I am interested in switching my current major to history. I am apprehensive, as I'd like to know that I will be able to have a stable career and live comfortably. I love school and am ready to buckle in for the long haul - masters, doctorate. I am leaning towards a career in academia because that seems the most obvious and I think I would be very happy in a scholarly setting as it is what I enjoy now.
My issue is, I am bored of modern history. I loved U.S. history in high school, but I am now fascinated with the things we don't know. Ancient civilizations, pre-Christian religions and civilizations. I might even consider a career in archaeology, but I have a 6 month old and my fiancé has a great job specific to our region, so I need to stay relatively stable in terms of location.
My question is - is there a future in this specific focus? I am hopeful that we will always continue to learn about these mysterious cultures and so there must still be room for the study of them.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
First, I want to acknowledge that academia is a rough path with a difficult job market, especially if you need to stay in one location. That being said, PhD programs have started to be more willing to discuss alt-academic jobs and career building. So if you love what you study and would be willing to transition the skills you get to another career, then go for it.
With your particular interest in ancient history, there are a lot of directions you can go with what you study. I am not sure what you mean by ancient/mysterious, but in addition to history, you might also want to consider adjacent fields like Classical Studies (usually ancient Greek and Roman culture and language), and/or Middle East/Near East studies (usually ancient Egypt, Judaism, Babylon, etc). I'm assuming an interest in ancient Mediterranean and Middle East based on your mention of pre-Christian, but of course you could also look into study ancient India, China, the Americas, or other places. Whichever area of the world or ancient culture you choose, you will likely need to learn the relevant language(s) involved. Depending on the language studied, that could be another future job opportunity for teaching at the secondary school level (especially Latin).
As an ancient historian, there is so much to be done and to study in the ancient world. I might not stay in academia, but I'm happy studying what I do. One great article by a scholar of ancient religion that illustrates the "radiance" of studying the ancient past is:
C. Chin (2017) “Marvelous Things Heard: On Finding Historical Radiance,” in The Massachusetts Review 58, no. 3, pp. 478-491.