Career Directions: History graduates regularly gain admission to graduate programs, and/or employment in teaching, law and paralegal work, business, journalism, government, library and archival work, museums and historic sites, the foreign service, public relations, non-profit organizations and a variety of other areas. Each student’s own specific career interests will determine which major is best for her. A glance at our file of some 300 History graduates and their careers will encourage you.

Teaching in the Public Schools:  Many of our majors have gone on to find very satisfying careers teaching in the public schools.  Please contact Dr. McElreath or Dr. Novak if you have questions about this.  Be certain to consult the web site of the Department of Education for additional information.

Perhaps the best way to consider your options is to look at what our majors have done in the past. Surveys conducted six months after graduation over the past ten years show that our majors found a wide variety of first jobs.

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BUSINESS 38%
Most jobs for students in all majors are in business. Most people working in business majored in something else in college. There is strong evidence that over the course of their careers liberal arts and social science graduates do as well, if not better, than those with business degrees. Some jobs found by our students in the past ten years are:

Human Resources	Northern Telecom
International Agent	American Airlines
Advertising Director	Goose Creek Gazette
Management Trainee	Sears
Claims Adjuster	Great American Insurance
Systems Engineers	IBM

LAW 16%
In addition to those students who go to law school, many found jobs right out of college, or after a one semester paralegal certification program. In addition to working in many of the large and small law firms in the state and corporate legal departments, our graduates have found other law related jobs such as:

Law Library	US Court of Appeals
Victim/Witness Coordinator	District Attorney, Oxford
Claims Trust Representative	Dalcon Shield Trust

TEACHING 16%
Our graduates found teaching jobs all over North Carolina as well as in Kearney, NJ, Tucson, AZ and Courtland, VA.

GOVERNMENT 14%
Our graduates found jobs working for a wide range of government agencies and public officials.

Research Assistant	Governor of NC
Membership Manager	NC Museum of History
Revenue Officer	Internal Revenue Service
Staff Assistant	Senator Sanford, Rep Charlie Rose
Assistant Planner	Onslow County
EEO Officer	NC Dept of Transportation
Editorial Assistant	Historical Publications

FURTHER EDUCATION 9%
Many graduates in all majors find that they need further education to achieve their career goals. Recent graduates have pursued further education at the following institutions: 

M.A. History	NC State
Law	UNC, Campbell, Wake Forest
M.A. International Studies	USC
M.A. Public Administration	NC State, American
M.A. Social Work	UNC

NON-PROFIT 7%
Some graduates found work in the non-profit sector.

Accounting Clerk	Instrument Society of America
Associate Director	United Way of Goldsboro
Development Coordinator	NC Center for Public Policy
Admissions Counselor	Meredith College

THE SECRET TO FINDING A JOB
Students who major in History, Politics, American Studies, and International Studies find jobs almost everywhere. But you do not maximize your opportunities by "leaving your options open." The secret to landing your first job is to decide what you mean to do and then design a program to get there. Your major is an important element of this program but it is not the only one. Also important are your minor, part-time jobs, internships, co-ops, volunteer work and extra curricular activities. The faculty of the Department of History and Politics at Meredith can help you design a program to achieve your goals. Call or come by if you would like to talk about your future. You should also consider accessing the database of the Meredith Connection. This searchable database serves as a network of alumnae, faculty and friends who have volunteered to assist Meredith graduates in their choice of a career.