graduates.
Although the classroom is a great place to learn, a major advantage for any student is an internship. Some internships, due to COVID, are currently being conducted remotely. Those internships that were suspended involving interpersonal aspects, however, will be returning. This combination of technology and in-person attributes in internships will make a student's resume look better to a prospective employer.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Historians to find work opportunities?
Scott White Ph.D.: In pre-COVID times, it was possible to see, in geographical terms, where opportunities were on the rise and to where they could be shifting. However, the pandemic has changed that dynamic. The places to search for employment opportunities currently are those areas where COVID is steadily subsiding, and economic activity is steadily rising. These areas will be more localized rather than large geographical regions.
How do you envision technology impacting Historians in the next 5 years?
Scott White Ph.D.: The technology was already making significant changes in the historical field (academic and non-academic) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The field of digital history was growing rapidly in regard to virtual tours, museums, and archives. These trends will continue as indicated by some colleges and universities developing programs in digital history. Businesses, organizations, and government agencies will need people to do research and compile data. The technology already was making major impacts in those aspects, but as a result of COVID, with remote learning, remote offices, remote everything, another technological reality has been added.
However, technology has its limitations. Moreover, many people just want to "disconnect." As COVID wanes, many will start to travel with museums and historic sites being destinations. Although a person may be able to virtually tour a place, it still is not the same as actually being there. Although it may be gradual, more jobs will be created due to historically-based tourism.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Historians?
David Woodward: I believe that the pandemic will have lasting impacts on a lot of different industries, including History/Heritage employment. The most immediate effect will be a contraction of entry-level positions as museums and heritage organizations are in crisis. It is estimated that up to 40% of museums won't survive the pandemic. This is likely a short term problem as the economy and tourist economy rebounds; new opportunities will develop.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Historians to find work opportunities?
David Woodward: While the traditional path to employment in History has been through education licensure (secondary education) or through graduate degrees to become university faculty, most historians and heritage professionals are employed outside of academia. Prior to COVID 19, the field of public History was expanding. Public History covers museums, historic site management, historic preservation and compliance, and heritage interpretation. Many of our graduates over the past couple of years have found positions with local and regional museums and historical societies; others have found employment in historic preservation.
The preservation industry revolves around certain local, state, and federal laws that protect heritage and historic sites. The most comprehensive of these is the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. There are also state and local ordinances that also address historic preservation. Federal, state, and local governments, along with private developers, often enlist historians and public History professionals to help comply with these regulations. Most large infrastructure projects (roads, mines, pipelines, energy development) have a historic preservation component.
Derek Catsam
Professor of History and Kathlyn Cosper Dunagan Professor in the HumanitiesUniversity of Texas of the Permian Basin
History Department
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Historians?
Derek Catsam: Undoubtedly there will be, and probably already is, some impact that will endure for a while. I would imagine that the data on employment for recent graduates will be a reasonable example of a lagging indicator -- as it is, it sometimes takes a little bit of time for recent college graduates to find jobs, so my guess is that we will really be learning about the impact of all of this in the years and months to come. Most institutions are actually not great at tracking graduate job outcomes, so a lot of what you get may well be anecdotal.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Historians to find work opportunities?
Derek Catsam: Obviously, the harder a place was hit, the more constricted the job market. There are places that truly did lockdown, and the economic impact (and the lag in recovery) have been hard hit but may well see a better recovery down the road. Some of the places that shut down late and less intensely have found that the virus has hit in waves and may last longer. The entire country was hit hard, but some a lot less hard than others. I think the real insecurity will come when COVID-19 continues to hit intermittently. A good number of our students want to be teachers, and that sector always seems to be hiring because, in many places, there are shortfalls, though what a rough time it is to be a first-time teacher, trying to figure out a new career and figuring out how to do so in whole or in part remotely!
How do you envision technology impacting Historians in the next 5 years?
Derek Catsam: So my discipline is History, which means students take a whole wide range of jobs that may or may not be in "History" per se, but that utilize the skills we try to impart -- critical thinking, analytical ability, the ability to read closely and to write effectively, the ability to communicate verbally, and so forth -- and so how technology impacts that field will be wildly variable. My guess is that remote meeting apps/websites like Zoom and Teams will become a greater part of our lives, and there may well be more fluidity for people with regard to being able to work remotely (which also may be especially valuable for folks who have long sought ADA accommodations to work remotely full- or part-time). Meanwhile, even before COVID, technology was constantly evolving, and alongside that evolution, our use of and need for and adaptability to technology.
