16 high-paying jobs for people who love history

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Gentileschi, Artemisia Clio History Muse study painting

Wikimedia Commons

Clio, the classical muse of history.

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You know what they say - those who study history are doomed to watch others repeat it.

That being said, history buffs aren't necessarily doomed to a life of subpar wages, despite the anti-humanities naysayers.

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If you're dead set on pursuing your passion and entering a field that involves history or archaeology, you've actually got a couple of options when it comes to well-paid jobs.

We checked out the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), a US Department of Labor database that compiles detailed information on hundreds of jobs, and looked at salary data on the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' website to find positions with a median annual salary of over $60,000 that require an extensive knowledge of history.

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O*NET ranks how important "knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures" is in any job, assigning each a "history importance level" between 1 and 100.

Judging from this list, it's mostly academia or bust for history lovers. Sadly, historians themselves didn't make the cut - as the median pay for that job was $55,800 a year.

Here are 16 high-paying positions with a history-importance level of 50 or higher: