The career entry for humanities scholars has traditionally been difficult. However, digitization also offers new opportunities. And can a Ph.D Job Search make it easier or even make it more difficult?

What's your story

Everything a matter of perspective

Children answer the question that is often asked by those around them, "What do you want to be when you grow up?", mostly with naive wishful thinking like an engine driver and a pirate, which of course has little future prospects. As a humanities student, this question comes up again, albeit in light modified form. There isn't a party where a puzzled mechanical engineering student, who says he doesn't even know that you can study something like this at all, doesn't ask: "And what do you do with it when you're done?"

As a person affected, one tries to avoid this question, because one often cannot answer it oneself, not without the ironic hint that if necessary, drive a taxi or marry rich Alternatives if nothing had changed in this situation by the end of your studies. There seem to be quite a few who seriously consider the perspectives of modern piracy again after graduating, and the cliché of the taxi driver with a university degree, or even a doctorate, is particularly widespread among humanities scholars.

A science in itself

Nevertheless, one fifth of all students choose a humanities subject or maybe that's why? To find out, I looked around a bit and stumbled over Fabian Kuhn. Fabian studies history and cultural studies at the University of Karlsruhe and then at the HU in Berlin.

He is currently writing his dissertation and asked himself this very question, which seems to be asked by the majority of students: How are things going after that Study further? Fabian explained to me explicitly where exactly the humanities students are headed afterwards.

The danger of getting stuck in college

A humanities degree normally has a standard period of study of 10 semesters. There is hardly anyone who is overwhelmed by the workload and there is enough time for student activities. Stays abroad, internships and parties that you will never experience again make life as a student bearable. If you get the right one Balance and attitude, your studies can turn into the most beautiful years of your life.

The danger of getting stuck should not be underestimated and semester numbers of over 20 are not exceptional cases. Many settle into their comfortable university biotope in search of future prospects and themselves. Things only get serious afterwards. Suddenly you hold your master's, diploma or exam in the Hand and a big black hole opens in front of you.

More abstract than other professional images

Humanities job descriptions are much more abstract than those of other disciplines. who medicine, Marketing or mechanical engineering, by definition, has a specific career in mind Eyes and the degree programs are designed to be correspondingly stringent. The percentage of German, history and philosophy students who did not have a clear idea of ​​their professional career during their studies Future have is certainly high.

The spongy profession, however, carries both evil and opportunity at the same time. A study of the humanities gives a greater general knowledge than a study of economics or natural sciences, and personal inclinations and interests are encouraged and satisfied to a greater degree. The motives for the selection of students are, therefore, unambiguous. In contrast, salary expectations, career chances, and thus the longing for professional and financial security, are in the background.

Digitization and its opportunities

The ambiguous job attributions - very few employers are looking for a Germanist or a philosopher - have the advantage of being universally applicable. A law student usually becomes a lawyer, as do biologists, physicists and dentists. As a humanities scholar, the professional fields are broader. Many find a job in journalism after graduating or work in public relations and PR. Publishers, agencies, theaters and other cultural institutions are often Workplace for Germanists, historians and political scientists. Self-employment is widespread among humanities scholars, especially in the areas of editorial, proofreading and translation work.

In the meantime, however, humanities scholars are also opening up fields for which they were not originally intended. industry and Economy are now increasingly resorting to graduates in the humanities, since the skills trained during the course of study, which above all relate to demanding writing and public speaking and presenting, are neglected in disciplines such as economics, computer science and business administration. Especially in the commercial sector, what Advertising and marketing, the number of humanities graduates is increasing.

Many paths lead to success

Ultimately, the different lead ways into employment, humanities graduates generally have good prospects for the future, although admittedly they need a little longer than graduates from other disciplines to find the right place for them. On average, the earnings for graduates in the humanities are lower than those in other disciplines, but maybe that's not the case for everyone Money the measure of all things.

For all those who have no idea of ​​their professional future at the end of their studies, there is the possibility of delaying this decision-making process in the form of a doctorate. But that should be well thought out. What is initially perceived by you as a kind of hard shoulder to take your foot off the gas, take a deep breath, tidy up the trunk and continue the journey to plan, soon develops into a tunnel, at the end of which not a hint of a ray of light can be seen. The fat years are definitely over.

Why a doctorate?

But why should you even consider a doctorate? Maybe that's why: The doctorate doesn't just include a concentrated amount Background and diligence, he is quite simply a coveted companion in naming. And it obviously requires years of study.

But if you don't have one klare If you want to define the term in your studies and become a dentist or a physicist, what can you achieve with all the other doctoral degrees in today's professional world? So does the title deliver what it promises?

Is a promotion really going on?

The average of a humanities doctorate is depending on Discipline and location between five and ten years. Who, for purely time-strategic reasons, in the hope that one day an apple will fall from the tree of knowledge Head flies, takes the path of a doctorate should save himself this martyrdom. Five years of study have nothing in common with five years of work on a dissertation.

The most striking difference: you have neither time nor money. As a student, parents or student loans ensure a relatively carefree life and personal life Stress is within manageable limits with a workload of 20 semester hours per week. However, your parents usually only finance your doctoral work if your name is Rockefeller, and therefore you have to take care of it yourself Financing To take care of.

A promotion well superior

While it is customary in the scientific field to promote in one place, doctoral degrees in the humanities are extremely rare. You can, of course, try to get a scholarship, but this is not easy either. In the end, many people only have the opportunity to go to work and this costs a lot of time, which increases the duration of the doctoral program.

Sure, "Doctor" sounds very cool, but you shouldn't do this to yourself for reasons of prestige, because the complexity of a dissertation will overwhelm you if you don't tackle this project consistently.