Students should obtain as much experience in the field as possible by participating in summer internships, volunteer opportunities, and part-time jobs at local, state, and federal historic preservation agencies or related employers.
Historic preservationists need to have a curiosity about the past and the patience to research historical events with a painstaking attention to detail. They also need business experience to manage a historic preservation project in a way that makes it financially self-supporting, attracts visitors to the historic site, and presents the significance of the site in a way that is enthusiastically understood by lay people.
Historic preservationists work on many types of projects, from large government-funded restorations of a city devastated by natural disaster to small grassroots campaigns to save a town's Main Street. In turn, preservation professionals must be able to interact effectively with all types of people—from federal officials to ordinary citizens. They must be ready to explain their research in terms that are easily understood by those who do not have a background in historic preservation.
Preservationists must be meticulous with their work, often spending many hours on research, fieldwork, or lobbying various government agencies. Organization and patience are highly valued in this industry.
- Active and Contemplative Religious Sisters and Brothers
- Anthropologists
- Archaeologists
- Archivists
- Artists
- Book Conservators
- Conservators and Conservation Technicians
- Demographers
- Directors of Corporate Sponsorship
- Directors of Fund-Raising
- Directors of Volunteers
- Economists
- Education Directors and Museum Teachers
- Environmental Education Program Directors
- Environmental Lobbyists
- Ethnoscientists
- Exhibit Designers
- Fund-Raisers
- Futurists
- Gallery Owners and Directors
- Genealogical Researchers
- Genealogists
- Geographers
- Grant Coordinators and Writers
- Historians
- Land Acquisition Professionals
- Land Trust or Preserve Managers
- Lexicographers
- Librarians
- Linguists
- Lobbyists
- Medical Ethicists
- Museum Attendants
- Museum Directors and Curators
- Museum Technicians
- National Park Service Employees
- Nonprofit Social Service Directors
- Park Rangers
- Political Scientists
- Proposal Managers
- Public Interest Lawyers
- Public Opinion Researchers
- Public Relations Specialists
- Rabbis
- Roman Catholic Priests
- Social Workers
- Sociologists
- Statisticians
- Taxidermists
- Tour Guides
- Zoo and Aquarium Curators and Directors
- Zookeepers
- Zoologists