All about being a historian?

Question

I am seriously considering going to college to major history to be a local historian, or just a historian on a certain type of period, etc.

I want to be able to make it a lifelong career. I originally wanted to train to be a veterinarian technician but I found that the average salary is barely enough to support a normal person in the real world. I am not interested in being a history teacher, as teachers do not get paid enough.

Here are a few questions I have:

Is it possible to make it a lifelong career, with the promise of work always there?

What is the average yearly salary?

How would I be able to find work? From a local museum, etc.?

How long does it take on average to have a history major?

I would really like this to be a career that I can potentially grow on to support life changes like buying a house, having kids, etc.

Answer 1

Pure historians make less than teachers. It's love of history, not love of money. I'm an auto-didactic historian, myself. Paid in the pleasure of knowing.

Answer 2

If you're looking for a "sure thing" something that will guarantee a "comfortable" middle class lifestyle, forget being an historian.  Better to settle for a decidedly boring but more lucrative field like engineering, accounting, computer science, math, science, law, or take some mundane sales or civil service/government job... and there's no guarantees even for those fields these days, the economy being what it is...

but if being a corporate cog or "cubicle rat" is not for you, and you're willing to take a risk and do what you love and are passionate about and hope the money will follow, then go for being an historian!  

Truth of the matter is there are many people who majored in history who are not working in the field. They have student loans to pay off, and the "pure" non-teaching kinds of history jobs just aren't there for the standard 9 to 5.  It's the same thing happening with people in most of the social studies, arts and humanities disciplines.  Many of the people whom I graduated university with back in '95 are not working in their respective fields...and they are decidedly "boho" and "underemployed" but that's not uncommon for the Pacific Northwest...we don't live here for stability and career advancement lol. One woman I know has a PhD in history and worked as a Starbucks barista. She's now in France doing god-knows-what.  I have two BA degrees: One in broadcast communication and the other in international studies (with a significant amount of coursework in Latin American history) and I work as a receptionist and security guard for a multinational corporation.  So I'm basically an amateur historian/occasional docent/weekend tour guide, and I share my love of history wih others through music/songwriting, filmmaking and performance poetry...of which I earn little to no money for my efforts...but I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world...even for so-called financial "security" if it meant taking some high paying but demanding and extremely dreary and uncreative job that takes up all my time and resources with the bs office politics and makes me want to slice my wrist just thinking about it!

Nice thing with my current gig?  I go to work, do my thing, go home and then use the money I earned there as seed money to do my REAL job :)

Also you don't need scads of money to raise children. I was a divorcee who raised a child by myself on jobs that paid $8.50 an hour or less and we made out fine...and yes, I followed my bliss job-wise through most of it. I worked my jobs around my art and my child, not the other way around. I knew there'd be sacrifices I'd have to make, but I was ready and willing to do so.  For example, I never owned a house, and still don't ...but then I never wanted to, either. However, I've had the privilege of renting rooms in places designated as historic homes and loved it! I took my kid to theatre and opera and got good seats, even if that meant eating ramen noodles for a month...but to this day my now 25 year old daughter still talks about the thrill of seeing Phantom of the Opera in box seating in an historic theatre in San Francisco at age 14!

My point? dont let the trappings of what people define as "security" keep you from following your dreams. The greatest and most accomplished people throughout history were not necessarily the most financially secure.

Here are some links with practical info you might find useful in helping you make your choice in term of  a career in history...or any of the social sciences.

Answer 3

It is possible to make a lifelong career out of history, with a stipulation: If you are qualified to teach history at either the grade-school or college level than you're pretty much always going to be able to work.

Average salary completely depends upon what you're doing.  A high school history teacher makes about $40,000+ a year in most states. Professors make much more.  Historians for local museums and historical societies don't make squat without advanced degrees.

You're ability to find work in the field of history will largely depend upon your level of education.  A masters and especially a Ph.D open many doors and guarantee a higher income.  A B.A. in history does not guarantee you a job in history, except possibly in museum work (and then you'll be working for Ph.D's), or teaching (you would need to obtain a teaching certificate, which would require more schooling in most states).  

4 years for a bachelor's in history. About 3-5 more for a masters.  About 5-8 more (beyond a bachelor's) for a Ph.D.

Most people who have a B.A. in history (and are not pursuing a higher degree) do not work in the field of history, but use their analytical and writing skills in other lines of work.  Those other lines of work (business, writing, editing, etc) can be lucrative.  

Answer 4

You have to consider first what kind of person you are. If you are one of those who seek the truth in the history or one of those who would present the history according what you have been told by those who pay you.

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In the first case, you may be prosecuted by publishing something what is against "the strong men". In the second case, you are not a historian, but a sprucer.

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If you are the first type of person, get a minor in IT :) Just in case.

Answer 5

Ohhhhhhhh Kel!

If I could have made a living being a historian I would have been THE happiest human on Earth.

Unfortunately, any Historian and even any Archaeologist has been a teacher/professor on the college level first.

It's how they make money.

Museum level historians have gotten their "clout" through University level teaching....then moving on to museum level experts....where you are either a PhD or a PhD flunky, with a small pay check. AND those positions are usually held by grad students getting their PhDs in history.

The love of history is a life long pursuit and unfortunately not a pursuit of money.

Caeser_Salad above is absolutely correct.

Best of luck sweetie.