Parks and historic sites often accept historic artifacts from individuals and organizations. As park historic site specialist, you should have a program in place for verifying the authenticity of these artifacts and for documenting and cataloging the acquisition of these items. Overseeing and managing areas within a park or historic site that have been set aside for wildlife and are protected areas is an important duty of this job. You will also have to have measures in place to monitor the activities of any concessionaires that operate within the boundaries of the historic site.
The safety of the employees in a park is important, which means that as park historic site specialist it is your responsibility to ensure that all safety regulations are followed for activities in the park and in any historic buildings. You will have to research cultural and historical documents and facts and provide reports on your research. Training and evaluation of the personnel in the facilities is important as parks and historic sites are often used for educational training by schools and colleges. You do have to ensure that the personnel are knowledgeable about the history of the site and its importance to the state and the nation.
The qualifications needed to obtain a position as a park historic site specialist include a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university with a concentration of courses in history, cultural studies, resource management or a related field. In addition to hold this position, you must have at least two years of experience working at a historic site or in a comparable position. You will need to have a comprehensive knowledge of the state history, methods of doing historical research and of methods of administration and supervision of staff.
There are generally three levels in the position of park historic site specialist. You will start off in an entry-level position and work your way up through the ranks with excellent performance evaluations and as vacancies arise in the positions. There may be more than one park specialist in any given state depending on then number of historic sites and parks. It would be possible to transfer from one area to another in this way. You can expect a raise in salary with each level, starting off with about $27,000 for the entry level job up to a salary of about $50,000 per year in the higher level position.
