What it pays
Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.
Half of all Historians in the U.S. earn more than $76,750 a year — the middle 80% land between $42,730 and $131,810. About 3,450 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Historians”. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, published 2025.) In India, Professionals earn about ₹38,298 a month on average — around ₹4.6 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
$76,750typical pay / year
3,450people in this work
$131,810+top 10% earn
₹4.6 lakha year in India (family avg)
Think you get this job?Six quick questions on how it really works — with a hint and the reason behind every answer.
Test yourself →The work, task by task
These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.
Analysing2
Research historical data and evidence
+Compile provenance notes and transcriptions for the 1950s oral testimonies on mining, cross-reference names…
Research historical data and evidence
+Compile provenance notes and transcriptions for the 1950s oral testimonies on mining, cross-reference names with census returns, flag any contradictory dates, and produce a bibliography of primary sources for the article draft due Monday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft OfficeESCOjob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
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Analyze and interpret historical data
+Run coded theme counts across the interview transcripts, summarise patterns with illustrative quotes, note…
Analyze and interpret historical data
+Run coded theme counts across the interview transcripts, summarise patterns with illustrative quotes, note methodological limits, and prepare a one-page interpretation memo for the project lead by next Wednesday.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft Officejob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
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Keeping the record4
Organize and maintain historical collections
+Audit the oral history collection for missing metadata, attach standardised descriptions and rights…
Organize and maintain historical collections
+Audit the oral history collection for missing metadata, attach standardised descriptions and rights statements to each item, create preservation copies for at-risk tapes, and record all changes in the collections register before Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft Officejob descriptionsO*NET
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Write research papers, articles, or books
+Draft a 5,000–7,000 word research article arguing how the 1970s oral testimonies from Bayview workers change…
Write research papers, articles, or books
+Draft a 5,000–7,000 word research article arguing how the 1970s oral testimonies from Bayview workers change our understanding of the strike tactics, include archival citations, interview excerpts, and a 6-point bibliography, then send the draft to Dr. Elena Morales by Thursday for peer review.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Officejob descriptionsO*NET
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Advise on historical authenticity and accuracy
+Review the museum reenactment script and annotate every passage where witness language, dates, or…
Advise on historical authenticity and accuracy
+Review the museum reenactment script and annotate every passage where witness language, dates, or material-culture details conflict with primary testimony or archival records, then send annotated notes to curator James Patel by Monday afternoon so he can revise the exhibit panels.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Officejob descriptionsO*NET
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Evaluate the reliability of historical sources
+Assess the five contested eyewitness memoirs on reliability, rate each for contemporaneity, corroboration,…
Evaluate the reliability of historical sources
+Assess the five contested eyewitness memoirs on reliability, rate each for contemporaneity, corroboration, bias, and memory decay, produce a one-page justification for each rating, and upload the assessments to the project folder before the team meeting Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsWikipedia
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The daily work13
Do historical research
+Assemble and read all recorded interviews, letters, and memoir fragments about the factory strike of 1968,…
Do historical research
+Assemble and read all recorded interviews, letters, and memoir fragments about the factory strike of 1968, verify publication dates and authorship, note contradictions and provenance, and produce a one-page annotated source list with confidence ratings by Friday.
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Research the past in recorded sources
+Locate and extract contemporaneous newspaper reports, union minutes, and municipal records that mention the…
Research the past in recorded sources
+Locate and extract contemporaneous newspaper reports, union minutes, and municipal records that mention the 1968 factory strike, evaluate each item for bias and reliability, and produce a two-page synthesis of corroborated facts and open questions by next Wednesday.
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Trace historical development in a particular field, such as social, cultural, political, or diplomatic history.
+Trace the development of community-based oral history practice in the Pacific Northwest from 1970 to 2000,…
Trace historical development in a particular field, such as social, cultural, political, or diplomatic history.
+Trace the development of community-based oral history practice in the Pacific Northwest from 1970 to 2000, map key organizations, legal milestones, and methodological shifts, and assemble a sourced chronology with contested interpretations for departmental circulation.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft OfficeO*NET
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Determine which topics to research, or pursue research topics specified by clients or employers.