What general advice would you give to a Historian?
Dr. Neal Palmer Ph.D.: I think the pandemic will affect history graduates in many of the same ways it will affect graduates in any major. I hope they will be struck, hopefully, humbled by the power of the natural environment to dictate the terms on which humanity can function. I also hope that it teaches the importance of group cohesion and cooperation in confronting problems. If this happens, I think it could have long-range effects on the personal and political behavior of these graduates as they confront future environmental and social challenges. If you are asking about the more mundane question of jobs, I think history majors should fair well in the post-pandemic world. History majors leave college with communication and thinking skills that will help them adapt and succeed in a fast-changing and unpredictable world.
Dr. Michael Workman
Associate ProfessorWest Virginia State University
Department of History & Political Science
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Historians?
Dr. Michael Workman: I'm afraid that the Covid-19 pandemic already has affected our History graduates here at WVSU in a big way. Some have delayed plans for grad school; others are hunkering-down and delaying job searches. Those who have taken teaching positions face hurdles reaching students remotely. And, those who are engaged in research and writing find themselves unable to travel to perform research at various archives. But, I seriously doubt that these impacts will be enduring. This storm cloud may have a silver lining of sorts because many have further developed their computer skills and learned how to access information remotely.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Historians to find work opportunities?
Dr. Michael Workman: A History Degree at WVSU equips students for a variety of work opportunities--not just in the field of history. Graduates learn about U.S. & World history, but they also develop skills in research and analysis, writing and argument, as well as presentations that are valuable in many fields, including government and politics, education, and even business. Teaching and working for local, state, and federal government agencies will remain the main fields for our history graduates. And, with the American public's growing appreciation for history, our graduates will find jobs in historic preservation and interpretation.
Living in a mostly rural state does limit the number of new jobs available, so some graduates will find their way to more urbanized areas, where salaries are usually higher as well.
We've also found that some of our graduates truly love our state and are willing to stay and work here, albeit at lower salaries, because of the high
quality of life, and family-like relations.
How do you envision technology impacting Historians in the next 5 years?
Dr. Michael Workman: Information technology will continue to have a major impact on history. What has happened in the last thirty years or so with the digitization of information has changed the whole landscape of history. We can now do research on national and international subjects through the internet, which was not available when I matriculated back in the Stone Age.
One of our students is studying various aspects of the Protestant Reformation by accessing records in Scotland from a PC in his basement! Storage of digital information has enabled some of us to clear the paper-clutter in our offices. This trend will no doubt continue, though I fear that accessing digital information will become more difficult as providers erect barriers and monetize access.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Historians?
Doug Page Ph.D.: That is difficult to say. What I imagine might be a short-term shifting of in-demand fields so that our current technology needs might be better addressed. This would include further development and support of software that enables us to meet virtually. That said, History graduates, like others who study within the Humanities, are well-situated to engage in a broad range of areas given the breadth of their education.
While History is topic-specific, it offers training and practice in those skills that are desired and allow one to move in the worlds of business, industry, education, law, museums, and others. And, luckily for History graduates, much of the work in all of those fields can be done virtually. Indeed, some exciting and innovative things have been done by museums, especially that makes it possible for more people than ever to "visit" these museums; this could be a big new avenue for History graduates.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Historians to find work opportunities?
Doug Page Ph.D.: As I indicated, there is a broad range of occupations that a History graduate can pursue. These opportunities tend to present themselves more apparently in metro areas where the skill sets of graduates can be best utilized. However, if some of the fields in which History majors flourish retain some virtual presence that pushes into bigger cities could lessen.
How do you envision technology impacting Historians in the next 5 years?
Doug Page Ph.D.: Our technology is changing and becoming more sophisticated at such a rapid pace; it is challenging to imagine what it will bring to the field of History. I can imagine improvements in the delivery of historical materials in places like the classroom, but also in museums, archives, and libraries. Archival preservation and retrieval are bound to improve, benefitting the public world of libraries and museums, but also corporate and governmental offices as well. If we are extremely lucky, such growing access could create a more informed citizenry dedicated to using all that History can teach us about ourselves and how to best work together for progress.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Historians?
Benjamin Scharff Ph.D.: It is impossible to gauge at this time what enduring impact the pandemic might have. Obviously, the immediate impact of high unemployment on recent graduates who are unlikely to have much professional experience is profound. As society and the economy rebuild and reinvent themselves during whatever recovery is to come, I would place my bets on History and other liberal arts majors being ideally suited to thrive. Their broad and flexible skillsets will allow them to fulfill a variety of needs that may be more difficult for graduates trained to do specific jobs in pre-professional programs to do.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Historians to find work opportunities?
Benjamin Scharff Ph.D.: History majors develop a broad range of skills that do well anywhere with a dynamic, robust, and healthy economy. If they plan on pursuing a degree in the field, they are better off searching in states that invest in and emphasize our civic institutions (schools, museums, etc.).
How do you envision technology impacting Historians in the next 5 years?
Benjamin Scharff Ph.D.: Technology evolves so quickly that it is difficult to imagine exactly how it will impact the field. However, the general trend has been an increasing emphasis on digital humanities. Graduates will therefore be more digitally literate than in the past.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Historians?
Dr. Timothy Roberts: The coronavirus, of course, has affected education profoundly by accelerating, at least at the moment, the trend away from face-to-face learning and towards distance learning. That transition will hurt students' learning experience, in my opinion, although, besides allowing classes to occur with safe social distancing, distance learning allows nearly anyone with a computer and internet service to take (or, though it's a different kind of hazard, offer) courses.
I think it's easy to imagine that high school and college students who navigate education substantially through online courses will become more independent or self-reliant and tech-savvy. Those are the benefits. The risks are that they may not have the chance to interact with and learn from other students in the class, and not ever experience or be rewarded for learning in any formal setting - a campus, a library, a classroom, a professor's office, a graduation ceremony.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Historians to find work opportunities?
Dr. Timothy Roberts: Job-rich areas in history traditionally have been in cities, like other jobs. But again, as distance learning and jobs-from-home become more common, cities may not be as attractive. Some American cities are already seeing a "brain drain." In the last few decades, high school teaching jobs have ebbed and flowed; currently, there is a shortage of qualified teachers, not only in STEM but also in history, in some parts of the country, believe it or not. Reforms are being discussed in some states that that raise high school teachers' salaries, which will create opportunities for qualified new graduates.
How do you envision technology impacting Historians in the next 5 years?
Dr. Timothy Roberts: Probably more than in teaching, in the last few years, public history jobs - archivists, curators, librarians, website developers, social media bloggers, documentary filmmakers, digital collections, and historic site managers - have become more numerous. Liberal arts graduates with some digital and/or social media skills, as well as strong writing ability for diverse audiences, should be situated well for jobs.
Crystal Sehlke
Program Director,University of Maryland
College of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Historians?
Crystal Sehlke: Almost certainly, but the impact will endure longer in some interest fields than others; for example, the hospitality and travel industries, where the impact has been so devastating, will probably not recover quickly once the pandemic has subsided. However, many fields still need the skills our social science students possess, including their quantitative skills/tools, scientific inquiry, and critical thinking skills, and thus will still have options. The biggest problem will be graduates of 2020 competing head-to-head with graduates of 2021-much like traffic backing up on an overcrowded interstate. Graduates that pivot effectively to other fields will fare better than those who wait for conditions in the primary interest field to improve.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Historians to find work opportunities?
Crystal Sehlke: Some sectors are growing: E-commerce, online services, almost anything related to the delivery of goods. Technology skills will remain in demand, and there is an expanding need for data analytics and people who can extract key messages from masses of data. Another area of rapid expansion is human-focused services that can be delivered remotely, such as telehealth and tele-counseling. The popularity of "remote work" in the job and internship market has exploded out of necessity, and some of our current students have benefited from it by applying for remote internships at jobs at organizations that might have posed a geographic challenge prior to COVID-19.
How do you envision technology impacting Historians in the next 5 years?
Crystal Sehlke: As we've found with our own immediate conversion to remote operations, some of the programs, resources, and services that were previously provided in person have had to evolve into different mediums quickly. Post-pandemic, many of these new resources-e.g., self-help online modules, automated training, AI-driven chatbots-will permanently complement in-person resources, which will become more specialized. Professionals in fields that provide information, consultation, or other in-person services will need to become fluent using these technology-based tools.
