Career Options for Humanities Students: Salary, Roles & Responsibility, Growth

Author : Palak Khanna

June 25, 2024

Reader's Digest: Searching for the Best Career Options For Humanities Students? Read the blog for the most successful Courses, Salary & Growth.

When it comes to choosing a career path, humanities students often find themselves at a crossroads. The age-old debate of practicality versus passion rages on, and the pressure to make the right choice can be confusing.

But here's the good news: there is a wealth of exciting and fulfilling career options for humanities graduates.

So, what does it mean for us if we think about career options for humanities students? The short answer is that the sky is the limit for students who select humanities as their subject for high school education.

Whether you're an aspiring philosopher, historian, or linguist, this guide will help you navigate the landscape of career opportunities and make informed decisions about your future.

Here are the topics to be discussed in this blog:

Top Reasons to Choose Humanities as a Career: Delve into the unique advantages and personal fulfilment of pursuing a humanities-based career.
List of the Best Career Options for Humanities Students: Explore a comprehensive list of exciting career paths, including some you might not have considered before.

Why Choose Humanities as a Career Option?

There are several skills that this field provides students with, such as:

Critical thinking: The ability to interpret information and arguments, identify bias or come to conclusions.
Problem-solving: The ability to identify and solve problems creatively and analytically.
Research: The ability to collect, evaluate and apply information from a variety of sources for both literary and audio-visual information, it is essential to have the ability to write clearly and effectively.
Creativity: The ability to think creatively and develop new ideas.
Interpersonal Skills: The ability to work effectively with others, listen to different perspectives, and build relationships.
Empathy: The ability to understand and share the feelings of others.
Cultural Awareness: The ability to appreciate and understand different cultures, etc.

What are the Best Career Options for Humanities Students?

Let's start with some traditional career fields for students from the Humanities stream.

Career Option #1 - Law

If you are a rule follower, then Law, as in the realm of career options for humanities students in India, the legal profession is a formidable choice.

A jurisprudential journey offers a profound intellectual expedition through the intricacies of law. This field welcomes individuals with a penchant for analytical thinking, persuasive discourse, and an unwavering commitment to justice.

Career Option	Pay Scale (INR)	Qualifications Required	Growth Opportunities	Academic Institutions
Law and Legal Studies	4,00,000 - 20,00,000	Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree	Specialize in legal fields, become law firm partners, pursue judiciary.	Law schools and universities are offering LLB programs.

Career Option #2 - Educator

If you have the mind of an educator, then career options for Humanities students are diverse for you owing to your interpersonal skills with a deep sense of sociological responsibility and awareness, making you a great fit for being the following:

Educators include school faculties, college lecturers, teaching aids, professors of various specializations, etc.
Researchers for various fields like education, statistics, history, psychology, etc., to name a few.

Refer to the table below:

Career Option	Pay Scale	Qualifications	Growth Opportunities	Academic Institutions
Academia & Research	3,00,000 - 12,00,000 INR	Master's degree, Ph.D.	Tenured positions, departmental leadership roles, and academic influence.	NLSIU Bangalore, NALSAR Hyderabad, and others; Traditional Law Colleges: Delhi University, Mumbai University, and more

Check Out - CBSE Class 12 Humanities Subjects List 2023-24

Career Option #3 - Social Worker

The fields of politics and social work, although separate, often tend to coincide. As humanities students, you are better able to understand human psychology, have empathy and a deep understanding of society from its roots to its latest trends, giving you a unique perspective thus creating career options for humanities students mentioned in the table below:

Career Option	Pay Scale	Qualifications Required	Growth Opportunities	Academic Institutions
Social Work & Non-Profit Sector	2,40,000 - 5,00,000 INR	Passion for social causes, advocacy, and support skills	Specialize in social issues and ascend to managerial positions.	Universities and colleges offer social work programs.

Career Option #4 - History

The career options for humanities students are many owing to the unique advantage of knowledge of this discipline, mentioned in the table below:

Career Option	Pay Scale (INR)	Qualifications Required	Growth Opportunities	Academic Institutions
Historians, archeologists, linguistics specialist	₹3,00,000 to ₹8,00,000 per year	Bachelors, Master's degree, Ph.D. (optional)	Academia, Government, Museums and Cultural Institutions, Computational Linguistics	Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, University of Calcutta, University of Delhi etc

Career Option #5 - Social Worker

If you are a creative person with a poet's soul, then a career in Writing is just what you need. The career options for humanities students are diverse and interesting in this field.

As you are trained to not only read and understand but also express yourself well, professions that you can branch out into the following:

Career Option	Pay Scale	Qualifications Required	Growth Opportunities	Academic Institutions
Media & Journalism	2,40,000 - 8,00,000 INR	Analytical skills, critical thinking	Become editors and news directors, specialising in investigative journalism.	Universities and colleges offer journalism and media studies programs.

Career Option #6 - Entrepreneur

If you have the mind of a Businessperson, the career options for humanities students in this field are plenty. With your understanding of human society and psychology, you can work in a range of business positions mentioned below:

Career Option	Pay Scale	Qualifications Required	Growth Opportunities	Academic Institutions
Public Relations and Communications	3,00,000 - 10,00,000 INR	Effective communication, language proficiency	Ascend to senior PR management, crisis communication, and corporate leadership.	Institutes offering PR and communications courses.

Check More - Best Arts and Humanities Courses After 12th

Career Option #7 - Defence

Service to the Motherland: A Voyage into Civil and Defense Services- It is one of the most common career options for humanities students; by appearing in competitive examinations, you can work for the Administrative as well as Defense wing of our nation, mentioned below:

Career Option	Pay Scale	Qualifications Required	Growth Opportunities	Academic Institutions
Foreign Service and Diplomacy	5,00,000 - 20,00,000 INR	Understanding of global affairs, cultural awareness	Serve in higher-ranking diplomatic missions and become ambassadors.	Institutions providing training for diplomatic careers.

Career Option #8 - Liberal Arts

If you are an artist at heart, then the Field of liberal arts is just the right fit for you- Another one of the popular career options for humanities students wherein you can use your creativity and critical thinking skills to work in the field of arts, such as:

Career Option	Pay Scale	Qualifications Required	Growth Opportunities	Academic Institutions
Art and Cultural Management	2,40,000 - 6,00,000 INR	Understanding of arts, history, and cultural contexts	Advance to leadership positions and influence cultural policy.	Universities and institutions offer programs in art and cultural management.

Career Option #9 - Journalism

Master of Mass Media and Communication not only is it a vast field, but armed with the skills you possess, the career options for humanities students can also be many, such as mentioned in the table below:

Career Option	Pay Scale	Qualifications	Growth Opportunities	Academic Institutions
Mass Media & Communication	₹3,00,000 - ₹5,00,000 INR	Bachelor's degree in PR, Mass Communication	Progression to senior PR management, crisis communication, corporate communications leadership, or branching into related fields like marketing.	Xavier Institute of Communications (XIC), Mumbai - Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi, Various institutions offering PR and communications programs.

Career Option #10 - Content Creation & Writing

As a career option for humanities students, content creation is a great new avenue of opportunities mentioned in the table below:

Career Option	Pay Scale	Qualifications Required	Growth Opportunities	Academic Institutions
Content Creation & Writing	Entry-Level: ₹2,00,000 - ₹4,80,000	Bachelor's degree in journalism, English, literature, or related field.	Diversifying into specialized writing (e.g., technical writing, content strategy), content management, or freelance writing.	Various universities and colleges offer courses in writing and content creation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, embarking on a journey through innumerous possibilities and career options for humanities students transcends tradition. Here are the key takeaways:

Humanities education equips students with valuable skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, research, creativity, and empathy.
Career options for humanities students are diverse, including law, education, politics, social work, history, writing, business, civil and defence services, liberal arts, mass media, and digital creation.
Humanities graduates can pursue careers as lawyers, educators, researchers, social workers, politicians, historians, writers, marketers, public relations consultants, and more.
Opportunities in mass media and communication, digital content creation, and virtual reality are expanding, offering exciting prospects for humanities students.
The ability to understand and appreciate different cultures and perspectives is a significant asset for humanities professionals in our interconnected world.
Humanities students can make a positive impact on society by contributing their unique skills and knowledge to various fields.

So, feel free to ask questions, delve into new paths, and set out on a voyage to know yourself better. Your future is more than work—it's your passion, interests and your life, so choose well. And if you need career guidance (tap here), join our career counselling webinars to know more.

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