Life, Physical, and Social Science · Holland code ICA

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and institutional records, newspapers and other periodicals, photographs, interviews, films, electronic media, and unpublished manuscripts, such as personal diaries and letters.

Also called: Collections Specialist, Historian, Historical Interpreter, Researcher, County Historian, Historic Architectural Resources Curator, Historic Interpreter, Historic Preservation Coordinator.

O*NET 19-3093.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $76,750; Middle half earn $57,290 to $99,990. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Master's Degree; 64% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +2% · Slower than average; 3,400 jobs in 2024, projected 3,500. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Historians".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Gather historical data from sources such as archives, court records, diaries, news files, and photographs, as well as from books, pamphlets, and periodicals.
Organize data, and analyze and interpret its authenticity and relative significance.
Prepare publications and exhibits, or review those prepared by others, to ensure their historical accuracy.
Organize information for publication and for other means of dissemination, such as via storage media or the Internet.
Conduct historical research as a basis for the identification, conservation, and reconstruction of historic places and materials.
Conserve and preserve manuscripts, records, and other artifacts.
Present historical accounts in terms of individuals or social, ethnic, political, economic, or geographic groupings.
Research the history of a particular country or region, or of a specific time period.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.8 / 5
Writing4.1 / 5
Critical Thinking4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Active Learning4.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

History and Archeology4.6 / 5
English Language4.1 / 5
Sociology and Anthropology3.6 / 5
Geography3.5 / 5
Administrative3.5 / 5
Education and Training3.3 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic23
Investigative72
Artistic45
Social37
Enterprising23
Conventional65

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

anthropologist · DE Anthropologe/Anthropologin · FR anthropologue
archaeologist · DE Archäologe/Archäologin · FR archéologue
historian · DE Historiker/Historikerin · FR historien/historienne
genealogist · DE Genealoge/Genealogin · FR généalogiste

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Social and humanities scientists (2115)35,500 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.10. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (19-3093).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test