Thank you, that's very helpful.
Carrie
--- Erica Fisher <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear Carrie & entry-level job seekers:
>
> I graduated with a BA degree in the history of art
> in May, and with full
> intention of working in a museum, and perhaps you
> will find my experience
> useful to you. I did, finally, find a great
> entry-level job, but I had to
> widen my net and be flexible. Here are some
> pointers:
>
> (1) I had started looking for jobs, like you,
> throughout my senior year.
> However, many of my previous mentors in professional
> experiences also
> informed me of the reality that entry-level job
> seeking is most effective
> during May and the summer months, when a turnover of
> employees who are to
> enter grad school in September occurs. This did
> prove to be a good window,
> and I was able to apply to many more opportunities
> starting in May. If you
> are seeking to start employment in the summer after
> graduation, looking now
> may be a good warm-up, but institutions will not be
> prone to holding
> openings for you; normally the need is immediate.
>
> (2) Internship vs. employment: Even though I wanted
> a paid, full time job, I
> also applied to various summer internships after
> realizing how tight the
> market was. I ended up accepting an offer to intern
> at a museum during the
> summer months, but as it was unpaid, and I, along
> with many new graduates,
> was bearing monetary sacrifice in the name of the
> internship, kept on
> applying to jobs here and there. I finally got a
> response after casting many
> nets, had an interview, and was offered the job
> within a week of applying.
> The complication was that, as mentioned in (1), the
> need was immediate, and
> I had to break my previous unpaid commitment to
> train before my predecessor
> left for grad school. But that's business.
>
> (3) Entry-level job seeking is about compromise, and
> often that can lead to
> discovering niches you may have overlooked
> otherwise. For me, I was so set
> on museums that I did not even begin applying to
> gallery jobs until the
> summer -- and that's where I ended up finding the
> best entry-level
> employment opportunity. You should also consider not
> just one areas you
> would consider living, but many. In addition, don’t
> forget about applying to
> museums at universities and colleges – that’s a
> growing niche that is often
> not considered by new graduates.
>
> (4) About salary: Many majors in my university joked
> about how entry-level
> jobs, especially in NYC, pay $15,000 - which is not
> nearly enough to live
> on. It proved not to be a joke when a friend of mine
> was offered that sum
> for an entry-level job. However, if you find a job
> whose responsibilities
> are diverse and challenging (read, beyond
> receptionist and clerical work)
> you might be able to find opportunities ranging from
> $25-30K. I work on
> curating exhibitions, editing scholarly essays, and
> catalogue production on
> top of general gallery administrative duties, and my
> salary falls within
> that range.
>
> I hope any of this is useful to you and others.
>
> ~Erica
>
>
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