Is a history degree worth it?
For context, I am 18, live in South Africa and I am in my final year of high school. I have always had an immense interest in and fascination for history. Heck, I even have a geeky YouTube channel based on it! However, the response to this question varies, and there's a stereotype floating around that history degrees are useless and you won't end up being successful or landing a job! It scares me. I am a young man lost in this world. In school, I have always gotten praise from my English teachers for my essays and fluent functional analysis of poems and books. I take visual art history at school and get tremendous marks for it. These are where my talents are, there's no changing that. History has a sentimental part in my heart. It brings me joy every day. In my free time I have downloaded multiple university history book pdfs that range from the medieval era to the civil war era. I read and analyzed those books for fun. So without a doubt history is something I am passionate about.
That being said I don't mind not landing a job in a history field. The knowledge I gain will forever remain in my mind. It will be great to write books or make more informative YouTube videos with that knowledge. Obviously to be a historian will be amazing although it is quite hard and unforgiving as heard from others online. However, what bothers me is the fear of not getting any job outside of a history field! Being broke and never having money to cater to a possible family or even for my own needs! It breaks me and instills fear in me. So can anyone give me guidance and an informative answer? Apologies for the rather lengthy writing.