A history degree is a great foundation with many marketable skills, like research, analysis and writing. You will know how to find information, organize it effectively for retrieval or archiving. Historical training allows you to see a current situations in perspective with previous actions; i.e. you will see patterns and repetitions that others will not. You will know that establishing a full picture requires going back to it's origin, doing research and working with primary sources.
My career path has taken many turns, but I'm always amazed at how much I draw on the lessons I learned as a historian.
I did not want to be a historian per se, instead I wanted to write for newspapers. I worked towards that goal as a student by pursuing internships in the field and working for the campus newspaper. As a journalist for 15 years, I wrote the first drafts of history and helped put context into coverage of current events and was successful in my career, eventually becoming an editor for a major city's daily newspapers.
For the past 10 years, I've worked in government service with many diverse and interesting roles. I've been public information officer who dealt with open records laws and trained others on how to get access to public documents. I worked in public health and served as a records officer for a division that keeps health records for an individual's entire life plus another 10 years. I have served as a leader and teacher in many of these capacities. I've become a certified emergency manager and have worked with local, state and federal agencies as well as the private sector to help people after natural disasters. Knowing the history of a community's past can help that community prepare for and rebuild from disasters.
My cousin, who went a more academic route, earned a B.A. in history, then went on for a masters and doctoral degree. He's been a community activist and is nationally known for his expertise on racial issues related to policing in the twentieth-century in America, which as you might imagine has been of particular interest in the past few years. He's also a university professor.
Keep your eyes on what you want to do and treat your degree as a tool to help you achieve those goals.
I wanted to teach right after college but didn't want to start a masters program right away so I took a job in retail management with a plan to only be there three years. That turned into almost eight but I found a career in industrial sales and couldn't be happier. I love that every day is like my own personal version of How It's Made.
I agree 100% with MajorFrantic that a degree in history is a great foundation for many careers. My brother has a bachelors in history and he is a supervisor for a graphic design print hub of a major grocery chain. I have a bachelors in history and I am the Engineering Supervisor for a large rural water company. You can do lots of things with a history degree!!
some older threads
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/101e6z/career_question_if_not_a_historian_or/
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4mgcn8/is_a_degree_in_history_worth_anything/
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2qhljy/question_about_getting_a_history_degree/
Teacher of Modern and Ancient History, and Junior History which covers Medieval/Middle Ages, Renaissance/Reformation, Ages of Discovery/Empires and Indigenous Tribes, and as an Australian, Australian History. When I graduated, however, I taught more English (Yrs 7 - 12) than History.
I'm probably an odd case but I'm running technical operations for a us trade association -- basically I help bring industry marketing stunts to life. I still haven't figured out what I want to do when I grow up but they do keep giving me bigger and bigger toys so I'm in no rush.
I would not trade in the history degree for the world -- not only has it made for great conversation at cocktail parties you will realize that nobody is going to spend 4 years teaching you how to think and write and those skills are far more valuable than any technical tricks you might learn along the way.
I got a history, social studies, and education bachelor's degree. I went into teaching, but I know several people who got history degrees who went into business fields, one who is going into political aide work, several non-profit workers . . . like others have said, the history degree is a great foundation for a lot of further education and careers.
Started in museum work but through a strange series of events ended up in computers (thank you U.S. Army) and spent my career as an IT manager.