Genealogy As A Career Switch Option

One career switch option is genealogy. This is an important subject for many reasons, not just personal, although that's a big one too as people become more curious about family history. Families may retain genealogists just because they're interested or to discover potential heirs to a divided estate.

One US-based website with a lot of information: http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/becoming_a_professional_genealogist

That website says that there is such a thing as a "certified genealogist", so there seems to be some credentialing associated with it. There are also academic certificates and degrees in genealogy now.

This UK-based website highlights genealogy as a career-switch path.

Also note this interesting US Government report from as recently as last year, regarding a fee-for-service genealogical program that the Department of Homeland Security was setting up:

"This rule affects professional genealogists and other members of
the public requesting historical records from USCIS. The main source of
genealogy requests comes from individuals doing personal research,
rather than from small entities, such as professional genealogists.
``The Washington Post'' reported that seventy-three percent of
Americans have an interest in their family history, according to a 2005
study conducted by Market Strategies, Inc., a syndicated research firm
based in Livonia, Michigan, and MyFamily.com, an online network of
genealogical tools based in Provo, Utah. ``The Wall Street Journal''
described genealogy as a $200 million per year industry ranging from
individual researchers to multi-million dollar companies.
In addition, the growth of the Internet has spurred interest in
genealogy and a rapidly growing number of hobbyists pursuing genealogy.
According to the ``Occupational Outlook Quarterly'' (Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Fall 2000), a 1997 survey of certified genealogists found
that 57 percent work part-time, 34 percent work full-time, and 9
percent are hobbyists. In 2001, there were over 300 certified
genealogists, and currently, the Association of Professional
Genealogists has 1,600 members worldwide http://www.apgen.org. The
National Genealogical Society notes:

Some professional genealogists are employed as librarians,
archivists, editors or research assistants to established
professionals; others work for genealogical firms. Most, however,
choose self-employment-learning business principles to ensure the
success of their genealogical practice. As with other
entrepreneurial fields, most make the move gradually from their
original field of employment, building a practice--be it a client
base, writing outlets, or some other venue--before moving full-time
into genealogy. Some make this career switch in mid-life. Others
choose genealogy as a second career upon retirement from their first
one. Because genealogical degree programs are still relatively rare,
only a few enjoy the opportunity to make genealogy their first
career. No accurate count exists for the number of individuals
employed as genealogists, full-time and part-time (http://
www.ngsgenealogy.org/articles/profession.cfm)."