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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