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and institutional records, newspapers and other periodicals, photographs, interviews, films, electronic media, and unpublished manuscripts, such as personal diaries and letters.
Meet the Writer: O*NET Occupational Analysts
Annual Salary
$74,050/ year
Median wage · BLS🇺🇸 USA
What You'll Actually Do
The core tasks and responsibilities that fill a typical day.
- 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.
- Present historical accounts in terms of individuals or social, ethnic, political, economic, or geographic groupings.
- Determine which topics to research, or pursue research topics specified by clients or employers.
- Organize information for publication and for other means of dissemination, such as via storage media or the Internet.
- Research and prepare manuscripts in support of public programming and the development of exhibits at historic sites, museums, libraries, and archives.
- Advise or consult with individuals and institutions regarding issues such as the historical authenticity of materials or the customs of a specific historical period.
- Interview people to gather information about historical events and to record oral histories.
- Recommend actions related to historical art, such as which items to add to a collection or which items to display in an exhibit.
- Conserve and preserve manuscripts, records, and other artifacts.