What concrete prospects do humanities and social scientists have on the labor market? Where are your chances? And in which areas is the entry particularly important light?

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Humanities and Social Sciences: Non-worldly

The fact is: Humanities scholars and social scientists are by no means as unworldly as they are commonly assumed. Rather, they often possess quite qualificationsthat are in demand on the job market and that were acquired alongside your studies.

These include key qualifications such as time project management, social Competencies, organizational talent and self-organization, the ability to familiarize yourself with new subject areas, even at short notice, mastering research tools, experience in editing, PR and journalism, interpreting and translating, culture and event management and confident handling of the new media.

Why is it so difficult to get started?

So it cannot be because of the knowledge that humanities and social scientists have certain difficulties when starting their careers. In fact, that is Problem Elsewhere: In contrast to doctors or lawyers, they are often not studying for a specific career goal.

As a result, employers have a reputation for being a bit of everything but not doing anything right. In other words, they usually lack a clear profile that lets potential employers see at a glance what the graduate can and can not do!

Perspectives for humanities and social scientists

We have listed some of the possibilities offered by humanities and social scientists in the labor market.

But how are the reasons why it is so hard for humanities and social scientists to find a job? We have analyzed the following:

Do not fit into the grid?

Scientists generally have an absolutely appropriate profile only for the traditional humanities, such as universities, museums or educational institutions. Here, however, funds are missing, places are shortened therefore these areas can not accommodate many graduates.

And it does not look rosy in other areas of the humanities, such as the media or public relations.

New perspectives

But humanities and social scientists have long since ceased to be solely in that Further Training or public relations are good cards, but also in professions that they probably never even dreamed of during their studies: many of them are now also finding their way into human resources, in Advertising and Marketing, at Customer Care, im Sales– or call center management a job.

Some even work in areas that are very far away from their studies, for example, in administration, sales, as an assistant to the management, as a company consultant, at banks, in network administration, as a programmer or web designer or Internet cout in the IT field.

Successful in niches

Again and again the media report on examples of individual humanities scholars and social scientists who have such niches successfully could find: For example, Rüdiger Booz, head of human resources at Renault and studied history, or Peter Stuckenberger, speechwriter at Siemens and doctorate in art history.

One also reads more and more often about patchwork careers, in which graduates work in several very different careers in the course of their professional lives Industries and areas of responsibility. Such examples show that the professional fields for humanities scholars and social scientists have become more diverse. And so there is also one Strategy, which leads to a successful career start, but instead numerous, individual options.

Purposefully seek companies that hire humanities and social scientists

Anyone looking for a job should search for it Companys Keep an eye out for those who also hire humanities and social scientists. Information about this is usually provided by the companies themselves or their website. One should also deliberately look for companies outside the cultural sector that also employ humanities and social scientists.

These include, for example, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Union Investment, Deutsche Bank or Citigroup in the financial sector or Boston Consulting, Roland Berger, Kienbaum or McKinsey in the consulting area. But also internationally known brands such as Coca Cola, Nestle or Procter and Gamble are specifically looking for humanities scholars, because they hope for fresh wind and information from them.

From abroad?

Speaking of international: one Alternatives Foreign companies are entering the German-speaking labor market, especially in the Anglo-Saxon countries, because these are due to their more liberal corporate culture, the career changers in the Economy targeted, more open to humanities scholars and social scientists.

Incidentally, this also applies to branches of these companies in Germany. This explains, for example, the career path of a philologist who, thanks to her excellent knowledge of three languages, was able to join a well-known British bank in the field of stock trading. The commercial, which is so often valued in German-speaking countries Background, which represents a hurdle for many humanities scholars. was taught part-time.

Alternative business creation

An increasingly popular alternative to the lengthy and often frustrating Job Search is the business start-up: Humanities and social sciences scholars make their mark primarily in the service sectors of culture, media, Consulting, IT, translation, Education or science independently.

The motives for starting a business are different: for some, the decision grown slowly, for others self-employment is only an emergency solution in the absence of other alternatives. As a self-employed person, you have to take care of legal matters and insurance yourself and usually have no legal entitlement to vacation. The fees sometimes have to be collected in lengthy dunning procedures at the district court.

Personal competencies important

Personal skills are essential for a successful Foundation particularly important: this plays on the University acquired specialist knowledge only plays a subordinate role. Rather, important key qualifications are negotiation skills, a sense of responsibility, flexibility, self-discipline and diligence.

Equally important to the stressful working day of a business founder, however, are also some skills on which a self-responsible study of humanities studies is excellently prepared:

At the beginning is the business plan

Starting a business usually begins with a business idea, which is best laid down in a business plan. Only then do all the legal ones follow steps. It's not complicated at first, when you start small. The real difficulty lies in getting through the first few years, in which the new company has to establish itself in the market.

It is important to persevere despite setbacks and to see your own mistakes as an opportunity to learn something new. If you still have the hope of a permanent position in the back of your mind, you should look for a suitable job right away. It's much more motivating to keep coming forward Eyes to lead, why one is self-employed and what advantages this Status brings.

Realize your own ideas

Many start-ups value it about having their own ideas realize and yourself to organize to be able to.

In return, they accept the higher workload. Because: Anyone who becomes self-employed has to be constantly and again ready to provide their services merchandise. Any restraint is out of place, because the best work is worthless if it is not presented appropriately!