Awesome question, I am a Research Assistant at a gaming company.

My job is to write articles and do research on various things related to the military and our game. The basic ins and outs; our company really strives to do well in its historical accuracy. My job so far (I am relatively new) has been to write historical articles. How that breaks down, Marketing contacts my department telling us what they are planning. I am then given a task, so say Marketing has decided to do something for Veteran's Day. I would then research information about Veteran's Day to create a fun article for our players.

Other future tasks will include, long term research projects, possibly on battles or similar events. I have a long term task related to the game and creating dossiers. I may have to visit archives, museums, and on site locations to get more information about what we do.

It really is a niche job, but its a lot of fun. I have a drastically different job than those that would do academia or work in museums/libraries/archives.

I studied Canadian history and political philosophy (mostly liberal theorists). I did an applied masters to get some practical experience with economics and statistics. I ended up landing a job with Canada's federal government as a policy analyst. I started my career working on regional economic development issues. At that time, understanding Canadian history was valuable for my specific duties. Now I work in labour relations. I don't spend a lot of time discussing history, but I can tell you that in a room filled with economists and statisticians I stand out because of the analytical and writing skills I developed while studying history and politics.

Edit: Yes, I like my job. I learn something new every day and I get to learn about a variety of subjects. Plus I have great work/life balance.

1. It depends on where you are. In the United States an undergraduate degree tends to be significantly less specialized, as I understand it, when compared to those in the UK, for example. Where are you from/where do you expect to attend university? My undergraduate training in history was relatively broad, requiring a set of basic survey courses that covered American and World History from a pretty zoomed out perspective. Then I was able to take more topics classes (like for example a survey on the Soviet Union), and finally towards the end of the degree more seminar-like classes opened up that focused fairly narrowly on a topic and were about class discussion and paper writing more than surveying history. Many undergraduate programs will also have you take one class in historical methods/theory which I think is one of the most interesting things in the field of history. Others will disagree vehemently. If you pursue a graduate degree in history you will have some course work, but it will be more focused on building towards your own original research. If you are interested in non-English speaking areas, you will have to learn the language, particularly at a Ph.D. level.

2. The most common, I think, is to be a teacher in primary education (high school, etc.). You also have have museum and archive options - although if you are interested in those jobs you may be better off pursuing a degree more directly related (maybe /u/caffarelli) can say more about this? She would know better than me.

3. I would say that it isn't great. I think becoming a teacher is probably a bit more stable than going the academia route. I am finishing up my Ph.D. this year and the job prospects are hit or miss as someone who is trying to stay in academia. I'm not too worried about finding some basically reasonable job, but it is not necessarily easy at all to find a job in your area of interest.

4. Yes. At some basic level my job is to think about interesting things, teach them and write about them. That's pretty awesome. There are administrative things that frankly suck, but that is true with basically any job I can think of. Applying for funding all the time is annoying and stressful (this is NOT your salary, but rather external funding for research projects). But at the end of the day I can't really think of something else I'd rather be doing.

To add to what others have already said without retreading too much ground, one of the main benefits of training in historical studies is the skill set that comes with the discipline. It seems like a degree with little relevance to the modern world of work but the reality is quite different. Even at undergraduate level, History programmes are usually very good at developing a wide range of research and critical analysis skills that transfer easily to many professional or semi-professional jobs. Here in the UK, graduates in historical studies have some of the best employment and further education prospects of all university leavers without higher degrees; the unemployment rate within six months of graduation is less than 5% for my alma mater's History programme.

There are all kinds of fields where research and analysis skills can come in handy, or where those skills can be useful as the basis for further professional training before entering a job. I have several friends who studied History at undergraduate level and went on to work for Members of Parliament as research assistants or for a political party (usually Labour I'll admit) in a more general capacity; others went into the legal profession (after further training) or to work in financial firms as analysts. Charities often need people with research training, too, and look kindly on History degrees for that reason. With any degree programme, it's not just the subject matter but the skill set that employers are interested in - and History definitely gives you a solid skill set to work with.

Having said that, a big caveat here is that I am writing from a British perspective, where undergraduate degrees have few to no general education requirements (mine was 100% History from start to finish, though I opted for an interdisciplinary MA) and so are very specialised.

I think this is an excellent question. While I didn't go down that road in my own career, I have a deep love for history thanks to one great teacher in High School, and one great professor in University.

The American Historical Association has an interesting read entitled "Careers for Students of History" you might find helpful as a general overview.

