History Teachers, Postsecondary

Teach courses in human history and historiography. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

The occupation "History Teachers, Postsecondary" has an automation risk of 42.3%, with a base risk estimated at 43.0%. This moderate level of automation risk is primarily attributable to the nature of the most common and repetitive tasks associated with the role. For example, preparing course materials such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts can increasingly be handled by digital platforms or AI-driven tools, reducing the necessity for manual input. Similarly, acting as advisers to student organizations and even delivering lectures on historical topics can be partially supported or replaced by virtual assistants, online courseware, and automated scheduling or recommendation systems. These tasks are structured and routine enough that emerging technologies are well positioned to automate significant portions of them in the coming years. However, the risk is not higher because several core aspects of the occupation are highly resistant to automation. Providing professional consulting services to government, educational institutions, or industry requires deep expertise, nuanced judgment, and adaptive communication skills that AI cannot easily replicate. Likewise, teaching community courses and engaging with local groups and organizations emphasizes spontaneous interactions, personal engagement, and cultural sensitivity. Participation in campus and community events further relies on complex human social skills and the ability to navigate unpredictable group dynamics, aspects that current automation technologies are ill-equipped to handle. A crucial bottleneck preventing full automation in this occupation is the high demand for originality, marked at 3.0% and 3.1% for its most resistant tasks. Creating meaningful historical interpretations, delivering engaging and contextually relevant presentations, and consulting in professional environments all require a level of creative and critical thinking that automation struggles to mimic. While AI and digital tools can streamline administrative and repetitive educational duties, the creative and interpersonal dimensions of teaching and scholarly engagement maintain a necessary human element. Ultimately, while certain teaching tasks are increasingly automatable, the occupation still relies heavily on originality and complex human skills that protect it from full automation.