Science

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and institutional records, newspapers and other periodicals, photographs, interviews, films, electronic media, and unpublished manuscripts, such as personal diaries and letters.

Median salary (BLS)

$76,750

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$43k – $132k

Job outlook

+2% (about average)

AI exposure

Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $119,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.

Plan a path to Historians

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Education

Typical entry: Master's degree

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Typical progression

Historians Intern
Internship
$36,000
~4 mos to advance
Junior Historians
Entry / Junior
$42,730
~2 yrs to advance
Historians
Established
$76,750
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Historians
Senior
$104,280

Internships are a common on-ramp here — they speed up landing that first role and improve your odds, which is why the Safe and High-ceiling plans build one in.

Key skills

A typical day

•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.

Fields of study

Any field

Top colleges for Science

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Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.