I'm just going to say this bit first if this isn't the right place to put this post I will take it down.
I am currently looking into going to college to get a degree in a field in or related to history. I know this isn't the field that you would enter for money or fame, but the number of people who do get degrees in history and struggle to get a job in the field makes me wonder if I am better of putting history as side project rather than a main focus. I see quite a few people in every field who struggle to get into the field of their choice, but it seems that history is basically limited to either becoming a teacher on some level or park guide, and not that I would be disinterested in doing those, but there's a oversupply of people for both of those jobs and aiming for them seems to be a risk for the amount of money and time necessary to do qualify for them.
My main questions would be -
If you are employed in the history field in any area do you feel like you have any accomplishments or skills that put you over others for your job?
If you are not employed in the field and have a degree in history do you feel that you in retrospect would of chosen a different career path?
Do you feel that furthering study in history is itself worth it even if it means that you may not get a job in field?
I graduated with a history degree from JMU. If you don't have top grades, you'll struggle to get your MA financed. In hindsight, I would have done History as a minor and a BS as a major.
I don't want to scare you off, but prospects at the moment arent that great.
I have undergraduate degrees in history, English, and French. I received an M.A. in medieval studies. I currently work in an academic library. I'm working on a second master's in information sciences because I will not be able to advance in my field without it.
Librarians with humanities degrees are very common. It's less common to find librarians with two master's degrees, so that will give me an edge.
The degrees I have gave me a lot of practical experience conducting advanced research (i.e. using library resources). When asked to demonstrate searching in the library's catalog during my job interview, I was able to jump right in and explain all its features quickly and easily. It also gives me an edge in helping students who need more conceptual help rather than mechanical help.
Worth is a tricky thing to determine. A good way to think about it is: the degree in and of itself is not "practical, useful, or worth it." All those things are determined by what you make of it, how you apply yourself and your skills--and that goes for any degree.