Become a Historic Preservationist

A historic preservation professional studies, restores or rebuilds monuments, buildings and artifacts that have historic and/or cultural significance in their locale or nationally. The career path involves the careful analysis, inspection, and preservation of historic documents, building, artifacts and other objects of historic significance. Some jobs in this field include archivist or historian, who work in both the private and public sectors, as well as preservation-focused carpenters. Historic preservationists might work in architectural firms, city planning offices, economic development agencies, historic parks, and development companies. There also are consulting firms that specialize in conservation, historic research, and historic preservation-focused planning work. This is mission-driven work, where individuals in this field appreciate the built environment and are committed to saving historic resources. 

Historic preservationists work to identify, evaluate, interpret, renovate historically and culturally significant buildings or sites. There are many aspects to the work – such as researching and documenting a historic building or district so that it can be eligible for local or national listing as a historic resource. This can make some properties eligible for historic preservation tax credits in the U.S., which also require a historic preservation specialist to pursue documentation. Another route requires more practical building knowledge or design experience to conserve artefacts, restore a building, plan a renovation project, or an addition to a historic building. You might attend a community meeting one night, spend all day in a archives researching the history of a building the next day, then complete a historic nomination report, and create a map using GIS the next day.  

Historic preservation professionals typically work in an office environment during normal business hours. They often perform field work, such as site visits to survey a historic building, structure, landscape, or entire neighborhood. You need to be OK with walking through empty buildings with flashlights! 

Consider pursuing this career if you are good at envisioning how a vacant historic building might look if it was restored to its original glory or if you are interested in researching historic events or buildings.   

More administrative roles often require an undergraduate degree in history, American studies, or art history, although many universities now offer an undergraduate major in historic preservation. Entry-level preservation positions typically require a graduate degree in historic preservation or architectural history. 

Master’s degrees in historic preservation or architectural history are offered at many universities often in the architecture school. Many of the programs offer concentrations which can help you specialize before entering the job market, such as conservation (a more scientific route which enables a professional to restore historic artefacts or historic buildings), history, planning, sustainability, or real estate. Some professionals pursue historic preservation as an architect and specialize in renovation or addition projects related to historic buildings in their design practice.  

Working for a historic preservation consulting firm, a government entity such as the National Park Service or State Historic Preservation Office (or provincial equivalent), or a historic site. 

There is no certification for this profession at this time.