Welcome to the careers page for American Studies!

American Studies graduates may work in a range of jobs, some directly connected to their studies at King’s, others more removed from them; Most go on to forge careers in The Arts or creative and media jobs like publishing, journalism, public relations, or advertising. Others go into business, law and accountancy; administration and civil service; teaching at all levels; and work abroad.

As mentioned earlier, American Studies can open the door to a range of opportunities. However choosing what is right for you can be a daunting task, especially if you’re not sure where you are headed. Generally there are three steps to success:

1. Get to know yourself
If you don’t think carefully about your skills, attributes and interests in advance you may end up in a job that you don’t like. Making sure you are clear about what you want from a job can be time consuming, but it will increase your chances of finding satisfying work, and it will help you to show how motivated and suitable you are for the job.

2. Expand your knowledge
Most people apply for jobs by making a choice from the jobs that already know about or just looking for vacancies that they could possibly apply to. Neither of these is particularly effective. In essence, the more you know about the world of work, the industry that attracts you and the myriad of job roles within it, the more likely you are t come across the right option for you. Research. Ask questions. Try out. Evaluate.

3. Make the move
Once you’ve thought about yourself, researched your options and decided what you want to do, then it’s time to launch yourself into your chosen career. Find out how you chosen field recruits and get applying!

The range of skills that you acquire and develop from American Studies makes you a desirable candidate for most employers:

• Developed skills in critical reasoning and analysis
• Ability to convey meaning precisely
• Able to work independently and manage your own workload
• Developed ability to research, collate and present conclusions
• Excellent skills of communication and presentation
• Able to work to strict deadlines and under pressure
• Ability to lead and participate in discussions
• Able to form your own opinion and convey a cohesive argument
• Developed IT skills
• Developed understanding of culture and societies

These skills coupled together with those developed from other activities - such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes: all of which make you an exciting prospect for employers! However, it is important to remember that these skills do not work in isolation and who you are working for may change the focus or level to which you end up using these skills in a job.

Whatever stage you are at in your career planning we’d be delighted to talk to you one-to-one. Whether you choose to use your degree quite specifically or are interested in applying the general skills you’ve learned from it, we can help you work through your ideas and perhaps give you some confidence in moving forward.

We can also work with you on completing application forms, help you to prepare for interviews or assist with CVs for work experience roles.

The Kings Career Networks have been set up to keep students in touch with current news and events concerning careers in particular industries. A Facebook page has been set up for each network which you can join to receive regular updates, notification of industry related career events and post a careers related questions or comments.

As an American Studies student, you may particularly interested in the first four networks listed below, but don’t let that avert you from taking a look at the others, if it feels right!
Public Sector including teaching
Third Sector (Charities, NGOs etc)
Media and Communications
Management and Consulting
Finance
Law
Technology