Annual Salary
£18,500 to £48,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Heritage officers support teams to take care of buildings, monuments and places valued for their cultural and historical importance.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: between 8am and 6pm; attending events or appointments
There will be
2.4% more Heritage officer jobs in 2027.
In a typical day you may:
You could work in an office or visit sites.
Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time and you may spend nights away from home.
You can get into this job through:
There are lots of subjects that can be useful for a career in heritage. Examples include:
A postgraduate qualification can give you an advantage when you're looking for jobs. You could study subjects like:
As well as a degree you'll also need relevant work experience in the heritage sector. It's important to look for internships and work experience opportunities while you study. Many people get into paid roles through volunteering at first.
You'll usually need:
You can start out by doing a historic environment advice assistant higher apprenticeship.
English Heritage, Historic England and the National Trust are developing this route as an alternative to going to university. You would start off as a heritage trainee or technician.
You may also gain relevant skills from an Archivist and records manager degree apprenticeship.
To do this apprenticeship, you'll need:
You may be able to move into heritage officer work if you have relevant skills or experience in other professions. For example:
Work experience and volunteering are really important for getting into this type of work. You can look for opportunities with organisations like:
You could try your local council as they may own historic buildings or sites. There may be opportunities in departments, such as planning or regeneration, where you could get useful experience.
You can also search for private companies in the heritage sector through the Historic Environment Provider Service Recognition scheme.
Some organisations have internship programmes to encourage people from black and minority ethnic communities to think about a career in heritage. For example Historic England summer placements.
You may be able to apply directly if you've got several years' experience in a related industry like civil engineering, construction management, planning or conservation.
You could join the Association for Heritage Interpretation or the Institute of Historic Building Conservation for professional development.
With experience and continuous professional development you could become a heritage project manager, a senior inspector or heritage consultant.
To get promotion you may need to relocate to a new area or move between organisations in the public and private sector.
There are lots of opportunities for in-service training through organisations like the Institute of Historic Building Conservation.
You'll need: