Career Atlas USA

History Teachers, Postsecondary

Median salary
$83,820
Average salary
$96,580
Employment
18,790
Projected growth
0.2% decline
Annual openings
1,700
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree

What History Teachers, Postsecondary Do

Teach courses in human history and historiography. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 20242034.

Related work experience
None
On-the-job training
None
Self-employed
0.2%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 5 of 5

Job 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 5.0/5
  • English Languageimportance 4.7/5
  • Education and Trainingimportance 4.4/5
  • Law and Governmentimportance 4.1/5
  • Geographyimportance 4.0/5
  • Sociology and Anthropologyimportance 3.6/5
  • Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.4/5
  • Philosophy and Theologyimportance 3.4/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

  • Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.9/5
  • Freedom to Make Decisions4.9/5
  • E-Mail4.9/5
  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.7/5
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.5/5
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.3/5

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.

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

  • Instructingimportance 4.0/5
  • Time Managementimportance 3.8/5
  • Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.6/5
  • Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.4/5
  • Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.3/5
  • Coordinationimportance 3.1/5
  • Service Orientationimportance 3.1/5
  • Persuasionimportance 3.0/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

In-Demand Technologies

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

  • Intellectual Curiosity
  • Dependability
  • Social Orientation
  • Integrity
  • Achievement Orientation
  • Cooperation
  • Attention to Detail

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

  • SocialHigh
  • InvestigativeHigh
  • ArtisticMedium
  • ConventionalMedium
  • 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 history teachers, postsecondary make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

  1. 1Amherst Town-Northampton, MA11.11× national avg
  2. 2Harrisonburg, VA6.19× national avg
  3. 3College Station-Bryan, TX5.01× national avg
  4. 4Bloomington, IL4.68× national avg
  5. 5South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI3.57× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

See the full career path from History Teachers, Postsecondary

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.

Full salary data & percentiles →Best states for this career →Highest-paying states →