I decided to major in History during undergrad and finished with a degree. This was 14 years ago. When I graduated, I applied for numerous jobs (none of which were related to History) and found a good one with a publishing company. That bored me and after year, I decided for some adventure and became a police officer. Instead of adventure, I found a lot of downtime. Like hours and hours every day. While getting paid, and during the next decade, I read about 200 hundred novels, a couple of dozen history books, took seven semesters of Classical Latin, and several creative writing courses and workshops. At present, I am nearly finished with my first novel. In seven years, I will retire at half salary. I will be 43 years old then.

Lesson to be learned? Either follow your interests, or find a job that pays you to follow your interests.

I finished my degree this year. It was in Classics, and I have a graduate job in the construction industry starting soon. Maybe it's different in your part of the world but in mine your degree 'topic' is basically irrelevant in the job hunt (unless you're looking for a career which requires extensive specialist knowledge like civil engineering or dentistry etc), the point of a degree is that it is basically a rubber stamp saying 'this guy is pretty smart, he knows how to research and critically analyse arguments'. So my advice is to not worry much about the topic and whether 'employers will like it', it's much more about what you make of yourself at university with your studies and your extra-scholarly activities. Make sure to take advantage of your university's careers services and stuff also.

Law school is the usual answer. But there are a lot of jobs that just want you to have a degree, and they don't really care what it's in. You can do some internships while in school to build a resume, or work a part-time job in a field of interest. History builds writing and critical thinking skills that are transferable to different areas.

One thing I would say, if you don't really have a specific career path in mind coming out of your degree, then choosing something you're interested in is a very good decision. The important thing with the degree is that you finish it, and if you decide to major in, say, biology, but you hate biology, you're much more likely to quit without a degree. That will just leave you with wasted time and money, which is the worst possible outcome. Far worse than having a degree in the humanities (which some people are dismissing as useless right now).

Answering not as an historian, but as a 1990 college graduate, businesswoman, and mother facing her first child going off to school soon....

Follow your bliss.

I have a BA with a Politics Major and Religion Minor. I have an MA/PhD in Divinity Studies. I am the Director of Administration and Finance at a small engineering firm. i.e. nothing to do with either of my primary interests.

Among a few other things, I have been a Sales Manager, Technical Writer, Marketing Associate, and Minister. The latter being the only career that cared what my degree was in. Within a few years (weeks?!) after graduation, no one I interviewed with could possibly have cared less what my degree was in....as long as I had that degree. And hiring staff, I honestly don't much care what the degree is provided I see someone who presents well in person and in writing, has demonstrated commitment and follow through.

Now of course there are some careers that demand very specific degrees. I'm not dismissing that at all. If someone has their heart set on being a surgeon or a software engineer there are programs of study that make far more sense than others. But for those who don't really know what they want yet? Studying something you adore leads to a greater likelihood of sticking with the program to the end and getting better grades....and connecting with the people who can mentor you into creating a future you never knew was possible.

Best of luck to you!

In this economy basically none, and in more positive economical situations not that many either. If you already know you don't want to teach or go into research, don't major in History. The few fields it might idealistically prepare you for, like in civil administration or journalism, are better prepared for with other majors.