I graduated with my Bachelor's in History, but wasn't sure what to do. I didn't want to teach, or work with the public, I really just wanted to do research and read. So instead of deciding to continue on with schooling without a specific end, I decided to get marketable skills so I could land a solid paying job. I went to a 12 week coding bootcamp-- essentially they teach you how to do full-stack software engineering work. When I finished that course, I was able to land a job as a dev.

Was this my passion in life? No, but the great thing about a job that pays well and you don't hate is you have plenty of free time to do what you want. So instead of having a job in history, I treat history as my passion that I work on outside my regular job. I read a TON, worked to improve skills like writing and research, learned a second language, and just generally acted like I was in my own historical research lab.

After a few years of work, I felt like I had my routine down enough to work part-time towards my Master's. It's so nice not having to worry AT ALL about money, or job prospects, or timelines... I am only going to school because I want to and it's fun. I don't know what I'll do when I graduate-- I actually enjoy my day job and am fine continuing to work on it. A huge bonus has actually been my writing and comprehension skills furthering my career (I'm now in Product Management). Recently, my boss told me that so many people have their MBAs that they're starting to look elsewhere, and I actually find my History skills incredibly marketable. Investigative skills, research abilities, writing abilities... History isn't nearly as "niche" of a skill as many believe.

I would highly recommend anyone who feels like me, and wasn't jazzed about any history job prospects, to consider that you don't have to make history your job, even if you major in it. The whole "do what you love" thing is overrated if it's just stressful. I know my example might not be typical, but I'd say keep your options open. History degrees are always useful if you have a skillet to market. If you love history, but aren't feeling the jobs, remember that history can also be an excellent hobby.

I’m a librarian. I started my MS/LIS program with the intention of becoming an archivist but that job market isn’t great so I became a librarian. The current programs I work with don’t really involve history but I wouldn’t say I don’t use my history degree. I absolutely do. I work with students who aren’t often asked to think about history even though their fields of study are deeply entrenched in history so its useful for that but also because my degree is how I developed my ability to do research and fit the proverbial puzzle pieces together, which is important in librarianship. I would recommend librarianship to the right person. Do you enjoy the research process and knowing things but not the writing or the stress that comes with academia? Then librarianship might be a good fit for you. You’re not going to get rich doing it and you should be aware of how much it’ll cost you to get the degree. The job market for librarians is complicated because it depends on the kind of library you want to work in, your interests, your other degrees, your related work experience, and some luck. I’m happy to talk more about it if you have questions!

My husband has a history degree and is an attorney. I don’t think he would feel he uses his history degree. He would definitely recommend becoming an attorney to people but with some caveats about how ridiculous law school is, that you should follow the scholarship and grant money, and also not to sell your soul for a corporate job that will wreck you.

Would I pursue history again? A complicated question! As far as the educational experience, absolutely 110%. But I went to a Big 10, R1 school for all 4 years and while I can’t I necessarily regret it, I have a soul-crushing amount of student loan debt and it seriously impacts my ability to make life decisions based on my wants and not my financial needs or limitations.

But yes, unless you are extremely lucky, a PhD in Middle Eastern history will not take you far.

^ All of the above is based on my experience in the US, if the “soul-crushing amount of student loan debt” didn’t tip you off. People in other countries will obviously have different opinions.

I had a postdoc research job for a couple of years after I finished my PhD, but I never had a teaching job in a university, which seems to be everybody's goal - but as is often noted, there just aren't any jobs like that anymore, if you get one it comes down to 100% dumb luck, and even then there's no guarantee that you'll keep it for life.

Lots of people also seem to have a hard time with grad school, in terms of mental health; personally I didn't have that experience and I definitely would do it again if I could go back in time. But that's something to keep in mind.

I'm currently working as a translator, which lets me use a lot of skills that I learned in grad school. Other people I went to school with who didn't end up becoming university professors have various jobs including working for publishing companies (academic or popular presses, as editors or salespersons), novelists, journalists, lawyers, priests, politicians, librarians, working in museums (curators or guides), elementary/high school teachers, musicians, therapists, economists, military careers...and I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting. Some people went back to school and got even more degrees (library science especially), so that's something to keep in mind too.