Historian

==Education and profession==
{{further|List of historians}}
[[File:Peter Brown Balzan Prize Ceremony 2011.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Peter Brown (historian)|Peter R.L Brown]], a Princeton historian of [[late antiquity]] and the [[Middle Ages|medieval]] period.]]
An undergraduate history degree is often used as a stepping stone to graduate studies in business or law. Many historians are employed at universities and other facilities for post-secondary education.<ref name="blsgov">{{Cite web|url=http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos054.htm|url-status=dead|title=Social Scientists, Other|work=Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008–09 Edition|publisher=U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090830051426/http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos054.htm |archivedate=August 30, 2009}}</ref> In addition, it is normal for colleges and universities to require a PhD degree for new full-time hires. A scholarly thesis, such as a doctoral dissertation, is now regarded as the baseline qualification for a professional historian. However, some historians still gain recognition based on published (academic) works and the award of fellowships by academic bodies like the [[Royal Historical Society]]. Publication is increasingly required by smaller schools, so graduate papers become journal articles and PhD dissertations become published monographs. The graduate student experience is difficult—those who finish their doctorate in the United States take on average 8 or more years; funding is scarce except at a few very rich universities. {{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} Being a teaching assistant in a course is required in some programs; in others it is a paid opportunity awarded a fraction of the students. Until the 1970s it was rare for graduate programs to teach how to teach; the assumption was that teaching was easy and that learning how to do research was the main mission.<ref>Michael Kammen, "Some Reminiscences and Reflections on Graduate Education in History, ''Reviews in American History'' Volume 36, Number 3, Sept 2008 pp. 468–484 {{doi|10.1353/rah.0.0027}}</ref><ref>Walter Nugent, "Reflections: "Where Have All the Flowers Gone . . . When Will They Ever Learn?", ''Reviews in American History''  Volume 39, Number 1, March 2011, pp. 205–211 {{doi|10.1353/rah.2011.0055}}</ref> A critical experience for graduate students is having a mentor who will provide psychological, social, intellectual and professional support, while directing scholarship and providing an introduction to the profession.<ref>Michael Kammen, "On Mentoring Apprentice Historians and Appreciating Mentors—Gleaned From the Memories of Others." ''Reviews in American History'' 40.2 (2012): 339–348. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41678570 online]</ref>

Professional historians typically work in colleges and universities, archival centers, government agencies, museums, and as freelance writers and consultants.<ref>Anthony Grafton and Robert B. Townsend, "The Parlous Paths of the Profession" [http://www.historians.org/Perspectives/issues/2008/0810/0810pro1.cfm ''Perspectives on History'' (Sept. 2008) online]</ref> The job market for new PhDs in history is poor and getting worse, with many relegated to part-time "adjunct" teaching jobs with low pay and no benefits.<ref>Robert B. Townsend and Julia Brookins, "The Troubled Academic Job Market for History." ''Perspectives on History'' (2016) 54#2 pp 157–182 echoes Robert B. Townsend, "Troubling News on Job Market for History PhDs", [http://blog.historians.org/articles/953/troubling-news-on-job-market-for-history-phds ''AHA Today''  Jan. 4, 2010 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110116023230/http://blog.historians.org/articles/953/troubling-news-on-job-market-for-history-phds |date=2011-01-16 }}</ref>

==="Amateur" historians===
[[C. Vann Woodward]] (1908–1999), Sterling Professor of History at Yale University, cautioned that the academicians had themselves abdicated their role as storytellers:<blockquote>Professionals do well to apply the term "amateur" with caution to the historian outside their ranks. The word does have deprecatory and patronizing connotations that occasionally backfire. This is especially true of narrative history, which nonprofessionals have all but taken over. The gradual withering of the narrative impulse in favor of the analytical urge among professional academic historians has resulted in a virtual abdication of the oldest and most honored role of the historian, that of storyteller. Having abdicated... the professional is in a poor position to patronize amateurs who fulfill the needed function he has abandoned.<ref>C. Vann Woodward, "The Great American Butchery", ''New York Review of Books'' (March 6, 1975) [https://nybooks.com/articles/1975/03/06/the-great-american-butchery/ online].</ref></blockquote>