Art History

How do I find an Art History job?

I have a degree in English and Art History and a minor in Studio Arts. Thus far it has been truly difficult to find a position in my field. I would love to work for a museum or research institution but I don't know where to look or how to get in the door. Any ideas would be wonderful. Perhaps I should add the following: I already know I need a PhD or at the bare minimun a MA in Art History in order to get a job in the "real world." What I really would like to know is are there jobs out there that would like an Art Historian with a background of English and Studio Arts. My dream job is to work my my proff in Pompeii but I can't do that while supporting my husband through grad school and I'm going nuts at my job that pays the bills. Is there anything out there Art related that would like to have an Art person work for them?

Public Comments

1. Well, once again the university has taken tuition dollars for an education while completely neglecting what the education is for. There ought to be a law... Look, you have fallen into the "major in what interests you" trap. The proper way to do it--and I realize this comes about 3 years too late--is to go to a career counsellor and figure out what kind of work you really want to do. Then you pick the major that leads to that career. Unfortunately, you now have 2 degrees and you still don't know what they're for--kind of like myself, many years ago-- Now, maybe your old alma mater will let you come into the campus career office and work with you to refine your career goals. Or maybe a nearby community college will offer that service to you. If you don't want to do that ground-work (it's kind of like starting over--which could be the best thing), then there are a couple of straight answers to your question. To get to work in a research institution: You are going to need a Ph.D. in art history. Moreover, you're going to need it from the best program you can find, working closely with one of the top researchers in the field. If you don't know who the top researchers are, go to a university library and ask librarians to help you with citations indexes for art history; they list how often each scholar has been cited in recent publication, the ones with the most citations are the biggies in the field. When you've narrowed it down to a few top scholars, read a lot of their recent publications. See if you can get to a professional conference where you might meet them (be aggressive!) and present yourself to them as a potential grad. student. Brush up and score really high on the GRE. When you're into the graduate program, start working toward publications immediately. After you complete the Ph.D., competition for jobs will be horrible, and the only real chance you have of a tenure-track position in a research university is to have some articles already accepted for publication and more on the way. Once hired for a tenure-track position, you'll need to work hard to keep a brilliant publication agenda and also to massage department politics. For the museum jobs--you want training as a curator? A manager? Either of which may lead to jobs as a director? There are special graduate programs for curators and for arts managers--the first will involve special preservation and restoration techniques, the second will involve business and personnel and such issues. For these sorts of programs, inquire at the career center of your university or community college--they have databases that tell which universities offer which programs. So the short answer is: clarify your goals and get a graduate degree. And in case you have monetary concerns, the graduate school can explain finances to you--it ought to be affordable.
2. For a gentler and I hope more helpful answer to what one does generally with a history degree try this: http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/major.html Good luck.