July 13, 2011
Finding History Jobs Outside of Academia
By Debbie Ann Doyle and Elisabeth Grant
Looking for a history job outside of academia? While the AHA publishes job ads (including some outside the classroom) online and in the back pages of Perspectives on History, there are many other history job listing sites online. This post draws from our Careers in Public History page, where you can find a number of links to job postings for work in museums, historical societies, state and local government, archives, and more.
- Museums
Find job listings for museum careers at Job HQ (formerly Aviso) from the American Association of Museums. - Historical Societies, Museums, and Organizations
The American Association for State and Local History’s Career Center tracks and lists jobs at historical societies, small museums, and other history organizations. - Federal Jobs
USA Jobs posts all available federal jobs. Since the listings aren’t limited to history jobs, you must search to find relevant positions. Many (but not all) history positions are classified under the “GS-170 Historian” job classification. Also check the websites of the federal agencies that hire historians, including the National Park Service, the Department of State Office of the Historian,
and the Senate Historical Office. The Society for History in the Federal Government is a valuable resource for information and employment listings. - Archives
Want to work in the archives? Check out the Society of American Archivists’ Online Career Center. - Consulting
Large historical consulting firms include History Associates, The History Factory, and Historical Research Associates. - Assorted
Also find jobs through the National Council on Public History, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and H-Net lists (like H-Public and H-Museum).
Interviews
Get a better sense of what sorts of history careers are out there in our series of interviews with history professionals. Meet Matt Wasniewski, historian in the U.S. House of Representatives; Richard Gillespie, director of education for the Mosby Heritage Area Association; Priya Chhaya, program associate in the Center for Preservation Leadership at the National Trust for Historic Preservation; and others.
Careers for Students of History
Finally, read through the online version of our popular pamphlets Careers for Students of Historyand Careers for History Majors. Each discusses the skills of professional historians, the types of jobs out there, necessary training, and offers profiles of people who work in an assortment of history jobs.
Comment:
Teaching at the K-12 level is another good option not listed here. For those interested in making the transition to independent schools, for example, the National Association of Independent Schools (nais.org) is a great starting point, or something like Carney Sandoe, a placement firm for independent schools (carneysandoe.com).
— Tanya Roth Jul 14, 10:13 AM
Comment:
Great list and thanks for the AASLH mention. Here’s a little more food-for- thought that the AASLH Professional Development Committee put together for just this very reason:
Careers for the History Professional http://www.aaslh.org/history-careers.htm
— Bob Beatty Jul 14, 12:57 PM