How to Find Jobs With a Women's Studies Degree

Women's Studies is an interdisciplinary major that focuses on cultural learning. Because the field still is relatively new, many people in the corporate world do not understand it. That means Women's Studies majors must work harder to make themselves viable job candidates. You can find a job with a Women's Studies degree by following these steps to make yourself an appealing candidate.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Consider your courses. Determine what each one taught you that can be transferred to the workplace. A course on Women in Sports, for example, could give you an edge in working in a women's sports franchise. Women's Sexuality may prepare you for a career as a rape crisis counselor.
2. Look beyond the classroom for experiences related to your Women's Studies degree. Women's Studies is one of the programs in colleges that focuses on learning through doing outside the classroom. This focus on non-academic, hands-on work can be an asset when you look for jobs. Organizing movie festivals, planning speaking engagements and directing classroom discussions all provide valuable experience that you can transfer to the work world.
3. Find an internship or co-op program. The biggest hurdle with a Women's Studies degree is that few people understand the major. To help overcome this stigma, get an internship with hard skills. Working on a campaign, teaching at a summer camp and serving as a survey researcher all are great intern and co-op options for people with Women's Studies degrees.
4. Create a resume that focuses on your skills as well as education. Some jobs, such as working in non-profit organizations, are perfect for people with degrees in Women's Studies. You can find work in almost any other field, however, but you will need to present your resume to show that your education required analytical thinking and keen observational skills. Should you intend to become a financial planner, you would insert the Women in Business courses you took into the education section of your resume. You also might focus on the fund raising drive you organized.
5. Think outside the box! Women's Studies is a viable field, but like most humanities degrees, there are no jobs waiting for you just because of your degree. Scour the want ads and think about how your education and experience would fit with all of the jobs out there. Do not lose a great career opportunity because you are not being creative with your career planning.

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