History Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in human history and historiography. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Most important skills
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Learning Strategies
- Active Listening
- Instructing
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
Key knowledge
- History and Archeology
- English Language
- Education and Training
- Law and Government
- Geography
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Computers and Electronics
- Philosophy and Theology
What the work involves
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as ancient history, postwar civilizations, and the history of third-world countries.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Investigative, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Doctoral Degree (69.6% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (29.1%)
- On-the-job training
- None or short demonstration (43.4%)
- 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 History Teachers, Postsecondary 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 71% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 78% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 97% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 98% of occupations compared | 94% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Lower on time pressure than 56% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 84% of occupations compared | 61% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 77% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 91% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- 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: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 35.01%
- Contact with others most of the time: 22.37%
- Constant contact with others: 42.62%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 38.72%
- Fairly important: 11.01%
- Important: 4.94%
- Very important: 38.46%
- Extremely important: 6.87%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2019
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 17.01%
- Fairly important: 11.01%
- Important: 41.76%
- Very important: 12.69%
- Extremely important: 17.53%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2019
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 2.33%
- Some freedom: 4.15%
- A lot of freedom: 93.52%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2019
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 12.06%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 15.45%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 54.42%
- Every day: 18.06%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2019
Conflict situations
- Never: 11.75%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 60.8%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 14.42%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 13.03%
- Every day: 0%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 11.01%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 49.31%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 33.01%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 6.66%
- Every day: 0%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2019
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 35.01%
- Fairly serious: 35.34%
- Serious: 26.66%
- Very serious: 0.3%
- Extremely serious: 2.69%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2019
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O*NET-SOC 25-1125.00 · SOC 25-1125 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8