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According to noted American Industrialist J. Irwin Miller, "The calling of the humanities is to make us truly human in the best sense of the word." Humanities is a stream for those who would like to know more about society, ideologies, beliefs and value systems. And yet it is among the most under-rated streams in the Indian context. While the Western world has come to realise the importance of the liberal and the creative arts, in the Indian psyche humanities is still considered to be the choice of students who are "not so smart and bright." Parents , too, usually discourage their wards to take up arts/humanities as they are largely ignorant of the plethora of career options that exist for a student of humanities. This approach has created a vacuum in this field that, in fact, offers great opportunities to those who dare and care to venture into it. Humanities covers a wide range of subjects, including history, geography, political science, philosophy, sociology, psychology, anthropology, archaeology the languages, and the creative and performing arts. Such a broad spectrum of subjects obviously leads to innumerable career choices. The common ones being in teaching, hotel and travel industry, media and public relations, social work etc. Also for the more serious minded and hardworking students, studying humanities opens up many avenues in the administrative and foreign services and the banking sector via different competitive examinations. These are some of the options that can be pursued in humanities. Sociology Sociology is the subject which deals with the study of the social world and behaviour of mankind in a variety of situations. Most of the universities offer bachelor-level programmes with sociology as a major subject. Research institutes, criminal justice system, public health and welfare organisations, private business, government, and international agencies employ sociologists. Students with a bachelor’s degree often secure employment as research assistants, data analysts, case workers, paralegals, advertising managers and administrators. Researchers in a variety of non-academic settings — central, state, or local public agencies, business or industrial firms as well as private institutes are increasingly in demand. Social sciences include academic discipline concerned with the study of social life, including anthropology, communication studies, political science, geography, history, psychology and sociology. Social science plays a vital role for the future of the society, understanding of social reality and why it is important to study the social sciences. Social work is a vast field and the job prospects are not specific to any particular field. Social worker deals with persons, organisations, families and groups. They are involved in the work to lessen and prevent social problems caused by factors such as poverty, alcoholism, unemployment, lack of health services, family maladjustments, physical, mental and emotional handicaps, anti-social behavior and poor housing. Several colleges affiliated to Panjab University, Kurukshetra University and Delhi University offer BSW course. List of Courses Bachelor of Arts in Sociology Bachelor of Arts in Social Work Bachelor of Social Work Bachelor of Arts in Social Science Psephology The term ‘psephology’ is derived from the Greek term ‘psephos’ which means pebble, which the Greeks used as ballots, and ‘logy’ denotes a field of study or academic discipline. Hence the term means the scientific study of elections and voting behaviour. The scope of jobs in this field mainly encompasses the analysis of aspects like trends in voting, swings in votes; number of votes polled or percentage of total votes polled translating into the number of seats in the government. With many television news channels as well as news magazines devoting immense media space to elections, a psephologist is flooded with offers during and before elections. With elections being held in one or the other state with alarming regularity, psephologists are hardly ever out of work nowadays. Even otherwise, they usually tie up with research organisations or media groups to write columns and articles on political scenario or social changes. For eligibility, generally, a post-graduate qualification is desirable in either political science or sociology stream. Aspirants can get training in any of the universities which impart education in political science, sociology or allied fields. Psychology Of late, psychology as a branch of science has emerged as an important career choice among youngsters. Psychology, as a subject, explores the functioning of human mind. This subject covers the entire gamut of human actions and reactions, beliefs and faith, thoughts and feelings, emotions and sentiments. The nature of work of a psychologist is influenced most by the areas of specialisation in the subject. They work in different settings, including universities and colleges, primary and secondary schools, government agencies, private industry, hospitals, clinics, and can do private practice. They are also employed in social welfare organisations, research establishments, rehabilitation centres, prisons, child/ youth guidance centres, advertising industry and in a variety of other set-ups. Aspirants can pursue psychology as a subject at bachelor’s level and can go for post-graduation to make their mark in the following branches of psychology: branches of psychologyClinical psychology Counselling Health psychology Teaching and research Industrial/Organisational psychology Sports psychology Educational psychology Social work Job openings are available in schools, NGOs, hospitals, research organisations, rehab-centres, and many private and government organisations. Languages A career in languages opens floodgates of opportunities. The requirement for people who have proficiency in