Jobs / Science and research / 19-3093.00
Historians
Research, analyze, record, and interpret the past as recorded in sources, such as government and institutional records, newspapers and other periodicals, photographs, interviews, films, electronic media, and unpublished manuscripts, such as personal diaries and letters.
- US jobs
- 3,450
- Median wage
- $76,750 a year
- Job family
- Science and research
Can agents do the work of historians?
We read the evidence for the whole job family, Science and research: Some tasks (no change in 12 months)
Agents complete 20% or more of the tasks (or projects) on a direct benchmark.
Evidence: CORE-Bench, declared solved.
0% of this occupation's work, by O*NET work activities, is measured by a direct benchmark.
- 29%Research historical or social issuesNot measured
- 23%Present research or technical informationNot measured
- 11%Gather information from physical or electronic sourcesNot measured
- 5%Arrange displays or decorationsNot measured
- 5%Collect information about patients or clientsNot measured
- 4%Inspect characteristics or conditions of materials or productsNot measured
- 4%Direct organizational operations, activities, or proceduresNot measured
- 3%Teach academic or vocational subjectsNot measured
Benchmarks for the job family
These cover work in science and research, not always this occupation's tasks.
Direct evidence
Work benchmarks mapped primary to this family. They set the step when they report how many tasks agents complete.
- 95.5%Claude Code + Claude Opus 4.5 (after manual regrading) · 3 Dec 2025Solved
Also relevant
These benchmarks cover part of this family's work, or have no result yet. They do not set its step.
- 64.8%Claude Code + Opus 5.5 (max) · 6 Oct 2026Strong
Typical tasks
From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.
- Gather historical data from sources such as archives, court records, diaries, news files, and photographs, as well as from books, pamphlets, and periodicals.
- Organize data, and analyze and interpret its authenticity and relative significance.
- Prepare publications and exhibits, or review those prepared by others, to ensure their historical accuracy.
- Organize information for publication and for other means of dissemination, such as via storage media or the Internet.
- Conduct historical research as a basis for the identification, conservation, and reconstruction of historic places and materials.
- Conserve and preserve manuscripts, records, and other artifacts.
- Present historical accounts in terms of individuals or social, ethnic, political, economic, or geographic groupings.
- Research the history of a particular country or region, or of a specific time period.
- Conduct historical research, and publish or present findings and theories.
- Determine which topics to research, or pursue research topics specified by clients or employers.
- Recommend actions related to historical art, such as which items to add to a collection or which items to display in an exhibit.
- Research and prepare manuscripts in support of public programming and the development of exhibits at historic sites, museums, libraries, and archives.
Other job titles for this occupation (30)
Collections Specialist · County Historian · Historian · Historic Architectural Resources Curator · Historic Interpreter · Historic Preservation Coordinator · Historic Sites Registrar · Historical Interpreter · Research Historian · Researcher · Architectural Historian · Art Historian · Dance Historian · Dramatic Arts Historian · Field Court Researcher · Film Historian · Genealogist · Genealogist Researcher · Health Historian · Historian Developer · Historic Preservation Specialist · Historic Preservationist · Historiographer · Medical Historian · Medication Historian · Music Historian · Oral Historian · Process Information Historian (PI Historian) · Protohistorian · Research Associate