Getting Started:

Arts and Humanities

Schools covered:
English
History, Art History and Philosophy
Media, Film and Music
Sussex Centre for Language Studies
This booklet is an overview of the skills you gain from an arts and
humanities degree, and what you can do with your degree after
graduating. For more specialised information about your course go
to

www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/careerchoices/yourdegree

During your course you are learning:
to think intelligently, creatively, and critically about the world
in which we live.
to understand a wide range of theoretical approaches and
how they might shape the study of your subject.
to be literate and able to assimilate large volumes of written
material quickly and thoughtfully.

You are developing:
the ability to communicate effectively.
interpersonal skills through group work and assessments.
critical awareness of how words can be used and what they
can do.
independent thinking and learning, and research skills.
IT competence.
visual and media literacy, able to analyse not only written
texts.
creative talent and ability to produce your own work as well
as critique that of other people.

In addition to your degree, you are gaining experience and skills
from other parts of your life. Think about the value of your work
experience, volunteering and social activities.
Building your experience
You can gain valuable experience in a number of ways while at
Sussex. There are three sources of experience that will help you in
your career development: Academic, Work, and Personal.

Academic Experience
Skillclouds is a resource for undergraduates which tells you the
main skills you are developing on your degree course.
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/skillclouds

Sussex runs the Junior Research Associates Scheme in
summer vacations. It is a chance for undergraduates to take part in
academic research. www.sussex.ac.uk/study/ug/careers/jra

The Careers and Employability Centre runs Learning to Lead, a
programme of leadership training and development.
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/learningtolead

If you are interested in working for yourself or setting up a business
our entrepreneurship training can help you get started.
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/startupsussex

Developing skills and experiences through courses might appeal to
you. Language courses and IT training are available on campus.
www.sussex.ac.uk/skillshub

You can find out about more development opportunities at Sussex
on our webpages about developing your skills while at university.
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/skills

Personal Experience
The Students Union offers lots of opportunities to learn skills in
leadership, teamwork, money management, etc. You could get
involved with a student society, contribute to student media, or
volunteer to help keep the Union running.
Student Societies: www.sussexstudent.com/minisites
Student Media: www.sussexstudent.com/media
Volunteering for the Union: www.bit.ly/ussuvolunteer

There are many media, arts, music and heritage organisations in
the Brighton area. The Students Union volunteering programme
advertises voluntary work.
www.sussexstudent.com/volunteering

Local volunteering with Community Base
www.communitybase.org or visit them on Queens Road,
Brighton.

Opportunities in the UK on Do-it. www.do-it.org

Paid placements abroad with VSO. www.vso.org.uk

Local Organisation Concordia www.concordiavolunteers.org.uk
also run UK and international volunteering projects.

You can find more links on our website.
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/volunteering

Work Experience
First jobs are often stepping stones to greater things and can help
you develop a really interesting skills portfolio. Gaining a range of
experiences while you are an undergraduate will give you
opportunities to test out what you like and dislike in different
environments and with different types of people.

Part time work and work experience provide opportunities to learn
about work places and you can see yourself in different work
environments as well as providing useful income! Opportunities are
advertised at www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/jobs we also produce a
booklet: Looking for Part Time Work.

In the Careers and Employability Centre we have lots of links with
local employers and organisations. You can find out more about
them on our Researching Employers webpage where you can
search by type and location.
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/researchemployers

Wired Sussex is a group of local firms and freelancers. On their
site you can find networking opportunities, job advertisements and
other opportunities in the digital and creative sector in Brighton.
www.wiredsussex.com
Identfying turning points and routnes
Off to Sussex to study English.
Really looking forward to it.
Doing BUNAC over
summer; cant wait to
see The States
Yr2 - Really enjoyed
working with kids, going to
do some voluntary work in
local primary school
Yr 1 - Part time work in local
restaurant, this type of work
not for me! Nice working as
part of a lively team though

Yr 3 volunteering in school
was great and I enjoyed
working in a classroom, have
been thinking about what to
do next year. I need to find out
more about teaching as an
option
Summer job with Language
School in Brighton, working
with teenagers on English
courses here
Got some work lined up at
home in friends mums PR
agency after graduation. Still
not sure whether to apply to
PGCE for teaching.
Try plotting your experiences to date onto a diagram like this, add a time
scale and also note how you felt at different points. Noting when you felt
happy and motivated may help to identify interesting career ideas for
you. Patterns of skills and experiences can help identify themes you
might want to pursue in the future.