+Decide which research topics to pursue for the local veterans oral history project by evaluating veterans'…
Determine which topics to research, or pursue research topics specified by clients or employers.
+Decide which research topics to pursue for the local veterans oral history project by evaluating veterans' service eras, donor priorities, existing gaps in the archive, and funding deadlines, then produce a ranked list with rationale and two proposed interview subjects for each topic.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft WordO*NET
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Edit historical society publications.
+Edit the spring issue of the historical society bulletin: fact-check all oral-history quotations, standardize…
Edit historical society publications.
+Edit the spring issue of the historical society bulletin: fact-check all oral-history quotations, standardize transcription conventions, tighten introductions to three feature essays, and return a print-ready PDF proof with corrected captions.
The tools that do the workAdobe AcrobatAdobe InDesignO*NET
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Coordinate activities of workers engaged in cataloging and filing materials.
+Coordinate the cataloguing team to finish processing the photographic and tape collections from the 1980s by…
Coordinate activities of workers engaged in cataloging and filing materials.
+Coordinate the cataloguing team to finish processing the photographic and tape collections from the 1980s by assigning daily folders, enforcing filename standards, scheduling quality checks on Fridays, and producing a live tracking sheet of completion rates.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft SharePointO*NET
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Collect detailed information on individuals for use in biographies.
+Compile detailed biographical material on Miriam Alvarez for a two-part biography by collecting her service…
Collect detailed information on individuals for use in biographies.
+Compile detailed biographical material on Miriam Alvarez for a two-part biography by collecting her service records, family interview summaries, published mentions, and a timeline of major events, then draft a source-annotated profile ready for peer review.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OfficeO*NET
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Translate or request translation of reference materials.
+Arrange translation of ten 1950s Spanish-language interview transcripts by identifying priority transcripts,…
Translate or request translation of reference materials.
+Arrange translation of ten 1950s Spanish-language interview transcripts by identifying priority transcripts, request certified translation for three legal-use files, and return preliminary machine-translated drafts for team review within two weeks.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OfficeO*NET
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Present findings at conferences or public events
+Prepare a 12‑minute conference talk for the regional oral history meeting summarising our Portsmouth…
Present findings at conferences or public events
+Prepare a 12‑minute conference talk for the regional oral history meeting summarising our Portsmouth dockworkers project, include three audio excerpts, two slides of participant testimony with dates and a 90‑second conclusion for questions on Tuesday morning.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointjob descriptions
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Develop educational and outreach programs
+Design a six-week community outreach course for seniors teaching recording techniques, ethical consent…
Develop educational and outreach programs
+Design a six-week community outreach course for seniors teaching recording techniques, ethical consent procedures, and one supervised interview session each week, include a public sharing evening and a simple participant booklet to deliver before the September term start.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft Officejob descriptions
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Create and interpret timelines and chronological sequences
+Build a clear chronological timeline of the 1984 factory closure using interview dates, archival notices and…
Create and interpret timelines and chronological sequences
+Build a clear chronological timeline of the 1984 factory closure using interview dates, archival notices and local press, colour‑code labour, management and community events, and produce a printable one‑page timeline to hand out at the November talk.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions
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Present the past of human societies
+Prepare a 30‑minute public lecture that presents the social history of migrant kitchens in the town, centre…
Present the past of human societies
+Prepare a 30‑minute public lecture that presents the social history of migrant kitchens in the town, centre voices from five interviewees, include contextual archival facts and leave 10 minutes for audience discussion at the heritage centre on Saturday afternoon.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointESCO
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Source criticism
+Run a source critique of the Baker family interview: document provenance and recording conditions, assess…
Source criticism
+Run a source critique of the Baker family interview: document provenance and recording conditions, assess memory reliability against the 1989 meeting minutes, flag instances of leading questioning, and recommend whether to archive the file with a caution note by Friday.
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Says who?
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Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses
Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses