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and institutional records, newspapers and other periodicals, photographs, interviews, films, electronic media, and unpublished manuscripts, such as personal diaries and letters.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Active Learning
- Complex Problem Solving
- Learning Strategies
Key knowledge
- History and Archeology
- English Language
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Geography
- Administrative
- Education and Training
- Communications and Media
- Fine Arts
What the work involves
- Organize data, and analyze and interpret its authenticity and relative significance.
- Gather historical data from sources such as archives, court records, diaries, news files, and photographs, as well as from books, pamphlets, and periodicals.
- Trace historical development in a particular field, such as social, cultural, political, or diplomatic history.
- Conduct historical research as a basis for the identification, conservation, and reconstruction of historic places and materials.
- Conduct historical research, and publish or present findings and theories.
- 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.
- Research the history of a particular country or region, or of a specific time period.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Conventional, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Master's Degree (64.5% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (31.2%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (49.6%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Historians is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Low | Lower on contact with others than 73% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time” |
| Dealing with the public | Very high | Higher on dealing with the public than 80% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 61% of occupations compared | — |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 63% of occupations compared | 64% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 90% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Higher on conflict situations than 58% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 58% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 94% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 11.56%
- Contact with others about half the time: 11.27%
- Contact with others most of the time: 38.64%
- Constant contact with others: 38.54%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 1.78%
- Fairly important: 4.03%
- Important: 16.64%
- Very important: 27.74%
- Extremely important: 49.8%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 5.14%
- Important: 1.01%
- Very important: 42.23%
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 21.08%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 0.88%
- Some freedom: 13.92%
- A lot of freedom: 64.13%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Time pressure
- Never: 2.02%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 19.43%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 34.73%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 42.96%
- Every day: 0.86%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Conflict situations
- Never: 3.15%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 34.68%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 26.13%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 36.04%
- Every day: 0%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 3.71%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 52.54%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 28.03%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 8.82%
- Every day: 6.89%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 40.18%
- Fairly serious: 33.91%
- Serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very serious: 3.44%
- Extremely serious: 1.04%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2025
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O*NET-SOC 19-3093.00 · SOC 19-3093 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8