Art History Careers

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www.nickbakewell.com
Hey,

My girlfriend is majoring in Art History, but has run into a problem - it seems like there are not many career paths available for art history majors other than museum curators, and they require PhDs. So my question is, do you know of any possible career paths (or anyone I can talk to) for Art History majors who are doing a standard 4 year Bachelors degree?
 


She should learn how to appraise art and then maybe work as a consultant for antique dealers or big auction houses.
 
she should change her major? art to me is a hobby, not a profession for most.

but to answer your question, the one art history major i knew who graduated last year is now an asst manager at............. barnes and noble.
 
For what it's worth... 2 people I know graduated in art history.

1 slings coffee at Starbucks.

The other
is a substitute teacher/bartender/girl who collects money at the door of the nightclub.
 
What the fuck do internet marketers know about majoring in/having a career in art history? Do you seriously have no one else to ask this?
 
^^ internet marketers come from all walks of life.

She should consider specialising. In UK the two major auction houses Christies and Sothebys have their own courses (for a fee obviously) but very good way to hone in on your preferred area of expertise and be in the right place to find an opening.
 
From my college's art history site:

Careers in Art History
Savannah College of Art and Design Art History Program

Careers
• art book publisher
• art critic
• curator
• art conservator
• educator
• museum development officer
• museum registrar
• historic site supervisor
• museum exhibition designer
• fine art librarian
• arts administrator
• art dealer
• art consultant
• art historian
• auction house administrator
• corporate art curator
• art appraiser
• artist representative
• collections manager
• consultant to museums/galleries/dealers/collectors
• freelance writer/art critic
• preservationist
Click to expand...
A lot of really specific jobs. I don't know, if she's really passionate about it she could either get her masters or really push hard to get a related job, depending on your market; I think it's going to be an issue in part as to how hard she's willing to work for it. My experience with Art History majors has been that most just give up and, like some of the other posters said, end up working in retail until they get a bank position or something. It's uncanny to me how many of my art history major friends work in banks.

I graduated with a BFA in graphic design primarily because it gave me so many options; you can go to work immediately, or get your MA if you want to do more academic side stuff first. If she's considering switching to something else, GD has a good economic outlook right now.
 
Possibility said:
Hey,

My girlfriend is majoring in Art History, but has run into a problem - it seems like there are not many career paths available for art history majors other than museum curators, and they require PhDs. So my question is, do you know of any possible career paths (or anyone I can talk to) for Art History majors who are doing a standard 4 year Bachelors degree?
Click to expand...

Get her to change, quickly to something with prospects. Art / Art History degrees are generally known as the "idiot" degrees, pretty much in every country. For the most part to get the degree you are barely required to get out of bed and pay for you classes.

A friends girlfriend spent nearly 10 years getting a bachelors and masters in Art history and she's actually now working as a baby-sitter/nanny.

Her last year @ school, they had some famous art-history guy come in and lecture them about career prospects and he said: "you're all fucked". Shocked look on their faces and he went on to explain there are basically two things they can do, work in a museum or become art-history professors and fuck up more kids lives. And he said the former is possible, with limited positions available and the latter is in such high demand there is a huge waiting list for any job that *does* become available.

What I thought was nice that she was told this on year 10 of her 10 years there, whoops.

Oh and for my informal survey, is your girlfriend really a high maintenance pain in the arse ? I've yet to find an art-history major that *isn't* (we call them the gourmet veggie crowd).
 
Priority_Mail90 said:
Her last year @ school, they had some famous art-history guy come in and lecture them about career prospects and he said: "you're all fucked". Shocked look on their faces and he went on to explain there are basically two things they can do, work in a museum or become art-history professors and fuck up more kids lives. And he said the former is possible, with limited positions available and the latter is in such high demand there is a huge waiting list for any job that *does* become available.
Click to expand...

Pretty much every art/design school has a "you're fucked" lecturer come in at some point, for whatever reason. I think part of it is to scare the students into working/competing harder, but some of them (like the one you mentioned) basically put up the "abandon all hope" sign on the stage. And yeah, by the time you're involved enough in your studies to want to go to those lectures rather than playing xbox all day you're three or four (or more) years in, and they already have upwards of $50,000 of your money.

But on the other hand, if you're dumb enough to invest that much without scouting your prospects you sort of deserve what you get.
 
I know more than a handful of Art History majors who then went on to get Masters degrees in Library Science. They have all managed to find relevant jobs that they enjoy.
 
Possibility said:
Hey,

My girlfriend is majoring in Art History, but has run into a problem - it seems like there are not many career paths available for art history majors other than museum curators, and they require PhDs.
Click to expand...

No Shit?

I would have thought there would be a shit-load of opportunities available!

Maybe she can switch majors to something more marketable, like, Folklore with a minor in Mythology.

Just a thought.



Gumby!
 
I have a BA in English Lit... The only thing it's good for is to look better on your resume than the guy who didn't get a 4-year degree.

I am working on two novels, though...
 
kimboslice said:
For what it's worth... 2 people I know graduated in art history.

1 slings coffee at Starbucks.

The other
is a substitute teacher/bartender/girl who collects money at the door of the nightclub.
Click to expand...

How fascinating...

Seems the philosophy majors are going to be getting some competition from the art history majors in the workplace now!
 
The son of my father's old boss runs a fine art transporting business. Dropships expensive artwork and specializes in packaging them to retain their mint condition (or not so mint condition).
 
Use your imagination.

Her marketable skill is not Art History, it is RESEARCH.

She can also (presumably) write.
 
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