Occupation
Archivist
Archivists appraise which records have lasting value, arrange and describe them so they can be found, and preserve them in usable condition. The work covers paper, photographs, audiovisual material, and increasingly digital files whose formats can become unreadable if nothing is done.
Also known as: Archives officer · Digital archivist
Saving keeps the career family and this occupation as your private target role on this device.
Occupation content
Part of Government, policy and administration
A visual day in the work
What the work involves
Appraise incoming records and decide what warrants permanent retention.
Arrange and describe collections so that researchers can locate material.
Prepare finding aids and catalogue entries to recognised descriptive standards.
Monitor storage conditions and carry out preservation and reformatting work.
Assist researchers, departments, and the public with access requests to holdings.
Manage digital preservation, including format migration and integrity checking.
Entry-route stepper
How people commonly enter
A graduate qualification in archival studies, library and information science, or history.
A bachelor's degree in history or a related field followed by archival certification.
Progression from a records management, library, or museum collections position.
A supervised internship or practicum placement in an archive or special collection.
Typical training: Postgraduate or professional degree
Licensing: Certification common, not usually required
Work-context map
Typical work context
- Quiet focus
- Desk based
- Works independently
- Predictable routine
Quiet focus · Desk based · Works independently · Predictable routine
Related interests
- Investigative (analytical)
- Conventional (organizing)
- Artistic (creative)
Investigative (analytical) · Conventional (organizing) · Artistic (creative)
Related aptitude preparation
These are preparation links only. They do not measure eligibility for this occupation and no score here qualifies or disqualifies anyone.
Skills to practise
Practice suites
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Government, policy and administration.
Official sources
Labour-market facts such as pay and employment projections are not reproduced here. Open an official source below for figures, with its own geography and reference period.
O*NET OnLine: occupation search: archivist
Link checked
UK National Careers Service: Explore careers
Link checked
Canada Job Bank: Search job profiles (search: archivist)
Link checked
Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Government, policy and administration in Canada, not a figure for Archivist. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
This is a broad Government, policy and administration family. Explore the official profile for the chosen occupation; entry education and training can differ within the family.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Government, policy and administration: education pathways
Some roles in Government, policy and administration may be regulated. Confirm whether the specific role requires registration, certification, or a jurisdiction-specific licence.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Government, policy and administration: licensing
Find jobs
These are live, user-controlled searches on each source's own site for “ Archivist”. Novus Learn does not fetch, store, or rank these results, and job availability never changes your exploration match score.
Related occupations
Learn → Practise → Prepare → Apply
Continue from this occupation
Choose a learning action because it supports the work, not because a test score predicts career suitability.
When you get to the application
Novus Learn stops at preparation. These two Novus tools cover the paperwork, and like this site they run entirely in your browser. Nothing you upload to them leaves your device.
Novus Learn hands you real PDFs: study guides, practice packs, answer keys, career summaries. PDF Studio is where you merge several into one revision booklet, pull out the pages you actually need, or lock a file before you send it.
Career Discovery ends with a profile photo and an application. This is where you clean up a headshot without handing the file to a server.