If you’re getting your degree this month or are new to the workforce, it can be daunting to try and figure out just what you want to do if you haven’t studied a specific science or other area for entry into a particular field. Sure, you went to school and may have tried out a job or two, but unless you studied a specific field such as law, teaching or medicine and intend to go right into practicing that profession or to graduate school, it can be hard to determine what’s good for you.
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When figuring out how to turn your education into a career, write down what you enjoy most. It could be anything from working with people to being out in nature to writing. If you’re stuck, think about what you liked to do when you were young, whether sports, arts or other hobbies, or subjects you liked as a young student. This is not to say you’ll end up working in one of these areas, but it’s good to then take it a step further and ask yourself a more difficult question: Why exactly did you like that particular activity? With this in mind, it may get you closer to figuring out what skills you have and like to exercise, and thus what skills you should focus on using in a job. Below are examples of common areas that liberal arts majors enter, and what passions and skills you need to succeed in these professions.
Media and Communications. Nearly every organization has communications specialists, including public relations agencies, hospitals, nonprofits and corporations. Many media and communications professionals are entry-level workers. If you’re a good writer (and you enjoy it) or you’re a social media fanatic, this may be for you. They’re always looking for entry-level digital and traditional media specialists. If you have knowledge of software design programs or HTML, this may be a good option since some roles require you to develop newsletters, websites and other marketing products.
Operations. This is such a broad area of business that it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what an operations specialist does, since it varies by company. It could be anything from managing an office to coordinating shipments for a company to vendors or to customers. No matter what the specific tasks are, these jobs require strong attention to detail and organizational and interpersonal skills.
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Sales. There continues to be a high demand for business-to-business sales representatives because of the aging sales workforce. Working with people and customer service skills are key here. You can find sales roles in a wide variety of industries, which gives you more opportunities, as well as the ability to find one that you feel passionate about (e.g., finance, real estate or health care), so that you’d do well at selling it.
Executive assistant. These positions sometimes have a bad rap because people label them as secretarial. While they may contain some elements of clerical work, the majority also require so much more. Not only will you be working with a high-powered executive and learning about all facets of business, you will also be interacting with her network. What you can learn from seeing how things work from the top, to the connections you develop for your onward career is priceless. Many of these jobs would be more appropriately labeled chief of staff. If you have initiative, a positive attitude, communication and organizational skills, this job may be a good fit for you.
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Insurance claims adjuster. These jobs abound and can be on-site or remote, making them fairly flexible. Also, if you’re willing to or prefer to work irregular hours — that is, not 9-to-5 — this may be a good route for you. Problem-solvers with customer service skills do well in these roles. With so many types of insurance these days, you can apply to jobs across many industries. You will not only learn about insurance, you will also learn a great deal about human resources, legal and compliance issues, which will be great for your resume when you apply to other jobs in the future.
Data analytics. If you enjoyed studying math, economics or a quantitative science, you should consider a career in data analytics. People who like finding trends in numbers will like this type of role, and these jobs have been in high demand for a while now. You can find data analytics roles in all kinds of industries, which gives you the opportunity to explore different areas of the workforce, and see what other jobs are available within an organization that may be of interest to you.
To find out salary ranges for these jobs, you can use Indeed or Glassdoor to look for your location (or where you’re willing to relocate) and job type. This should give you an idea of salary ranges for these jobs. Remember that the first steps that you take in your career are not career-defining. It is completely normal to go through several different careers as a liberal arts grad, and exploration at the beginning is expected, as it helps you define what you really want to be doing each day.
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Great Jobs for Entry-Level Professionals With Liberal Arts Degrees originally appeared on usnews.com
