Having trouble finding remote history jobs in the middle of the pandemic? You’re not alone. Use these job boards to find the best opportunities, then scroll down to the list of those roles below to understand what they entail.
You can use those job descriptions to tailor your applications to improve your chances of landing the job.
Where to find remote history jobs
You can find a rundown of these jobs below, but these are the main sources of online jobs you can find in the field. These job boards will show you the vast majority of opportunities.
Use these job boards to find remote history jobs:
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Good remote history jobs
These are the kinds of remote history jobs that you’ll find in 2022 and beyond. Some of them are entry-level and some of them are fairly advanced, but they all require a history degree in order to excel.
Here’s a chart with the average salary for each of those roles.
Digital archivist
Average salary: $39,434
Digital archivists exist for the preservation of historical materials. They create and keep those materials as files for permanent storage. They also add context and curated historical knowledge to those files.
Archivists store all kinds of media, including these:
- Newspapers
- Images
- Audio files
- Videos
Digitizing existing records is a valuable part of the job as well. That technology has only been widely accessible for about 30 years, yet archaeological evidence stretches back roughly 10,000 years (more or less in some regions).
Digitizing artifacts can’t usually be done remotely, but that’s okay, because organizing those files into a true archive is where the real hard work happens. All of that knowledge needs to be organized, tagged for searchable databases, and curated to tell historical facts. That is what can be done remotely, and it’s a big job.
I want “Digital archives are material problems” on a laptop sticker, please https://t.co/dzUWToIwmY
— Emma Stanford (@e_stanf) December 1, 2021
Editorial assistant
Average salary: $37,217 USD
The internet has enabled most of the communications field to go remote. That’s not news, but the cultural shift toward remote work since 2020 has rendered almost every editorial position one of the most ideal remote history jobs.
Incidentally, becoming an editorial assistant is also one of the best entry-level jobs for history majors these days. That’s because this role spends time doing exactly what history grads learned to do for four years.
- Researching stories
- Fact-checking manuscripts and stories
- Transcribing interviews
- Writing reviews
- Following style guides to the letter
All of that can be done online through Google Docs and video conferencing software. This applies to full-fledged editors as well.
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Genealogy specialist
Average salary: $46,674 USD
Genealogists are one of the most specialized jobs about history outside of educational and government institutions. It’s not the fastest-growing industry compared to digital marketing, but genealogy itself is a large industry worth billions of dollars.
That growth has happened thanks to online tools like Ancestry and 23andMe, which bring economical DNA tests and smart, intuitive family tree software to the general population.
The tools are online but the job itself still takes a lot of work—and that’s where genealogists come in, providing remote history jobs for an in-demand industry.
Fundraiser
Average salary: $51,996 USD
Fundraising can be difficult in the heritage and historical space because it doesn’t turn a profit in most scenarios. Preserving architecture, nature reserves, and cultural legacies doesn’t generate much on its own.
That’s what makes fundraisers so important. They work to generate donations for causes that for-profit industries don’t touch.
Those needs and responsibilities didn’t stop with the pandemic. The good news is that many of the day-to-day tasks involved in fundraising can be done remotely. Those include:
- Writing marketing emails can be done through email software.
- Creating web pages can be done through WordPress.
- Launching donor mail campaigns through USPS (or Canada Post).
- Hosting online event speakers through webinar software.
- Building relationships with special donors through Google Meet and Zoom.
The event management side of fundraising took a hit during the pandemic because events always happened in person, but software now exists to host online events. These have webinar capabilities, breakout rooms for small participation gatherings, and ways to connect with each other afterward.
Research officer
Average salary: $78,104 USD
Research officers don’t just do the grunt work in archives, or conducting surveys. They spend a lot of time doing more specialized white-collar work, including:
- Data analysis and manipulation.
- Organizing qualitative data gathering.
- A lot of project management.
- People management.
- Communicating research findings and project briefs.
- Directing high-level communication points
All of that can be done remotely. Data analysis can be done in Excel or Google Sheets, and qualitative data can usually be extracted through video chat software. Project management can be done through programs like Basecamp or Asana, and collaborative research work can be done through Google Docs or Google Sheets.
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Historical researcher
Average salary: $58,086 USD
Many historical records are available through online databases, thanks to the work of digital archivists—and historical researchers make use of that work every day. It’s one of the most ideal remote history jobs.
Historical researchers make the most of a history degree for obvious reasons, and the movement to digitize resources has made it quite possible to work among them remotely
Here’s what you’ll do as an historical researcher:
- Lead research projects.
- Develop research plans.
- Write and edit reports.
- Publish articles related to research projects.
- Write materials for archives and museum exhibits.
- Advise on archival collections.
- Perform genealogical research.
Most of that can be done remotely, barring some research with un-digitized resources—and even then, most institutions have policies to operate safely with masks and physical distancing guidelines.
Lecturer
Average salary: $50,854 USD
Lecturers are essentially teachers at universities. They’re the ones on the front lines mentoring students day in and day out.
You’ll find lecturers performing these duties:
- Creating course materials
- Teaching classes
- Leading seminars (sometimes called tutorials)
- Grading assignments
It sounds like a short list, but lecturers need to do that for every single student in every single class. They often teach three or four classes in a single term, and classes for first-years could contain hundreds of students.
Note: The average salary is for full-time lecturers, not sessional lecturers—and sessionals represent the majority of lecturers.
Those are the remote history jobs worth pursuing and where to find them. Remember: you’ll have a better chance of landing a job if you tailor your resume and cover letter to the role you want.
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