Frankel says an advanced education, either a master's degree or Ph.D., is needed for most historians' jobs. Many historians also work in the educational setting, teaching at either secondary schools or colleges and universities. To teach in a four-year college or university, a Ph.D. is normally required as well as having been published. According to Frankel, each historian's work deals with a particular time period or geographic region. No one historian could handle tracking all of the historical events everywhere she says, because the amount of information to handle and take care of would be overwhelming.
Some historians work for towns, villages and other municipalities.
Others work for institutions like the National Archive and the Library of Congress. According to Naparsteck, whose work week can be as long as 60 hours, her work requires a lot of research, writing and public speaking. She has been published several times. She also edits and writes for the quarterly Rochester History. Competition for jobs is tough due to limited growth in the field.