It would be useful to know what country your are in as the experiences of studying and practicing history do differ. For myself I can only speak of the UK/English experience. My reason for attending university was primarily the study of my passion, history. Attending as what the UK classify as a "mature" student, which is starting as older than most students would be when graduating (graduation at 21 for most students, I started at the age of 24 after spending 8 years working graft in warehouses and factories). I now hold a Doctorate in early modern military history, an MRes in medieval crusade history, and my base degree was a dual honours in History and International Relations.

There are several points I would make to you.

Firstly, almost no one works at a job directly connected to the subject that they study at university. Many graduate employers don't care much beyond the quality of your final grade and, more importantly, the skills and experiences which your degree has given you. For instance, a history degree is about analysing sources, presenting well-founded and evidenced arguments, a familiarity with reports (essays), good writing style, an enquiring mind, and a solid understanding of cause and effect. This is applicable in a huge range of jobs that have nothing to do with history. I for instance am shortly starting a new role as a qualitative analyst for an independent regulator—it's the skills and experiences I have through my education that they are interested in—and that includes elements above and beyond my modules.

Secondly, nominally in the UK each module is supposed to be around 10 weeks of a total of 20 hours class time in a topic with an essay or an exam at the end. This sounds a lot, but that's really half a working week spread out over 2.5 months which is nothing. You are supposed to study for 8-10 hours a week independently for each of your modules, but as a student, as a seminar tutor, and as a lecturer, almost no student did that—you could instantly tell the few that did (spoiler: they did the best work and got the best grades and were not always the naturally smartest in the class). You will find putting your full effort into your university subject, being excited to pick up the books and search for the journal articles to do your reading is so, so, so much easier if you are passionate about your subject rather than one you pick because you think there are more obvious jobs out there. That passion bleads out into WANTING to read more, study more, find out more rather than doing the bare minimum especially amidst ALL of the... non-academic distractions available to university students.

Thirdly, if you enjoy history and you are passionate for it then that doesn't have to start or end with university. If you find yourself after university in a graduate role with nothing to do with the degree subject you studied previously you can still "scratch that itch" of history in other ways. Read extensively, enjoy contributing to historical online communities, join a local historical association which meets occasionally to discuss and understand local history more, join a historical journal, craft a hobby that is heavily-historically focused, etc.

As stated, although I have a doctorate I hold no academic "historian" job role, but I am under contract to write my first historical book, I am engaged and passionate about history on multiple levels, and, in my own particular topic, am a world expert in my little niche field. Am I a historian because I don't "work" history? That is up to you, but I would strongly recommend that for the investment in time (and debt) you will accrue while studying at university that you choose something you are passionate about, that you will enjoy, that you will happily invest your time in and that, at the end, will provide you with marketable skills and employability rather than anything else.

If you are passionate about history, you'll enjoy getting your degree. That enjoyment in itself can be valuable in ensuring you finish your degree.

Just keep in mind that a degree isn't necessarily a career. Fortunately, the skills you will learn, such as: how to conduct good research, understanding how bias shapes interpretation of events, how to produce clear & concise writing and how to properly document your arguments; will be directly transferable to many fields or careers.

I earned my B.A. in history. My career goal was to become a journalist at a newspaper, i.e. observing and writing the first-draft of history. I did that for 15 years, before I switching over to government service, where I've worked for another 16 years. I've worked in Emergency Management, Healthcare and Housing. It has been a very fulfilling and rewarding career. My training as a historian has helped me to make history, create & manage public records for posterity; and develop public policy and laws.

My training as a historian is so useful to me in my job; even if I never pursued an advanced degree in the subject or turned it to that career path.

On the other hand, I have a cousin who has taken the academic path. He earned a Ph.D in History and is an instructor at a large public university. He's a published author and recognized expert on police violence and race in Chicago.

Here's a post about why this may not be a very good idea. Caveat - I read it several times and still decided to go to grad school.