Here are links to several posts about careers for history graduates and postgraduate study.

I've been into history since before I started elementary school, and it's always been a passion for me.

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with medieval history. As a teenager, I became interested in ancient Egypt (a bit because I thought Daniel Jackson was a total boss), and because Czech egyptology is kind of world-famous and I wanted to be a part of that, I studied for years to be able to get through the egyptology entrance exams at Charles University. But because they don't really need all that many egyptologists in our tiny country, they only accept about 2-3 new students every few years. And for four years after I finished high school, they didn't. In the meantime, I switched to modern history, which I ended up getting a degree in (BA specialization was 20th century US, MA 20th century Europe with a focus on Central Europe and the process of European integration).

With that, you can do a lot! Be a historian, teach at a university, get into journalism or politics, diplomacy/foreign relations, write books, public administration, various advisory roles... Depends on where you are and what you like.

I started studying literature, but that left me very much unsatisfied. I didn't know exactly what I wanted, but I knew that I needed to learn more about to world if I wanted to understand it. I didn't pick history because of what the degree could offer me on the job market, but out of intellectual curiosity. I'm so happy that I did. Studying history has really shaped me into who I am today and it has formed my understanding of the world. While I've had less job security compared to some of my engineering friends, I do feel like my studies have changed my as a person in more ways than one. When you study history and you are lucky to have great professors, you are taught to see patterns and analyze complex puzzles with limited information. It's a skill that still comes in handy every day of my life. I can't get into a discussion without internally connecting it to something I've read while studying or researching history.

I'm not sure what it's like in the United States, but it's not an easy feat to work as a historian or to even acquire your PhD. There is very little funding going around so the spots at Universities are very limited. It's something you should only do if you are passionate about it. There are some available options for private research in Europe, but those are also very coveted. Most of all, holding a PhD in Europe means that you'd be considered overqualified for plenty of jobs. Sadly, a degree in history is generally also very undervalued in many branches of industry. I've found that the branches of industry that most heavily value my degree are : finance, communications or anything affiliated with the government. I know that our department of defense heavily recruits historians and I've heard that it's the same for organizations such as the FBI, CIA or Homeland Security?

Art history major, I specialized in religious art because I wanted to explore how humans expressed their beliefs in art form. What I found is that art has the ability to relate peices of history in a way no book ever could. As the victor writes the history, the artist often paints a very different picture. I worked in an art gallery for a while but didn't like the sales aspect of the job. Now I live a relaxing life as a daytime bartender, leaving me lots of time to read and play music. I don't use my degree persay, but constantly use the things I learned. Worth every penny of debt I am still paying off.

If it helps, think of education like a toolbox and a set of tools. Your primary and secondary school education gives you a basic set of tools that you can do a lot of things with. These are your hammer, your screwdriver, and a basic wrench, for example.

You can do a lot with just those basic tools, but as your skills improve, you might find yourself wanting more tools, or wanting more specialized tools.

When you go to college/university, you have a chance to get specialized tools — say that particular deep socket wrench that helps you get that one hard-to-reach bolt. You can also get a wider array of higher-quality tools. Instead of one screwdriver, you might get a whole array of all sizes, allowing you to do things more precisely.

I tend to think of a computer science or other STEM degree as the first kind of toolset. I think of a history degree as the second kind of toolset. It's a great basis for a lot of different kind of work, not all of which involves turning a particular type of screw. With a history degree (and relevant job experience), you've got a huge array of options in front of you, I feel.

I have a degree is history and a minor in gender studies. My focus areas were gender, oral, and public histories. I just graduated a few months ago and I’m taking a break before grad school. I want to go into museum sciences, focusing of educational programs for students/children. For the next few years I’ll be working at a winery to pay of loans.

I always loved history. I loved the research/detective aspect and i love reading. I was always good at reading between the lines and figuring out the connections and subtexts between and within texts. Studying history have me a better understanding of humans and our behaviors and helped me realize how connected events really are. I learned how to be a better researcher, writer, and reader. I also learned how to think outside of my own bubble more effectively (though i am always still learning).

I had some really wonderful teachers before college who were intelligent and supportive which was huge. I wanted to learn about the past and humanize the people i had heard about my whole life- which is also why i enjoyed oral history. It was so personal and connected.

Originally, I wanted to go into engineering or computer science. For reasons not germane to your question, I knew I wouldn’t be able to complete my degree with a four-year time span. I considered studying linguistics, but course offerings were limited. So, I ended up taking a bunch of random courses, and by my second year, I knew I wanted to study history.

History always interested me - my bookshelf was already filled with history books that I had read. So, once I realized that this was the best option for my at my Uni, it just felt completely natural.

After graduation, I found a lot of jobs looked for post-secondary education, while not being specific about the degree. This is especially true in the civil service, where I am now employed. Some of my Uni pals used their degree to prepare for law school, and a couple others entered the military. Quite a few combined their degrees with other disciplines that you might not associate with history, such as computer science and business.