History, or archaeology?

Hi, I am wanting to go to university but I am struggling to pick between history and archaeology. I adore history and would be more than happy to do this degree, but have always wanted to do archaeology as its more involved and more exciting, but I'm so worried that if I go down that road there will be no money in it and will all be wasted, but I understand that money is an issue for both degrees. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on their experiences of either degrees as I am interested to know what they both involve.

Can I ask what jobs will you do with that course

Hi, I am wanting to go to university but I am struggling to pick between history and archaeology. I adore history and would be more than happy to do this degree, but have always wanted to do archaeology as its more involved and more exciting, but I'm so worried that if I go down that road there will be no money in it and will all be wasted, but I understand that money is an issue for both degrees. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on their experiences of either degrees as I am interested to know what they both involve.

Hi, I am wanting to go to university but I am struggling to pick between history and archaeology. I adore history and would be more than happy to do this degree, but have always wanted to do archaeology as its more involved and more exciting, but I'm so worried that if I go down that road there will be no money in it and will all be wasted, but I understand that money is an issue for both degrees. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on their experiences of either degrees as I am interested to know what they both involve.

You can do the same jobs with an archaeology degree as with a history degree. Most graduates don't do anything relating to their degree subject. Nothing to stop you working in an investment bank, becoming an accountant, joining the civil service, etc, etc, after doing either of those courses.
In any event in terms of the courses themselves, I'd think about what kind of sources you like working with first and foremost, as that's the big difference between them. Archaeological evidence is very different from historical sources in many ways, and while there is overlap and each informs the other, understanding the implications of and evaluating the evidence provided by e.g. grave goods, ceramics, lithic technology, monumental architecture, etc, is very different from evaluating historical textual sources (which are of course not the only evidence historians consider, but archaeologists seem a bit wary of contemporary textual records as opposed to the archaeological record itself; at least this was my impression in the archaeology module I did last year). The techniques and methodologies in how you approach them are going to be different - there's a lot more statistical/data analysis and attempts to "science" the evidence in archaeology for example, although still not to the scale of e.g a physical sciences degree or anything.
To a lesser degree there are also some differences in time periods studied. You probably won't cover much if any pre/proto-history in a history course, and even e.g. bronze/iron ages may be less common topics, while conversely you are probably not going to see too much past the medieval period (in Europe) or early modern period (for e.g. South American archaeology) an archaeology course, in terms of the actual evidence being looked at. That's not to say there isn't any work done on either from each side but you may not see it much if at all in an undergraduate degree. There is an overlap in terms of time periods for both in the ancient history/classical archaeology area (although not all history courses include ancient history).
So if you're mostly interested in e.g. the Industrial revolution, the early modern period, etc, then you might find an archaeology course less suited to that. Equally if you're mainly interested in the ancient near east, the bronze age, neolithic etc, then you might find fewer history courses offering suitable options!

Hi @Chloe_xxoxx
I am a current MSc student studying Archaeology (Palaoanthropolgy) I also did my undergrad in Arch and Anth. The undergrad course at Southampton allows you to pick some history modules and vice versa. There is a lot of crossover between the course and fluidity between the modules and courses offered, so if you want to do both this is definitely a route you can take. If practical archaeology is something you want to go into then a degree in archaeology is good but both degrees do let you work in similar jobs. Its good to differentiate if you want to go into academics then specialising is a better idea but again you can always do both or mix them at degree level and specialise in masters level.
I personally love archaeology and have found it very useful for the jobs I am looking at, but I have friends who have mixed some history and archaeology and they have found that useful too.
So really if you enjoy both do both it means you will get the most out of it if you enjoy both aspects and get to do both.
Hope that helps, feel free to ask anything further
From
Nikki

Are there any joint Hons courses out there that cover both?
Which area of history interests you the most?
I'm finishing a Classical Studies degree this year, and starting a masters in Ancient Worlds (Archaeology and Classics) in September.
Might that sort of pathway be interesting to you?

Hi, I am wanting to go to university but I am struggling to pick between history and archaeology. I adore history and would be more than happy to do this degree, but have always wanted to do archaeology as its more involved and more exciting, but I'm so worried that if I go down that road there will be no money in it and will all be wasted, but I understand that money is an issue for both degrees. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on their experiences of either degrees as I am interested to know what they both involve.