Associate in Humanities

Why would I want a humanities degree?

A degree in humanities will teach you critical skills that are useful in a wide variety of jobs and careers. Some of these skills include writing, analyzing, critical thinking, and understand and interpret relationships among the arts and media. If you want to deepen your understanding of languages and cultures and/or want to improve skills that are critical for a plethora of jobs, then you may want to consider a degree in humanities.

What do people with humanities degrees do?

People who have their degrees in humanities can be found in a variety of jobs and careers. Some of them include teaching, corporate communications, media, arts management, advertising, marketing and sales, social service agencies, law, government, business, and nonprofit agencies. Some of the most common jobs for people with humanities degrees are listed below.

• Humanities Teachers: They teach humanities at all levels of education from secondary school through university. Of course, the higher the grade level that they teach the more education and expertise in a particular field they have.
• Librarians: They are in charge of managing information in libraries. This includes many formats including books, magazines, newspapers, audio recordings, video recordings, maps, manuscripts, photographs, bibliographic databases, web searching, and digital resources.
• Social Workers: They assist people by helping them cope with and solve issues in their everyday lives. Some of the issues may include family relationships, disabilities, life-threatening diseases, inadequate housing, and unemployment.
• Lawyers: They advise, defend, and prosecute people according to the law. They may specialize in one of a variety of fields including prosecuting, criminal defense, business contracts, engineering and other patents, etc.
• Anthropologists: They study humanity. Some of the questions that anthropologists look to answer include: What defines human life and origins? How are social relations among humans organized? Who are the ancestors of modern Homo sapiens? How do humans behave?

How much do people with humanities degrees make?

The median salaries for some of the most common jobs for humanities majors are listed below. This data was taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is based on surveys that were taken in 2019.

*Humanities Teachers: The median annual salary range for teachers who taught in secondary schools was $49,060 to $79,820. For those who taught in colleges and universities, their median annual salary was $79,540.
*Librarians: Their median annual salary was $59,500. The middle 50 percent earned between $46,030 and $75,700. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $33,820, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $94,520.
*Social Workers: Their median annual salary was $50,470 in May 2019. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $31,790, and the top 10 percent earned more than $82,540.
*Lawyers: Their median annual salary was $122,960. The middle half of the occupation earned between $80,950 and $186,350.
*Anthropologists: Their median annual salary was $63,670.

How popular are jobs for people with humanities degrees?

The job outlook and popularity for humanities graduates are good. The growth rate for the most common jobs for humanities graduates ranges between 8 to 16 percent, which is average to a little faster than average than the growth rate among all jobs. Historically these jobs have been steady, and they are projected to continue to be that way into the foreseeable future.

How do I know if a humanities degree is right for me?

There are a few things that you should consider in trying to decide if a humanities degree is right for you. If you are concerned about your future job prospects, you should look at types of employers that hire humanities graduates and see if any of them interest you. Keep in mind that some of the jobs may require additional schooling (i.e. if you want to become a lawyer). Then you should ask yourself if you would enjoy studying the types of subjects that humanities offers (languages, cultures, arts, philosophy, religion, etc.). If you answer in the affirmative to both of those, then a degree in humanities would be a good fit for you.