Arts and Humanities Professions

The arts and humanities degrees comprise a wide range of academic disciplines that focus on the exploration and understanding of human culture, expression, and creativity. These interdisciplinary degrees allow students to engage in art, literature, philosophy, ethnic studies, and history. These degrees in arts and humanities open doors to an array of career paths such as education, publishing, museum curation, media, writing, and other creative industries. Many possess many valuable skills that involve problem-solving and communication. Today we’ll explore some different arts and humanities professions.

Journalists

A journalist investigates and reports news stories for various media outlets. Journalism involves gathering, analyzing, and disseminating of news and information to the public. Journalists play a crucial role in presenting public information through current events. Occasionally, they interview experts, witnesses, or people involved in or knowledgeable about a certain story. Research and investigation of topics leads to fact-checking information and then news writing. Being a journalist requires a combination of communication and adaptability skills.

Teachers

Teachers have humanities degrees. They have multifaceted professions that involve educating students in their academic development. Additionally, the school fosters students’ social and personal development outside of the home. Being a teacher involves subject mastery of the subjects they teach. They use this mastery to plan curricula and build instructional materials and activities that align with educational objectives. Teaching is not just educational instruction, but a combination of interpersonal and intrapersonal skills such as patience and effective communication.

Librarians

Another art and humanities profession is librarian. Librarians manage and organize informational resources within an educational setting. They are fantastic researchers as well. Many are experts in reference assistance in research as well as information literacy instructions, teaching others how to find and evaluate information effectively. Librarians organize materials through cataloging systems as well as maintain accurate records of the library’s resources. More importantly, they aid in electronic databases, technology integration, and archiving and preservation of materials.

Therapists

Therapists help individuals and groups navigate through psychological, emotional, and behavioral challenges. In turn, they promote positive mental health and well-being. By using psychotherapy as their main modality, they also assess and evaluate the client’s concerns, history, and goals. From their assessment, they create a treatment plan to follow during therapy sessions. Trauma-informed care and crisis intervention require interpersonal skills that are emphasized in art and humanities majors. Therapists require empathy, strong communication skills, and cultural competency.

Graphic Designers

Graphic design is another arts profession that is a fast-growing field. Being one involves the creation of visual concepts and designs to communicate ideas through different types of media. Knowledge of color theory, typography, layout design, image edition, and design software is essential for graphic designers. Creativity and technical proficiency are necessary to produce influential images. Graphic designers contribute to the visual language of culture. They play a critical role in conveying messages that are compelling across multiple mediums.

Human Resources

A popular humanities job is being a human resources (HR) professional. HR professionals work to make sure the workplace is productive, employees are satisfied, and managers comply with relevant laws and regulations. They facilitate the onboarding process of new employees creating a smooth transition into the organization. In addition, they develop and implement performance management which includes goal setting, regular feedback, and evaluations. Training and development programs enhance the skills and capabilities of employees, an important role of HR. Being in HR requires a stable understanding of both human and business aspects of an organization—serving as a bridge between management and employees through creating a positive and productive work environment.

Sales

Lastly, a salesman is someone who actively promotes and sells products and services to potential customers. Other than driving revenue and building relationships with clients, salesmen have multiple responsibilities. They also need to have extensive product knowledge, sales presentations, and negotiation skills. Product knowledge is the understanding of the services and products they are selling which includes features, benefits, pricing, and advantages. Sales presentations entail showcasing the product and emphasizing features and benefits. Finally, negotiation skills are when a salesman works to find mutually beneficial terms while considering the company’s profitability. Salesmen contribute significantly to the growth and success of a business.