Historians
What Historians Do
Research, analyze, record, and interpret the past as recorded in sources, such as government and institutional records, newspapers and other periodicals, photographs, interviews, films, electronic media, and unpublished manuscripts, such as personal diaries and letters.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
- Self-employed
- 2%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 5 of 5Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience.
- Education
- Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
- Job training
- Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- History and Archeologyimportance 4.6/5
- English Languageimportance 4.1/5
- Sociology and Anthropologyimportance 3.6/5
- Geographyimportance 3.5/5
- Administrativeimportance 3.5/5
- Education and Trainingimportance 3.3/5
- Communications and Mediaimportance 3.0/5
- Fine Artsimportance 2.9/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- E-Mail4.7/5
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.5/5
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.4/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.4/5
- Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.3/5
- Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.2/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary98% skill match
- History Teachers, Postsecondary98% skill match
- Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary98% skill match
- Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary98% skill match
- Communications Teachers, Postsecondary98% skill match
- English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary97% skill match
- Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary97% skill match
- Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary97% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.4/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.1/5
- Instructingimportance 3.1/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.1/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
- Time Managementimportance 2.9/5
- Persuasionimportance 2.8/5
- Negotiationimportance 2.5/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- Adobe Dreamweaver
- Archival databases
- ArchiveGrid
- Archives Wiki
- Audio editing software
- Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
- Database management systems
- Digital image collections
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Attention to Detail
- Integrity
- Dependability
- Achievement Orientation
- Tolerance for Ambiguity
- Perseverance
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- InvestigativeHigh
- ConventionalMedium
- ArtisticMedium
- SocialMedium
- RealisticLow
- EnterprisingLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where historians make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Urban Honolulu, HI6.63× national avg
- 2Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV5.95× national avg
- 3Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY5.73× national avg
- 4Salt Lake City-Murray, UT4.12× national avg
- 5Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA0.98× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- History Teachers, PostsecondaryCareer Change
- SociologistsLateral Move
- Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, PostsecondaryCareer Change
- Geography Teachers, PostsecondaryCareer Change
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Public/Applied History
- Southern New Hampshire University (Manchester, NH)grads earn ~$49,113
- Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA)grads earn ~$46,496
- University of California-Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)grads earn ~$59,555
- Southern New Hampshire University (Manchester, NH)grads earn ~$54,961
- Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)grads earn ~$70,679
Historic Preservation and Conservation, Other
- University of Mary Washington (Fredericksburg, VA)grads earn ~$44,823
- College of Charleston (Charleston, SC)grads earn ~$57,635
- Columbia University in the City of New York (New York, NY)grads earn ~$70,565
- University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY)
- Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)