languages is increasing day by day. Proficiency in foreign languages like French, German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Korean etc. has a great demand in the Indian market. They can work as tour operators, online content writers, technical translators or decoders, to interpreters and translators. There is also a potential demand for a huge number of foreign language professionals in the Indian off-shoring like BPO, IT and KPO sectors. These professionals are required to address the demand for language-sensitive work that is outsourced from continental Europe and the Far East. An estimation of international research company Evalueserve says the IT industry will account for approximately 50 per cent of this demand, the BPO and KPO segments are expected to account for the remaining 50 per cent. Moreover, this growing demand for language-sensitive work will have a positive impact on the Indian economy. There is also a strong demand for foreign languages teachers, translators and interpreters. These jobs require a bachelor’s degree course in the languages concerned . Though a postgraduate degree in translation, or, in a foreign language adds as an advantage. Language translators could work on a number of subjects and projects, or specializse in a particular area, such as reports, manuals and brochures like scientific, technical or commercial material. Some can qualify in translating legal documents, such as contracts, literary work, including novels, plays and poetry. Translation opportunities are also opening up in media, for websites, film scripts and subtitles for films and educational resources, including textbooks and travel guides. The job of an interpreter may be that of simultaneous (or conference) interpreting; consecutive interpreting; or, liaison (or public service) interpreting. For national and international meetings and lectures, conference interpreters work on hourly basis and get paid handsomely. Teaching opportunities are available in educational institutions, where a foreign language is part of the course curriculum or part of a professional programme. Corporates invite foreign language teachers to train their personnel in foreign language and culture, and so do foreign embassies. Historically relevant Almost everyone would find a history graduate in one's family. Yet, a typical undergraduate student may be hard pressed to find major career options in this significant subject in humanities. Though largely untrue, history majors have unjustly gained a reputation for not being very useful in the job market. Secondly, blame it on bad teaching methodologies, many people term this interesting subject as boring. Universities ands colleges are finding it hard to get dedicated students who would like to pursue a career in history. There are many more career options for history majors than you might think. Law: Law schools are a viable option for a history major. Those with a degree, especially one in modern Indian history, already have a strong base of knowledge about the legal system, giving them an advantage. Teaching: For many history majors, this is an obvious choice. You get the chance to shape young minds. Just make sure you have passion for teaching. Communications: History majors, by default, need strong communication skills to graduate successfully. They can usually write well and have excellent verbal communication and research skills. Coincidentally, these abilities are also essential in journalism and communications career fields. In fact, if you opt for journalism later, your knowledge of history will give you an edge. Business: History majors, with their communications skills and cultural knowledge, often prove themselves as valuable part of certain industries. Government: Central and state governments are among major job providers in the Indian economy. Government jobs value critical thinking, problem solving, and a knowledge of how the system works. This, of course, makes it a viable career option for history majors. For those opting for IAS, history can be a useful option. Writing: History majors almost universally aspire to write a successful non-fiction book. The career itself is somewhat precarious, and it takes some entrepreneurial spirit to pursue it. But those with research skills and a unique point of view may find success. Archiving: Many organisations require archivists. Government agencies, museums, hospitals, colleges, and corporations are just a few. History majors relish this career option, as it allows them to maintain and discover all sorts of information from the organisation’s past. Library services: No matter how much information technology invades libraries, librarians will always be needed to keep the operations going. There are different specialties within the library services career field-such as technical service and collections development — that suit history majors well. ThinkTanks: Many government and private sector organisations have their own thinktanks that conduct research and publish their findings on an array of subjects. The common skills that a history major possesses (researching and communications) are vital to thinktanks' processes, making it a great career option. Historian: This career is the Holy Grail of professions for history majors. But beware, the major employers of historians are universities and colleges, and they usually require a Ph. D. — Sangeet Jaur is Associate Vice-President, Chitkara Educational Trust
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With rising number of
institutes in the field of learning and strengthening of research
activities, the importance of libraries is growing too. Added to this,
digitisation of reading materials has brought in a new dimension of usable
technology in the field. All this has resulted in a lucrative and exciting
career opportunity for professionals competent in administrating and
running a library.