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Historians

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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and institutional records, newspapers and other periodicals, photographs, interviews, films, electronic media, and unpublished manuscripts, such as personal diaries and letters.

Related: Anthropologists & Archeologists Archivists Curators Geographers History Teachers, Postsecondary

Industries: Government Professional, Science, & Technical

Summary
Details

Research and prepare manuscripts in support of public programming and the development of exhibits at historic sites, museums, libraries, and archives.
Recommend actions related to historical art, such as which items to add to a collection or which items to display in an exhibit.
Determine which topics to research, or pursue research topics specified by clients or employers.
Teach and conduct research in colleges, universities, museums, and other research agencies and schools.
Advise or consult with individuals and institutions regarding issues such as the historical authenticity of materials or the customs of a specific historical period.
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.
Research the history of a particular country or region, or of a specific time period.
Research and prepare manuscripts in support of public programming and the development of exhibits at historic sites, museums, libraries, and archives.
Determine which topics to research, or pursue research topics specified by clients or employers.
Coordinate activities of workers engaged in cataloging and filing materials.
Coordinate activities of workers engaged in cataloging and filing materials.
Translate or request translation of reference materials.
Collect detailed information on individuals for use in biographies.
Gather historical data from sources such as archives, court records, diaries, news files, and photographs, as well as from books, pamphlets, and periodicals.
Prepare publications and exhibits, or review those prepared by others, to ensure their historical accuracy.
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.
Present historical accounts in terms of individuals or social, ethnic, political, economic, or geographic groupings.
Recommend actions related to historical art, such as which items to add to a collection or which items to display in an exhibit.
Interview people to gather information about historical events and to record oral histories.
Organize data, and analyze and interpret its authenticity and relative significance.
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.
Trace historical development in a particular field, such as social, cultural, political, or diplomatic history.
Edit historical society publications.
Edit historical society publications.
Advise or consult with individuals and institutions regarding issues such as the historical authenticity of materials or the customs of a specific historical period.

Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.

Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

Education

Master's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

94760/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

45.56/hr

Currently Employed

Yearly Projected Openings

Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out. They do well at jobs that need:

Intellectual Curiosity
Integrity
Attention to Detail
Dependability
Achievement Orientation
Tolerance for Ambiguity

Assistive listening devices
Digital cameras
Digital voice recorders
Inkjet printers
Laser printers
Microfiche or microfilm viewers
Microphones
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Photocopiers
Scanners

Analytical or scientific software
Data base management system software
Data base user interface and query software
Data mining software
Desktop publishing software
Document management software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise application integration software
Geographic information system
Graphics or photo imaging software
Industrial control software
Information retrieval or search software
Internet browser software
Map creation software
Music or sound editing software
Office suite software
Optical character reader OCR or scanning software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Web page creation and editing software
Web platform development software
Word processing software

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