Employers
Many genealogists consider their research a hobby, but there are many opportunities for employment in genealogy and related fields. Self-employed genealogists work with individual families, with geneticists and physicians to research health data on a patient's ancestors, and with church groups and other organizations that research adoption records. Genealogists may also be able to find full-time work with professional family researchers, historical societies, libraries, and other research-oriented organizations.
Starting Out
New genealogists have to work hard to drum up business. This may require advertising in the Yellow Pages and local newspapers, on the Internet, with genealogical and historical societies, and in genealogical magazines. They might also leave business cards with the local public or university library and historical society. As with any self-employed profession, steady work is never guaranteed, and genealogists may have to supplement their income. Many choose to do family history work only part time, while holding other jobs, such as librarian, writer, teacher, and college professor.
- Anthropologists
- Archaeologists
- Conservators and Conservation Technicians
- Demographers
- Economists
- Education Directors and Museum Teachers
- Ethnoscientists
- Futurists
- Genealogical Researchers
- Geographers
- Historians
- Historic Preservationists
- Lexicographers
- Linguists
- Medical Ethicists
- Political Scientists
- Sociologists
- Statisticians