What does it take to become a historian?

You need to love learning about the past, have a insatiable sense of curiOSity about people and places, and be a good reader and writer. If you want to become a college or university-level teacher and researcher in history, you need to go to graduate school and earn a Ph.D, which, depending on the type and area of history you specialize in, takes anywhere from five to eight years to complete. If you're interested in working in a museum, for a public or governmental agency, or just personal enrichment, a master's degree may be more suitable (and quicker and cheaper) than a Ph.D. A master's degree in history usually only takes a year or two to complete and qualifies you to teach in a high school or community college and gives you some training doing independent research.