If you have a strong interest in more than one subject, such as the history of art, languages or sociology, rather than a subject relating to a specific area of work, a wide variety of careers will still be open to you after you finish your studies. You’ll also gain useful transferable skills such as the ability to analyse information, solve problems and communicate effectively. There are opportunities to work in industry, commerce, government or the professions as well as the voluntary and charity work sectors.

Alternatively, you may want to pass on your enthusiasm for your subject and work as a lecturer or take on further training to become a teacher.

What areas can I work in?

Graduates in arts, social sciences and languages work in the Civil Service, local government, business, commercial, industrial and managerial posts. Work in advertising and the media attracts some. Others go into marketing or sales. Work in information technology, law, travel and tourism, and culture is also possible.

Courses are split into the following sectors: general, English, history, humanities, languages, politics, religion and sociology.

To see the routes to getting into each of these sectors, take a look at our Career Pathway.

What kind of companies can I work for?

There are a wide range of possible employers including:

• local government or Civil Service
• social work or welfare services
• community or youth work organisations
• broadcasting and media companies
• schools, colleges and universities
• charities and voluntary organisations
• retail and commerce businesses, including sales and marketing
• museums, galleries and heritage organisations.

What’s the job market like?

Due to the extensive areas that arts, social sciences and language graduates can work in, it is beyond the scope of this article to detail the job market prospects for each profession!

However, what is clear from research conducted by the British Academy is that graduates in arts, humanities and social sciences develop a broad range of transferable skills that employers in a wide range of sectors look for. These skills include communication, creativity, research and analysis, decision-making, problem solving and adaptability.

According to the report ‘What do graduates do? (2021/22)’, humanities graduates went into a wide range of professions including education, legal, engineering, marketing, human resources and media, confirming the wide range of employment available.

If you are interested in languages, a competitive area to enter, then according to the European Business Review website, the top 7 languages to study for the best job and career prospects are currently: Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, German, French, Arabic, Russian and Japanese.

Facts and figures

• From the academic year 2018/19, sociology graduates were the most likely to be in full time work fifteen months after graduation, at 50.4%.
• There are three main categories of interpreting work: conference interpreting, business interpreting, and public service interpreting.
• Average starting salaries in the UK for humanities graduates are between £20,446 and £25,656 a year. The higher end of the salary scale is the average for those who chose to undertake postgraduate study.
• Politics graduates had the highest rate of numbers entering Business, HR and Finance Professional roles, at 24%. 49.1% of all politics graduates entered full time employment 15 months after graduating. However, in general, the unemployment rate for politics graduates was higher at 10.6%, compared to the average for graduates of all subjects (8.9%).
• Higher numbers of humanities graduates are likely to enter further study after graduation compared to all other disciplines. For example, 15.6% of history graduates and 12.6% of English graduates went on to further study, compared to the average of 9.4% across all other subject areas.

Want to find out more?

If you are thinking of studying languages, the website 'Why study languages?'  may be of interest.

Sources

• What do graduates do? Prospects in association with AGCAS (2021/22)
• Business Gateway Market Report: Translation and Interpretation (March 2022)
• 7 languages to Learn For Jobs and Career Prospects, The European Business Website (December 2021)
• Qualified for the Future, British Academy Website (August 2020)

Video

Career Pathway