Thoughts:
I have good communication skills
I think I like working with words
Want to check out office environment
before I commit to a teaching course
Community or welfare work?
Patterns:
Seem to have worked with groups
of young people quite a lot
I like to make a difference
I enjoy variety and am energetic
Waitressing was fun but not for
ever
Thinking about your career
There are many theories around career exploration. If you have
completed the Turning Points exercise on the previous page you
will have noticed how much happenstance and luck can influence
the way you view your career. Being aware of this will allow you to
take advantage of unexpected opportunities when they arise.

In the Careers and Employability Centre we have lots more
worksheets that can help you start your career thinking. You can
find them, and other useful resources, on our website:
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/interests

Listening to the stories of people one or two years ahead of you
might give you ideas for how you want to make progress. Alumni
events at Sussex or video clips online can all provide good source
material. Setting up your own career investigation interviews will be
interesting and is often easier to organise than formal work
experience.

Your degree. www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/yourdegree

Your interests and motivations:.
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/interests

Information on the different employment sectors can be found in
our sector guides. www.guides.careers.sussex.ac.uk
Arts and
Humanities
Degree
Advertising
Public relations External Affairs
Information officer
Communicating
Teaching or
lecturing
Counselling
Recruitment consultant
Retail Sales and
promotion
Archivist
Museum
curator
Visitor Centre
manager
Librarianship
Account
manager
Information
Interpersonal
TV researcher
Media Production
Professional
Music
production
Film industry
Generatng career ideas around
your degree experience
Mind Map to show an example of linking
university skills to types of work roles
Investigative
journalist
Visual
designer
Author
Web design
Research
and Writing
Creativity
Event manager
Office manager
Organising
Further
Study
Professional
Accountancy
& banking
Management trainee
Human resource
management
Management
consultant
Media researcher
This is purely illustrative, and is not meant to be reductive about
your degree learning.
There are many other significant areas in which you might have
developed during your academic life: patience, linguistic ability,
being perceptive, dealing with uncertainty, identity, and lots more.
We suggest you engage with this mind map and create your own.
Gallery curator
Musician
Destnatons
Careers with your degree
Arts and humanities graduates are very adaptable, often moving
from one employment sector to another. It is easier to draw up a
list of occupations that do not have arts and humanities graduates
represented amongst their number as good communication skills
are highly valued by all employers. There is more information
about different career areas on our website:
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/researchingcareers
Some of the jobs recent Sussex arts and humanities graduates
have gone on to include:
Journalist
Research Assistant, Parliament
Recruitment Consultant
Live Music Coordinator
Planning Officer
Trainee Librarian
Geography Teacher
TV Production Manager
You can find out more about what our graduates do at:
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/whatourgraduatesdo
About 40% of graduate vacancies advertised do not ask for
specific degree subjects. The degree is taken as evidence of
intellectual ability and the employer is interested in the range of
transferable skills and experience you demonstrate.
Humanities graduates find jobs in sectors such as human
resources, retail, marketing, sales, banking, accountancy and
administration.
Careers unrelated to your degree
As we showed earlier in this booklet your academic experience is
just one part of who you are. Your interests and skills may lead you
to work that isnt (or doesnt appear to be) connected to your
degree at all.
Some of the less typical roles our recent arts and humanities
graduates have gone on to include:
Laboratory Assistant
Technical Engineer within Construction
Retail Manager
Commis Chef
Statistical Coordinator
Going on to further study
It is possible to study at postgraduate level in either your current
subject or in another unrelated subject. Recently Sussex arts and
humanities graduates have gone on to courses such as:
Curatorship in Contemporary Art
European Politics
PGCE Primary
Drama and Performance
Real Estate
NCTJ Magazine Journalism
Find out more on the Careers and Employability Centre website:
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/furtherstudy
Or come to one of our workshops on postgraduate study.
Further Resources
Events and Workshops
Check www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/events for our events listings.

Careers Advisers
You can talk to a Career Adviser weekdays during term time. Call
us on 01273 678429 to check availability.

A discussion with your Academic Adviser or departmental
Careers Liaison Tutor may also be useful.