How to Become a Historian
Research and interpret the past from documents, records and artifacts, for museums, agencies, archives and publishers. It typically requires a master's degree, with a median salary of $76,750 per year and slower than average projected job growth.
Median pay
$76,750/yr
Middle half
$57,290 to $99,990
Job growth
Slower than average
Openings / yr
300
Majors that lead here
Key skills
- Research
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Source Analysis
Related careers
- Industrial-Organizational Psychologist$193,950 median
- Political Scientist$142,080 median
- Sociologist$106,030 median
- Geographer$102,040 median
- Anthropologist / Archeologist$70,770 median
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Historian make?
The median pay for a Historian is $76,750 a year, and the middle half of workers earn between $57,290 and $99,990 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025). That covers everyone in the job, not only people starting out, so newer workers sit toward the lower end.
What degree do you need to become a Historian?
The usual entry point is a master's degree. Common majors are History and Liberal Arts and General Studies.
Is Historian a growing field?
Projected job growth for this role from 2024 to 2034 is slower than average (BLS projections via O*NET), with roughly 300 U.S. openings a year.
What skills does a Historian use most?
Common skills for this role are Research, Writing, Critical Thinking, and Source Analysis.
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Take the major quizWhere these pay figures come from
Career pay is the annual wage of everyone working in that occupation, not only recent graduates, so it includes people who have done the job for decades. The middle half is the 25th to the 75th percentile. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET OnLine (median and percentile annual wages May 2025; employment projections 2024-2034).
All figures are national. What you earn depends on where you work, who you work for, and how far you take the degree.
Job-growth figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET OnLine (median and percentile annual wages May 2025; employment projections 2024-2034).