Education is key to become a historian. As being a historian is a lifelong career choice, having a passion for the subject is most important. Excelling in high school and college coursework will give you a foundation of knowledge from which to choose a specialized field. Earning a doctorate in history, you will create a long text of original research known as a dissertation. If you are fortunate enough to find a teaching position at a university, you will split your time between teaching students and writing articles and/or books in your field.
For you to become a historian, you need a passion for history. Outside of this desire, what is required is the ability to excel in history classes starting in high school. As being a historian is one of the most competitive positions in academia, you need to set yourself apart early. While in college, publishing original research or completing an honors program will give you an advantage when it comes time to apply to graduate school.
On your path to become a historian, you should decide in college in which field of history you want to specialize. There are many fields. Choosing in college is essential, as the history departments of the graduate schools you will apply to generally focus on only a few fields. Knowing what you want and what each school offers will ensure the best fit between you and the school.
Though an undergraduate degree is designed as a four-year experience, the amount of time you spend earning your doctorate in history depends on a number of factors. Most graduate coursework takes between two to three years, but the amount of time you spend writing your dissertation depends wholly on your field of history. Writing a dissertation can take up to four years, as some dissertations in history require research in international museums, universities and libraries. You must remember, too, that graduate students are also expected to teach introductory level courses to undergraduates. As most historians are teachers, this training is essential to become a historian.
At the end of graduate school, you will present your dissertation to a panel of professors for final review. The professors can either accept, reject or send the dissertation back for revision. If accepted, you will earn a doctorate in history, and finish your formal education. In many ways, though, your journey to become a historian will have just started.
Most historians earn their living by working at colleges or universities, their job duties including both teaching classes and writing original research. When hired, historians are put on either a tenure or non-tenure tract. A tenure tract stipulates that if a historian publishes a certain amount of research over a length of time, he or she will be given tenure, a near guarantee of lifetime employment that gives the historian freedom to research what he or she wants. Non-tenure historians work mainly as lecturers, earning less and having little job security. For both kinds of jobs, though, the applicant pools are very large; your passion to become a historian needs to remain strong for what may be years of searching for long-term employment.
