Careers

CAREERS IN HISTORY?

History ?! What can I do with that?!
History may not seem at first glance like a subject that can lead to many careers... This however is completely wrong!

History is an essential subject with Key skills that are important and valued in a wide range of 21st century jobs. It is in fact the FOURTH greatest subject in demand in N. Ireland today

This part of the website is aimed at showing you just how important history is, what skills it gives you and what jobs it will lead you to. It is here to help and guide you.

Northern Ireland Skills Barometer

Each year the Northern Ireland Executive in Partnership with Ulster University publish a very helpful guide to skills that they regard are the most essential in the new and developing 21st century economy. You can see that Historical studies is currently a top ranked subject at Number 4 on the rankings.

Northern Ireland Skills Barometer - Click to download guide

So what skills can history give you?

History as a subject will provide you with skills that employers both want and need. It is a valued subject in many types of employment.
The ability to ANALYZE information
The ability to form a reasoned ARGUMENT.
The skill of UNDERSTANDING the world around you.
The ability to understand and EMPATHIZE with others of different opinions.
The skill to work as part of a TEAM
The ability to be a LEADER and think for yourself
The skill of EXPRESSING yourself well including good presentation skills.
The key skill of RESEARCHING which is used in so many careers.

Northern Ireland Skills Barometer

Employers RESPECT and VALUE history because of the skills it provides you with. History will therefore open up a lot of different career paths for the future. We have included a few here to help and guide you.

LAW

Law requires an analytical mind and good processing of information. History provides you with this. So if you want to be a solicitor, Barrister or Judge think History.

JOURNALISM

We can only understand the present by understanding the past. Journalism for TV, Internet, magazines or Newspapers is vital to our understanding of the world. History is essential for this understanding.
You could be the next Jeremy Paxman or Natasha Kaplinsky!

CIVIL SERVICE

The Civil Service are the many organisations and departments that the Government uses to run the country. Historical skills are vital.

GOVERNMENT

Government ministers and officials need a huge understanding of the world around them. Many have history backgrounds including former Prime Minister Gordon Brown

BUSINESS

Businesses make up the majority of the Economy. Whether you become a part of a major company or even start your own business History will give you the skills to make Alan Sugar proud! Negotiation skills, the use of facts and figures, understanding and empathy and leadership skills are all part of History.

ARMED FORCES & DIPLOMACY

Our world in the 21st Century is unfortunately never very peaceful. An understanding of what leads to conflict and violence is needed to bring about an end.

Todays armed forces should be based on keeping peace and security in the world

DID YOU KNOW - TOURISM IS NOW ONE OF NORTHERN IRELAND'S MOST IMPORTANT INDUSTRY MAKING MILLIONS OF POUNDS PER YEAR FOR THE ECONOMY - MUCH OF THIS IS LINKED TO LOCAL HISTORY AND THERE ARE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES

HERITAGE & ARCHAEOLOGY

Lagan college is built on a site owned by one of the biggest heritage organisations in the world and one of the UK's major charities - the National Trust. This organisation alone shows the skills and benefits open to those with a History background. It also offers chances for those with a mix of talents for example artistic backgrounds and history can combine well for restoration skills.

TOURISM & GENEALOGY

Tourism makes up about 7% of the world's exports and is a HUGE industry which is constantly expanding and very lucrative. Northern Ireland also has a newly found massive demand for tourism with an explosion in hotels and hospitality as well as the creative industries. History is in high demand and can be very lucrative. City heritage tours, new centres such as Titanic Belfast and HMS Caroline offer lots of new opportunities and our recent sad past is bringing some benefits with Troubles tourism.

One new and hugely expanding global industry is Genealogy - family history. Believe it or not it is the second most commonly searched item on the internet and is worth billions of pounds. With Irish and British connections stretching around the world this is a very lucrative market and career.

DID YOU KNOW : GENEALOGY (FAMILY HISTORY) IS THE SECOND MOST POPULAR SEARCH ON THE INTERNET AND IS WORTH BILLIONS OF POUNDS A YEAR - AND RAPIDLY INCREASING'

FACT: "History is the 7th most popular subject studied at universities in the United Kingdom"

University is the next step for many students in Lagan College. This requires you to study hard at AS/A2 but will open up the prospect of some of the best years of your life, setting you on the road to a fulfilling career.

History can be studied as your Main UNDERGRADUATE degree. This means you study solely History.
It can also be studied as a JOINT HONOURS DEGREE which gives you the option of combining it with another subject (For example doing half History and Half Politics)

Remember History can open a vast array of options for you when looking to take it into University. You can study History purely as an undergraduate course on its own. You can also combine it with other subjects such as archaeology or foreign languages or English language for example. You can also study completely different course in university but with a strong History link for example Politics, international relations, archaeology. The following University links are to some of the top History departments in the British isles. It is not an exhaustive list but it does cover many of the top Universities for History.