I'm finding it hard to look for jobs after my degree

I finished university this year with an overall 2:1 in History

I'm proud of what I have achieved and history is my main passion which is why I studied it and it comes with a great number if skills for employment however I'm just struggling to find anything near where I live (West Yorkshire)

I did a work placement in my second year in a museum/archive and really enjoyed it so I have mainly been looking for jobs in museums and archives (my ideal job) near me for archive roles but there aren't any

I also really like the idea of archaeology but it's not clear how I get into a career of archaeology and any jobs I do find they obviously want experience but I'm unsure where to get the experience from

I don't know I'm just finding it confusing, teaching is another obvious route but it's not my type of thing and I lack the confidence to teach I have ASD so struggle socially. I would feel more comfortable in a university setting but that requires me doing a MA and PHD which will take a while but would be worth it

I don't know I'm just finding it confusing, I was going to do a History Taught MA this September but the course got cancelled so now I feel left out in a way everyone is starting or going back and I'm not

Reply 1

kitkatya789

Hi, I'm in a similar boat. I want to enter the nuclear industry and graduated with an integrated masters and I applied to so many roles during my final year and never made it past the final stage in many assessment centres etc despite having done 2 placements. I also have ADHD so I can understand a little bit on why teaching is not something you'd want to go down. I'm also not going to find any nuclear roles or even science roles in my area. I'm a bit sad as i know many (and seen on linkedin) many people starting their graduate roles or companies posting posts about them welcoming their new intake whearas i'm stuck at home with now no income.

I definitely wouldn't jump into a master's ensure you know what you're signing up for / is there a job / progression after it and can you finance it (as you can get a post grad loan but if your course is expensive you may not have enough to finance the living costs).

I'm trying to find any random job in my home area for now, whilst reapplying to nuclear roles again, and possibly trying to upskill with online courses whilst considering my future options, perhaps you could try to do something similar.

As for something more specific to your situation, i think research is key on other things you could do with your degree that you like / or is a realistic job you can get out of it and earn money and obviously finding something you like. If archaeology is now something you want to go down i'm sure you can find another course? i've found that if you email university admissions (for masters courses they tend to have an email/admin) they can give you more information and if you request to speak to one of the lecturers etc they more then likely will be happy to help and the admin staff may forward their email to you. I think that's probably the best option to try and speak to a lecturer in the field and perhaps even speak to for example museum staff and how they got the job etc.

I hope this helps, i'm pretty down about my situation rn so I just felt like I'd reply unfortunately i think lots of us are in a similar boat and some of us have additional stresses like ASD etc which makes it harder. I hope everything works out, I keep telling myself and was often advised by my mother in the past to just take your time. It may be hard right now but taking a year out isn't the worst thing to do and many struggle to get a job straight away. good luck :smile: