Career profile for Historian

What does a Historian do?

Historians 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and institutional records, newspapers and other periodicals, photographs, interviews, films, electronic media, and unpublished manuscripts, such as personal diaries and letters.

What kind of tasks does a Historian perform regularly?

Historians are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Conserve and preserve manuscripts, records, and other artifacts.
Gather historical data from sources such as archives, court records, diaries, news files, and photographs, as well as from books, pamphlets, and periodicals.
Conduct historical research as a basis for the identification, conservation, and reconstruction of historic places and materials.
Research and prepare manuscripts in support of public programming and the development of exhibits at historic sites, museums, libraries, and archives.
Present historical accounts in terms of individuals or social, ethnic, political, economic, or geographic groupings.
Organize data, and analyze and interpret its authenticity and relative significance.
Research the history of a particular country or region, or of a specific time period.
Conduct historical research, and publish or present findings and theories.
Recommend actions related to historical art, such as which items to add to a collection or which items to display in an exhibit.
Determine which topics to research, or pursue research topics specified by clients or employers.
Speak to various groups, organizations, and clubs to promote the aims and activities of historical societies.
Prepare publications and exhibits, or review those prepared by others, to ensure their historical accuracy.
Trace historical development in a particular field, such as social, cultural, political, or diplomatic history.
Advise or consult with individuals and institutions regarding issues such as the historical authenticity of materials or the customs of a specific historical period.
Organize information for publication and for other means of dissemination, such as via storage media or the Internet.
Interview people to gather information about historical events and to record oral histories.
Collect detailed information on individuals for use in biographies.

The above responsibilities are specific to Historians. More generally, Historians are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others		Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
Thinking Creatively		Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Documenting/Recording Information		Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events		Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others

Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.

Thinking Creatively

Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

Documenting/Recording Information

Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events

Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

What is a Historian salary?

The median salary for a Historian is $63,100, and the average salary is $68,400. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Historian salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Historians earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Historians earn less than $29,540 per year, 25% earn less than $40,920, 75% earn less than $90,130, and 90% earn less than $116,340.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Historians is expected to change by 6.5%, and there should be roughly 300 open positions for Historians every year.

Median annual salary: $63,100
Typical salary range: $29,540 - $116,340
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 6.5%

What personality traits are common among Historians?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Historian are usually higher in their Investigative interests.

Historians typically have very strong Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Historian tend to value Achievement, Recognition, and Relationships.

Most importantly, Historians strongly value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Second, Historians strongly value Recognition. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious.

Lastly, Historians strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Historians must consistently demonstrate qualities such as integrity, cooperation, and attention to detail.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Historians, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Concern for Others		Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Concern for Others

Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

What education and training do Historians need?

Many Historians have earned a graduate degree. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a doctoral degree, such as a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D..

Historians may need some on-the-job training, but most candidates will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Educational degrees among Historians

0.7% did not complete high school or secondary school
1.5% completed high school or secondary school
6.0% completed some college coursework
4.0% earned a Associate's degree
32.8% earned a Bachelor's degree
38.8% earned a Master's degree
16.1% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Historians

Historians may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as history and archeology, customer and personal service, or administrative knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Historians might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
History and Archeology		Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Administrative		Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Geography		Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Education and Training		Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

History and Archeology

Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Administrative

Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

Geography

Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

Education and Training

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Important Abilities needed by Historians

Historians must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Historians need abilities such as written comprehension, written expression, and oral comprehension in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Historians, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Inductive Reasoning		The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Inductive Reasoning

The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Critical Skills needed by Historians

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Historians frequently use skills like reading comprehension, critical thinking, and active listening to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Historians, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Writing		Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

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