For the lucky few. The vast majority of those with history PhD's are NOT working in their respective field.
I knew 6 people with a PhD in history, only one is a tenured professor. One went on to become an international insurance consultant. One went on to teach writing and computers at a law firm. One became a "gender specialist" for a non-profit. One works as a research consultant. And the last one works in underwater construction and demolition. He also has a PhD in philosophy.
So while they are all in pretty decent paying jobs, only one of them is actually using their history degree.