Historian
Historians piece together past events from documents, objects and first-hand accounts, and explain what the evidence shows.
- Median salary*
- $91,000
3.9%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 510
2.0%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +21.2%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 42/wk
+2h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
Historians work in universities, museums, archives, heritage consultancies and government agencies, and much of the work is project based, tied to a research grant or a specific heritage assessment. They are not archaeologists, who mostly recover physical evidence through fieldwork, or archivists, who manage records rather than interpret them. The core of the job is reading, and a historian may spend weeks with a collection before writing a single page.
How much do historians earn?
The median full-time salary for a historian is $91,000 per annum, before tax, up $18,900 since 2018.
Pay varies more by employer than by the work itself. University and public service roles sit on defined classifications and enterprise agreements, while consultancies and grant funded projects pay according to what the contract covers, and contract rates can be higher but come without paid leave or security. Many historians work part time or on short contracts, so annual earnings often reflect how much work was available in the year rather than a steady rate.
What does a historian do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Tracing a family, a property or a land use through archives, catalogues and digitised collections
- Comparing sources that disagree with each other and deciding what the evidence will support
- Writing for different audiences, from a journal article or heritage report to exhibition labels and a community talk
- Advising on heritage listings, conservation or policy submissions where a historical record matters
- Teaching students or supervising volunteers, and answering public enquiries about local history
What skills do historians need?
Employers look for field research and sampling, policy analysis and advice, community engagement, backed by Zotero fluency and strong presenting and data storytelling.
Specialist skills
- Field research and sampling
- Policy analysis and advice
- Community engagement
- Content creation and writing
- Teaching and instruction
Software and tools
- Zotero
- NVivo
- ArchivesSpace
- Microsoft 365
- PastPerfect
General skills
- Presenting and data storytelling
- Attention to detail
- Digital literacy
Is the job growing?
About 510 people work as historians in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 21.2% over the decade to 2035. That's very strong growth. Few roles in Australia are expanding this fast, and it points to solid demand for years to come.
How do you become a historian?
Here's the path most historians take, step by step.
- 1Start with a history degree
A three year bachelor degree in history or a related field such as classics, politics or archaeology covers source analysis, historiography and research methods, and it is the base qualification most employers expect.
- 2Add postgraduate study
A postgraduate qualification is the most common background in this field, with 60% of historians holding one. A master's or a doctorate is the usual route into research and academic work and helps for heritage and policy roles.
- 3Build practical experience with original material
Internships, volunteering with historical societies and museums, and paid project work in heritage consultancies all count when you apply, because employers look for evidence you have handled original sources and finished a piece of work from start to finish.
- 4Choose a specialism
Australian, public, family, environmental and military history are common directions, and the specialism shapes which collections, communities and employers you end up working with.
- 5Enter through the sector that fits
Government history and heritage roles are advertised through state and federal agencies, academic roles through universities, and the rest through museums, libraries and consultancies, often on fixed term contracts.
Ready to apply as a historian?
Whether you're working toward becoming a historian or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a historian move to?
Moving into Archivist typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $27,500 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archivist Archival work builds on a historian's grasp of records and provenance, with further training in archival practice. | +$27,500 | 3% | requalify |
| Anthropologist Anthropology shares the historian's qualitative research and cultural analysis, so the move needs little extra study. | +$0 | 64% | minimal |
| Archaeologist A historian's research and source interpretation carry into archaeology, which adds fieldwork and formal archaeological training.Known move | −$2,600 | 13% | requalify |
| Curator Gallery and museum curation draws on historical knowledge and research, with training in collection management. | −$3,600 | 27% | reskill |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a historian?
The typical historian is 54 years old; 62% are women, 50% work full-time, and full-timers average 42 hours a week.
- 54
- Median age
- 62%
- Female share
- 50%
- Full-time
- +2h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a historian?
The work runs in long cycles: months of reading and note taking, then a burst of writing against a deadline. Funding shapes a lot of it, since research and heritage projects are usually grant or contract funded, and plenty of historians hold two or three part time roles rather than one permanent job. It suits someone patient with detail who wants to know how a body of evidence fits together.
What people like
- Following a question to its source. Chasing a name, a date or a boundary through a chain of records until the pieces line up is the absorbing part of the job.
- Working with original material. Letters, ledgers, maps, photographs and recorded interviews carry detail that no summary preserves.
- Research that someone actually uses. A heritage assessment, an exhibition or an answer to a family history enquiry has a person at the end of it who needed the work done.
- A week in several places. The schedule can take in a reading room, a university tutorial, a museum floor and a community hall in the same week.
What people find hard
- Project by project funding. Research and heritage work is funded grant by grant, so the next contract often has to be found before the current one finishes.
- Long reading for short output. Weeks in the archive can yield a few pages, because much of what you read never makes it into the final piece.
- Gaps and restrictions in the record. Records are lost, closed for privacy reasons or subject to cultural restrictions, which limits what can be said about some subjects.
- Pressure for a settled answer. Clients, community groups and lawyers sometimes want a conclusion the surviving evidence cannot support.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ historians?
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services employs the largest share of historians, followed by Education and Training.
Top employing industries
- 1Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
- 2Education and Training
- 3Arts and Recreation Services
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Postgraduate | 60% | |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor degree | 19.9% | |
| Year 12 or below | 8% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 7.4% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 2.7% |
Will AI replace historians?
Historians work almost entirely with text, so AI reaches a good part of the job: optical character recognition, handwriting transcription and keyword search across digitised collections have sped up the finding and reading stages considerably. What the tools do not do is decide which sources are trustworthy, weigh conflicting evidence or build an argument from it. The public side of the work, from exhibitions to teaching to answering community enquiries, still happens between people.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Reading and transcribing sourcesHandwriting recognition now gives a first pass on digitised documents such as parish registers and war service records, but checking names, dates and old spellings against the original still takes a person.30%high
- Writing up research for publication or clientsLanguage tools help with drafts, citations and consistency, but the argument and the choice of evidence behind it are still made by the author.30%moderate
- Searching archives and cataloguesFull text search across digitised collections turns up candidates in seconds, while working out which record is relevant and what its provenance is remains the historian's judgement.20%high
- Public talks, teaching and community enquiriesRunning a walking tour, supervising a student or answering a family history question in person cannot be handed to a chatbot.20%low
Moves least exposed to AI
These career moves from historian work are rated low for AI exposure:
- Archaeologist
Some skill overlap (13%), requalify to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
Common questions about becoming a historian
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do historians earn?
Historians earn a median of $91,000 per year before tax. Where you work matters more than the job title, since universities and the public service set pay through classification levels while consultancies and grant funded projects pay according to the contract.
How do you become a historian?
Most historians begin with a bachelor degree in history, and a master's or doctorate is common for research and academic roles. Practical experience with original sources, gained through an internship, a volunteer role or a heritage project, is what separates applicants with similar degrees.
Are historians in demand?
Historians are currently not in shortage. Employment is projected to grow 21.2% over the decade to 2035, but this is a small field of about 510 people, so most openings come from retirements and staff moving on rather than new positions being created.
Will AI replace historians?
AI has changed how historians find and read material, not what they do with it. Transcription tools and keyword search now work through digitised collections quickly, but judging which sources are reliable, weighing conflicting evidence and building an argument remain the historian's job. The public side of the work, from exhibitions to teaching and community enquiries, still happens between people.
What else can a historian do?
Anthropology draws on the same qualitative research and cultural analysis, so the move needs little extra study and pays about the same. Archives work and museum curation both build on a historian's grasp of records and provenance, but each needs further training in its own practice, and they pay $27,500 more and $3,600 less respectively. Many historians also build their own heritage research or consulting practice, which is often where earnings grow.
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