History Transfer Pathway

Alternative Job Titles for Historians

• County Historian
• County Records Management Officer (County RMO)
• Historian
• Historic Interpreter
• Historic Sites Registrar
• Historical Interpreter
• Research Associate
• Researcher

Job Tasks and Activities for Historians

• Collect archival data.
• Collect detailed information on individuals for use in biographies.
• Collect information from people through observation, interviews, or surveys.
• Conduct historical research as a basis for the identification, conservation, and reconstruction of historic places and materials.
• Conduct historical research, and publish or present findings and theories.
• Conduct historical research.
• Conserve and preserve manuscripts, records, and other artifacts.
• Gather historical data from sources such as archives, court records, diaries, news files, and photographs, as well as from books, pamphlets, and periodicals.
• Instruct college students in social sciences or humanities disciplines.
• 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.
• Prepare materials for preservation, storage, or display.
• Prepare publications and exhibits, or review those prepared by others, to ensure their historical accuracy.
• Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
• Present historical accounts in terms of individuals or social, ethnic, political, economic, or geographic groupings.
• Research and prepare manuscripts in support of public programming and the development of exhibits at historic sites, museums, libraries, and archives.
• Research the history of a particular country or region, or of a specific time period.
• Speak to various groups, organizations, and clubs to promote the aims and activities of historical societies.
• Teach and conduct research in colleges, universities, museums, and other research agencies and schools.
• Trace historical development in a particular field, such as social, cultural, political, or diplomatic history.

Interests for Historians

• Investigative
  Studying and researching scientific subjects and human behavior.
• Conventional
  Following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting.

Skills for Historians

In order of importance

• Reading Comprehension
  Reading work-related information.
  Importance: 94/100
• Critical Thinking
  Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
  Importance: 78/100
• Writing
  Writing things for co-workers or customers.
  Importance: 75/100
• Active Listening
  Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
  Importance: 75/100
• Speaking
  Talking to others.
  Importance: 72/100
• Active Learning
  Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
  Importance: 69/100
• Social Perceptiveness
  Understanding people's reactions.
  Importance: 60/100
• Instructing
  Teaching people how to do something.
  Importance: 56/100
• Judgment and Decision Making
  Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
  Importance: 53/100
• Complex Problem Solving
  Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
  Importance: 53/100
• Coordination
  Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
  Importance: 50/100
• Monitoring
  Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
  Importance: 50/100
• Learning Strategies
  Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
  Importance: 50/100
• Management of Personnel Resources
  Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
  Importance: 47/100
• Time Management
  Managing your time and the time of other people.
  Importance: 47/100
• Persuasion
  Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
  Importance: 44/100
• Science
  Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
  Importance: 41/100
• Service Orientation
  Looking for ways to help people.
  Importance: 35/100
• Systems Analysis
  Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
  Importance: 31/100
• Systems Evaluation
  Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
  Importance: 31/100
• Negotiation
  Bringing people together to solve differences.
  Importance: 31/100
• Operations Analysis
  Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
  Importance: 25/100
• Mathematics
  Using math to solve problems.
  Importance: 19/100
• Management of Material Resources
  Managing equipment and materials.
  Importance: 16/100
• Management of Financial Resources
  Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
  Importance: 13/100
• Operations Monitoring
  Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
  Importance: 13/100
• Technology Design
  Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
  Importance: 10/100
• Quality Control Analysis
  Testing how well a product or service works.
  Importance: 10/100
• Programming
  Writing computer programs.
  Importance: 6/100

Knowledge for Historians

In order of importance

• History and Archeology
  Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
  Importance: 87/100
• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  Importance: 83/100
• 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.
  Importance: 63/100
• 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.
  Importance: 54/100
• 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.
  Importance: 53/100
• 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.
  Importance: 53/100
• Sociology and Anthropology
  Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
  Importance: 51/100
• 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.
  Importance: 50/100
• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  Importance: 47/100
• Fine Arts
  Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
  Importance: 46/100
• 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.
  Importance: 44/100
• 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.
  Importance: 36/100
• Design
  Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
  Importance: 34/100
• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  Importance: 34/100
• 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.
  Importance: 33/100
• 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.
  Importance: 33/100
• 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.
  Importance: 30/100
• Law and Government
  Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  Importance: 30/100
• Economics and Accounting
  Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
  Importance: 26/100
• Production and Processing
  Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
  Importance: 25/100
• 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.
  Importance: 24/100
• 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.
  Importance: 24/100
• Mechanical
  Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
  Importance: 23/100
• 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.
  Importance: 23/100
• Telecommunications
  Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
  Importance: 22/100
• Transportation
  Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
  Importance: 20/100
• 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.
  Importance: 19/100
• Biology
  Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  Importance: 18/100
• 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.
  Importance: 17/100
• 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.
  Importance: 13/100
• 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.
  Importance: 9/100
• Food Production
  Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
  Importance: 7/100
• 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.
  Importance: 6/100

Physical Abilities for Historians

In order of importance

• Written Comprehension
  Reading and understanding what is written.
  Importance: 94/100
• Written Expression
  Communicating by writing.
  Importance: 81/100
• Oral Expression
  Communicating by speaking.
  Importance: 75/100
• Oral Comprehension
  Listening and understanding what people say.
  Importance: 75/100
• Inductive Reasoning
  Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
  Importance: 72/100
• Speech Clarity
  Speaking clearly.
  Importance: 69/100
• Near Vision
  Seeing details up close.
  Importance: 69/100
• Speech Recognition
  Recognizing spoken words.
  Importance: 66/100
• Deductive Reasoning
  Using rules to solve problems.
  Importance: 63/100
• Information Ordering
  Ordering or arranging things.
  Importance: 60/100
• Problem Sensitivity
  Noticing when problems happen.
  Importance: 60/100
• Category Flexibility
  Grouping things in different ways.
  Importance: 56/100
• Fluency of Ideas
  Coming up with lots of ideas.
  Importance: 53/100
• Originality
  Creating new and original ideas.
  Importance: 50/100
• Selective Attention
  Paying attention to something without being distracted.
  Importance: 50/100
• Flexibility of Closure
  Seeing hidden patterns.
  Importance: 35/100
• Far Vision
  Seeing details that are far away.
  Importance: 35/100
• Memorization
  Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
  Importance: 31/100
• Time Sharing
  Doing two or more things at the same time.
  Importance: 28/100
• Auditory Attention
  Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
  Importance: 28/100
• Perceptual Speed
  Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
  Importance: 28/100
• Visual Color Discrimination
  Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
  Importance: 25/100
• Visualization
  Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
  Importance: 25/100
• Mathematical Reasoning
  Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
  Importance: 25/100
• Speed of Closure
  Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
  Importance: 25/100
• Trunk Strength
  Using your lower back and stomach.
  Importance: 25/100
• Manual Dexterity
  Holding or moving items with your hands.
  Importance: 22/100
• Control Precision
  Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
  Importance: 19/100
• Depth Perception
  Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
  Importance: 16/100
• Number Facility
  Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
  Importance: 16/100
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  Keeping your arm or hand steady.
  Importance: 13/100
• Finger Dexterity
  Putting together small parts with your fingers.
  Importance: 13/100
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
  Importance: 13/100
• Stamina
  Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
  Importance: 13/100
• Dynamic Strength
  Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
  Importance: 13/100
• Hearing Sensitivity
  Telling the difference between sounds.
  Importance: 10/100
• Extent Flexibility
  Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  Importance: 10/100
• Gross Body Coordination
  Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
  Importance: 10/100
• Multilimb Coordination
  Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
  Importance: 10/100
• Glare Sensitivity
  Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
  Importance: 6/100
• Speed of Limb Movement
  Quickly moving your arms and legs.
  Importance: 3/100

Tools and Technology used by Historians

• 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
  • IBM SPSS Statistics
  • Statistical analysis software
• Cloud-based data access and sharing software
  • Microsoft SharePoint
• Data base management system software
  • Database management systems
  • Relational database management system RDMS
• Data base user interface and query software
  • Gutenberg-e
  • Microsoft Access
  • Reference management software
  • Structured query language SQL
• Data mining software
  • Text mining software
  • TokenX
• Desktop publishing software
  • Adobe InDesign
  • QuarkXPress
• Document management software
  • Adobe Acrobat
  • Web Scrapbook
• Electronic mail software
  • Email software
• Enterprise application integration software
  • Extensible markup language XML
• Geographic information system
  • ESRI ArcGIS software
  • Geographic information system GIS software
• Graphics or photo imaging software
  • Adobe Photoshop
• Industrial control software
  • Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software
  • Wonderware software
• Information retrieval or search software
  • Archival databases
  • ArchiveGrid
  • Archives Wiki
  • Digital image collections
  • Google Books NGram Viewer
  • Library of Congress digital collections
  • National Archives online databases
  • National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC)
  • ProQuest Archive Finder
  • Searchable online catalogs
  • Smithsonian Institution digital archives
• Internet browser software
  • Page markers
  • Web browser software
• Map creation software
  • Digital mapping software
• Music or sound editing software
  • Audio editing software
• Office suite software
  • Microsoft Office software
• Optical character reader OCR or scanning software
  • Scanning software
• Presentation software
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
• Spreadsheet software
  • Microsoft Excel
• Web page creation and editing software
  • Adobe Dreamweaver
  • LinkedIn
• Web platform development software
  • Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP
• Word processing software
  • Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
  • Microsoft Word

Employment Industries for Historians

• Local government, excluding education and hospitals
  800 employed
• Federal government, excluding postal service
  800 employed
• State government, excluding education and hospitals
  400 employed
• Research and development in the social sciences and humanities
  300 employed
• Museums, historical sites, and similar institutions
  100 employed