Professional Genealogist
Unlike many of the careers available to those seeking a new vocation, the career of Genealogist has no educational requirements. In fact, the career of Genealogist has no stated requirements, but if one plans on being successful in this endeavor, there are certain abilities and skills that are necessary if the chosen career of Genealogist is to become a reality.
Being a professional Genealogist necessitates following acode of ethicsset down by theAssociation of Professional Genealogistsand theBoard for Certification of Genealogists.This will guide you in the standards that you should work by when conducting your business.
As a professional Genealogist it is important that you have, or develop good business abilities. When running your own genealogy business it is important to at least have a working knowledge of accounting, taxes and billing. And since it can sometimes take hours of research to find one definite fact, time management is a very important ability to develop.
Membership in theAssociation of Professional Genealogistsis beneficial in this career choice. There are no requirements for joining this Association, and it is an excellent way to further the skills of the genealogist and find educational opportunities.
It is necessary to have good communication and writing skills as a Genealogist. One must be able to communicate, whether in writing or in speaking, with good grammar. Many community colleges offer evening and night classes in public speaking and writing to help fine-tune these abilities.
Though it is not necessary for the professional Genealogist to be accredited, there will be some clients that will not take you seriously as a genealogist until you are. If this is something you consider to be important to your business, you can connect with theBoard for Certification of Genealogistswho can guide you through this process.
Keep in mind that as a professional Genealogist you will never reach the point that you know everything, so it is important that you continue learning. There are many seminars and workshops that cost little or no money, as well as genealogy books, magazines and journals. Many of these can be found at your local Family History Library.
Join and volunteer some time with your local Family History Library or Genealogical Society. You will learn to work with other genealogists, which in turn will help you develop your own skills.
Most professional genealogists choose to concentrate their skills in a specific sphere of genealogy. Some specialize in research, teaching or do editing for those who choose to write. Some genealogists concentrate their efforts as adoption specialists. The genealogist who specializes in a specific will find it necessary to network with other genealogists. If you choose to specialize, you will want to accomplish this as early in your career as possible.
More than likely you fell in love with genealogy when researching your own family tree. Continue to do research on this as you develop your career as a Genealogist. You will be amazed at the inspiration and motivation it will give you.