I await with interest the responses of actual historians who participate in this subreddit for the real answers you need too.

Just to offer my perspective, it is entirely possible to work in a historical field but NOT study history in college. I was a communications and English major in college, and now work in a history museum (focusing mostly on local Civil War history) as a Program Director. This came out of my love for working at small non-profits in general and a love for museums of all types. I work with a lot of people who did study history (mostly public history types) who help me to research and fact check programs I develop. I love my job, by the way - it is amazing to work to translate historical facts into programs that audiences can really connect with and experience history in a unique way.

I also have friends who work for history museums or archives in other capacities - as administrators, event planners, marketers, fundraisers and more.

What you're not going to be able to do, is get a job in academia without a history degree. But there are many, many paths that can lead to a history-related career without the history-related degree (although it certainly helps, especially if you are passionate about a certain era or portion of history).

I did my Bachelor of Arts degree in History. [And yes, I did catch a lot of shit for having an 'easy major' or that I would have 'no future.'] Although the degree itself is broad in that sense, I specialized primarily in Military History and did some secondary studies in East Asian History. I'm currently pursuing my Masters of Library and Information Science, which is an MS degree.

For me, the library is a fantastic opportunity and field to be in, due to the rapidly changing nature of information, information access, and technology. My personal preferences aside for other reasons, the historical background comes in handy because I hope to get experience working with Special Collections or in archives as well.

Since I primarily intend to work in the academic realm of librarianship, due to my background, this opens opportunities to act as a library liaison for a University's History Department. This opportunity would likely become more realistic if I was to earn a Masters in History as well.

With both degrees in hand, [depending on the University/institution] another option is to also serve as a lecturer, teaching courses within my realm of expertise.

I went into undergrad knowing my desire to study History. Although I shifted away from the PHD track into librarianship, what I find most exciting is that these new opportunities would still allow me to engage in historical work within the realm of academia.

In terms of salary? It would be determined based upon my position as a librarian. Again, this varies based upon institution, but usually is within the 50-60k range for many librarian position. However, job security is quite solid - especially because of the growing importance of the information professional.

I apologize that this was not in numerical order and if did not directly address your question as you may have hoped, but I do hope it provides extra information for you to consider where a "historian" could end up! Best of luck!

-What do you learn in university? Do you study a specific era or topic?

My university's history program (in Cuba) is unique in that it is a five year program (giving me equivalent credits to someone with a M.A.) and obliges me to take lots of general courses, with specialization coming at the end and mostly through work on my thesis. Basically we specialize by working closely with an expert in the field who has us read a lot on a given topic and then by preparing our respective theses on said topic. Although in the US the program isn't that well known, most of my friends who have traveled abroad have found that programs in most countries are far less rigorous in terms of methodology.

-Let's say I get a masters degree in history. What options do I have now?

As others have said, in order to become a tenured professor you really need a PhD. You can become an adjust or teach high school, but aside from that your options are relatively limited.

One thing you can always do is use your degree as the basis for a career in law. Law school is full of former historians, linguists, anthropologists, etc., who want a sure thing with good pay. History is common because you have to find, analyze and compare sources. Research like that is fundamental to being a decent attorney.

My father is an attorney who had an M.A. in philosophy before switching. He wanted me to become an attorney as well but it just isn't for me.

You can also join think-tanks, especially if you live in or around a city which has several (DC, NYC, LA, etc.). Less job security and pay than attorneys, but more closely related to what you studied.

-How is the job security? Do you have to worry about getting a job or where your next paycheck is going to come from?

There will always be a need for high school history teachers, so you have that going for you, but academia is getting really cut-throat right now and all the great tenured positions are getting ever more rare. Even worse, with all these liberal arts degrees floating about the market is saturated with specialists in just about everything. You can go full academic but from what everyone has told me it is an extremely difficult road.

-Do you enjoy what you're doing? What's good / bad?

I enjoy what I'm doing, but I should probably clarify what it is that I do.

I am about to begin my PhD, also in Cuba, where I have a teaching position waiting for me. I can be a full time academic, translating documents or giving simultaneous translation at events, and live like a king there with full healthcare. I will also be able to watch the very interesting events of the next few years unfold, as we watch the Revolution crumble or evolve in order to survive.

It's less secure, but it is at least interesting and will allow me to be an academic on my own terms.

Whatever you do, make sure it will be something you enjoy.