There's a little disconnect in terms between the OP and some responses, so some clarification:

• A history major itself seems to be a problematic degree - there were a couple studies done that show history majors to have a particularly high unemployment rate. This is not so much a concern about how much money you make, but whether you make money at all.

• pursuing history at a graduate and doctoral level is actually not a terrible career option, as postgraduate work goes. That's not actually saying too much, but a recent study showed that about 50% of history PhD holders in the past 10 years landed a tenure-track job, and 25% are teaching in non-tenure positions.

So, here's my advice:

If you really love history, take the major, and make sure you're able to read two languages that aren't English by the end of your undergrad, in case you want to continue on to PhD work.

At the same time, remember that the digital frontier is a new and growing field for the humanities, specifically with web pages, databases, and GIS approaches. Take a minor in computer science, learn to code and do data analysis, and at least pick up skills with MySQL, Python, ArcGIS, and social networking theory. Ability in these latter fields are not only useful to your historical study, but are also highly desirable on the job market, allowing you multiple avenues to find a job after graduation. This may also seem like a decent compromise to your parents.

Just a little FYI if you were thinking about getting a history degree and teaching in secondary(Middle&High) schools there are some states that require a different major to become a credentialed. California, for example, requires you to major in Social Science, not History. The Social Science major has slightly difference aspects then that of a History major. While the majority of classes you'll take are history courses, you'll also be taking Political Science, Ethnic & Womens Studies, Economics, Geography, and Education classes.

Anyway, getting a position can be difficult, but in my district a history teacher can start out making around 50k/year. Getting a masters degree will bump the pay about 5,000ish per year. From what I've seen here a teacher with +20 years and a MA can make 90-100k.

I am probably one of the most recent history graduates that you will get on here seeing as I just graduated with a history degree from the University Of southern Mississippi back in may. When I started college I honestly did not know what I wanted to do with my life or with my educational future so I decided to find the one thing that stirred the most passion in my heart and then plunge head first in that direction. History was my niche. I am a firm believer that you have to do something you love in life. No one wants to wake up when they are sixty and realize they are miserable and it is too late to change their mind. i enjoyed every class I took at the university and I learned so much about history that I had only scratched to surface in Grade School. That being said when I graduated I decided to stay at my current job in animal welfare because I once again found something that stirred my heart into action. I still love history and I still hope to someday work in a prestigious museum teaching the public. I chose to go down a different road after college but not due to lack of opportunities presented with a history degree but instead because i found something I loved as equally as history. I still have aspirations of going on to do something with my history degree but right now I am enjoying saving four legged lives everyday. In my senior year I started doing alot of research towards my future and what I would use my degree to do and I discovered very quickly there are alot of options open to a history degree. One of the biggest opportunities I had was law school. I had always been interested in law school but had never had the nerve to really pursue law school on my own until I was approached by a representative of a rather prestigious law school. It turns out that history majors make very good lawyers due to their ability to analyze and reason. As a history major most people thing you just memorize and repeat but honestly you memorize, acknowledge, hypothesize, reason, and research research research. It turns out this process of analytic thinking transitions very fluidly into law school if that is something that interests you. It has been 9 months since i graduated with my history degree and I can honestly say i do not regret it in the least bit. I enjoyed my college and Learned enough to last a life time. The one thing I am most grateful for is that being a history major sparked a curiosity in me to know why, and to understand how. Two skills that have served me very well in my management position now. Sure Im only 23 years old and barely make enough to support myself but I am happy and I regret nothing. I look forward everyday excited about the future.

Why do you want to major in history? What kind of career do you see yourself in? I mean, if math isn't your thing there's no reason to become an engineer just because that degree pays better out the gate.

There's also a history section in the AskSocialScience career advice section of our wiki: http://www.reddit.com/r/AskSocialScience/wiki/careers (see also the "Majors Pipeline" in the "general" section, which covers all majors using nationally representative survey data and is generally just cool).