The 5 most enviable careers any Arts degree can land you in
Arts is an incredibly diverse field, and if you are an Arts major, your options are anything but limited. The only catch is that you have to be exceptional in the field you choose, and for this you have to work hard and love your work. Once you channelize your diverse interests, you can build an extremely rewarding career. Following are the hottest career paths you can choose after a degree in any Arts or Humanities subject. Find out what job you should consider by combining your areas of interest and your personal attributes, like this:
1.)
An archivist identifies, conserves, manages and maintains historical and other important records for nations, institutions and individuals. You can even combine another passion you might have, eg., films with archiving to preserve a certain section of heritage (like P.K. Nair who set up the National Film Archive of India). A degree in History, Library Science or Political Science is usually a good starting point. You can even acquire a Bachelor’s degree in Archival Science or a PG certificate in archives from School of Archival Studies, New Delhi, Gujarat Vidyapith, Gujarat and Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu among others. New trends point to a greater demand for making records available in digital format. You can expect to be employed in government service (eg. National Archives of India), with international organizations, in educational institutions, hospitals and in museums, or even with the RBI (example).
2.)
Interpreters convert spoken material from one language to another. In a globalised world where people from different countries co-ordinate, interpreters are in great demand. A certificate, diploma or degree course in a language is usually sufficient. Some institutes which offer courses in foreign languages are Alliance Francaise (French), Max Mueller Bhavan (German) and Jawaharlal Nehru University.You can expect to be employed in MNC’s, the government, publishing houses, and international organizations.
3.)
As a criminologist you will study why crimes are committed, how society reacts to these crimes, which punishments are effective, and how to prevent crime. Even if you haven’t done an undergraduate course in criminology, any Arts degree makes you eligible for a postgraduate course in Criminology. Law students can opt for specialized criminology courses. Some institutes which offer such courses are Aligarh Muslim University, Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Gujarat University. You can expect to be employed in government for policy assessment and advanced teaching and research, in universities, social welfare organizations, remand homes, financial institutions, law firms, CBI, IB and detective agencies. Psychology students will know Hans Eysenck for his famous personality theory; interestingly, Eysenck was a criminologist too.
4.)
A publisher oversees the entire process that goes into making a book—acquiring manuscripts, commissioning them, designing, printing and even marketing them. No specific qualifications are required. On-the-job training is provided by most publishing houses. However, not only must you be good with literature, you must also be good with people. You can set up your own publication agency, freelance, work with private publishing houses, the government, newspapers, magazines and university presses. And no, the end of sentence preposition in the title of this article is not wrong.
5.)
Home décor stylists design everything about a home (or even an office), beginning from the concept to the final touches. You might have to complete a course in interior design and create a portfolio. Some institutes which offer relevant courses are Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT), J.J. School of Arts and National Institute of Fashion Technology. You can start off by associating with an expert and gradually carving your own niche—this job pays very well once you do.
We hope this opens up newer avenues for you to explore. If you have anything to say about these or other careers, do comment!
Image credits: www.animationarchive.org, www.allartschools.com, www.widepr.com, www.ehow.com, www.new.utoronto.ca
