<p>hey guys. i'm going to major in art history and probably minor in international studies with a concentration on France. Anyway, i'm not set on a career yet (thinking teaching, law, or business). i'm interested in being a prof. of art history. BUT, i've been researching the agenda needed to gain such a position and it seems very demanding.
2-year masters + 5-7 yrs. for PhD
that seems like a looooooooong time to stay in school, about the same as med-school! correct me if i'm wrong but will the time spent working towards a phd also encompass grad. teaching and a career such as working in a museum or gallery? the cost of financing another 9 years of school after undergrad. seems very extreme (esp. for a low income student such as myself).
I believe being a prof. w/ tenure would be amazing. its ranked as the no.2 job in the nation by money.com. i would like the career because of the pay, less stress than other jobs i'm thinking about (esp. law) and the ability to teach something i love so much to so many students the rest of my life.
has anyone else thought about this career track or is in this career? thanks for any input.</p>
<p>choose teaching if you love to share your expertise with others, and don't worry about the money. i plan to teach when i am old and gray, as a means to slow my life down when i'm tired of hustling. i don't think teaching art pays particularly well however, starting salaries are less than $40,000 and after ten years maybe you make $70,000. the key is to get someone else to pay your tuition, fellowships, etc. i worked for the college while i was getting my degree and took advantage of free classes, but it took longer. this was my experience, don't know if it is universal.</p>
<p>what about teaching part-time? could i work part time at a gallery and then teach part time? it seems like that would boost my income some. It's just, i really like to teach people about what i like and converse with ppl that like the same thing, and i'm trying to decide if i want a career that is a little more relaxed and less hours (w/ less income) like teaching, or more hours, more stress (more income) with a career like law. choosing my future is proving to be somewhat disheartening lol</p>
<p>I would enter the world of teaching if you like teaching. If you like making a lot of money, I would explore careers in business, law, or politics. </p>
<p>As I understood your post, you are about to major in art history; if you are just now entering your undergraduate experience, I wouldn't think for one second about "your career". Instead, think about what you want to be doing for the next 5 or 10 years. </p>
<p>And for what it's worth - most PhDs are funded or partially funded, meaning you don't pay for college - college pays for you :)</p>
<p>Remember, the salary range you are citing is for 9 months. I also think your numbers are low. My neighbors are doctors. I never see them; they work 60-70 hours a week. The lawyers that I know are bored. I can be what and who I want as a prof. I can go to my kid's game, be involved in his school, work for a political candidate, play guitar, learn to play the piano, and train for an Ironman every year. Will I be filthy rich? No, but I likely will outlive all the physicians and lawyers in my neighborhood. As the sociologist Aronowitz said, 'it's the last good job'. I am 'self employed' with income security. And the vacation time is amazing.</p>
<p>thanks for all the replies. does anyone know the demand for a prof. in this subject or the comp. to get a job? thanks.</p>
<p>you might find some use full information here; <a href="http://www.collegeart.org%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeart.org</a>, and here; <a href="http://www.designersalaries.com/aigaaquent/Home.form%5B/url%5D">http://www.designersalaries.com/aigaaquent/Home.form</a>, or here <a href="http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos066.htm#earnings%5B/url%5D">http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos066.htm#earnings</a>, or here <a href="http://insidehighered.com/news/2006/03/06/cupa%5B/url%5D">http://insidehighered.com/news/2006/03/06/cupa</a></p>
<p>I am not a specialist in the areas you mention and I do not know what your grades are like, and therefore what kind of Doctoral program you can get into, but I suggest the following. I may be pounced upon for making the following suggestion, but someone gave me the following advice decades ago and I am grateful that I followed it. First, if you want to teach at the college level, be sure that you get your Ph.D in an area for which there are jobs. In some areas there may be as many as 500 applicants for each opening. I know that anyone would want to specialize in an area that they are passionate about, but, for example, if your interest is 'International', there are numerous PhDs that will allow you to write and teach in the area. Second, understand that the proportion of Doctoral students who complete their PhD is not high; it's not like going to law or medical school. There is a lot of politics, you are on your own a lot, and it may take a while till you finally complete your dissertation. Therefore choose a university department that, to put it perhaps inappropriately, is not filled with a bunch of jerks. Departmental politics and squirmishes can be ugly and doctoral students sometimes become pawns of profs who, if they worked in any other type of organization, would not last very long. None of this happened to me, but I have seen and heard of a lot of horror stories. Getting tenure is another story, but no need to worry about this yet. I said that it is an ideal job, but I would not describe them as ideal organizations.</p>
<p>there is also a career track in Museum Education</p>
<p>I'm starting to lean towards the career that allows me the most time w/ my family w/ less pay. I mean, i would still "like" to make at least 50k a year, but even if i cant get a phd or find a job, i would prob. still rather teach at a nice private high school than to work 70-80 hrs. a week and make twice as much. Does anyone have info on the competitiveness of gaining a lucrative museum job, such as one in a metropolitan city?</p>
<p>also, someone replied questioning my grades and such. I'm a 4.0 valedictorian (ACT 31, SAT 1350) and am applying to schools w/ a strong art hist. dept. Right now i'm really looking at Southwestern. It is a small LAC but it was its own fine arts school and a great internship/study abroad prgm. for the arts as well as a specific major/concentration of art hist. and international studies w/ a language component. anyone know much about the prgm. other than that? u may have never even heard of the school before. before i started a search for schools w/ great scholarships i had never heard of it lol.</p>
<p>can't really offer much help to you, but best of luck.</p>
<p>In general, your typical top notch LAC is going to better prepare you for graduate study than a large public univ. with huge classes, TA teachers, multiple choice exams, and little writing. It is better to get a scholarship from a second/third tier LAC than go to many state schools. I wish taxpayers would encourage their legislature to investigate the time being squandered on useless research (I'm not knocking good research, but publication for numbers/performance evaluation), time which should be devoted to the classroom and educating the next generation. LACs write and publish, but they tend to keep their eyes on the prize.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>google up "museum studies" and explore</p></li>
<li><p>by doing #1 above, I found this helpful website from the smithsonian on that career: museumstudies.si.edu</p></li>
<li><p>ask your art history professors but they might or might not know</p></li>
<li><p>make an appt. w/ career guidance center at your college</p></li>
<li><p>find out what additional skills would be helpful, so you can get some courses along the way (business? education? computer sci - for archiving) </p></li>
<li><p>a long time ago I had heard that art conservation was a growing field so chemistry could be relevant
GOOD LUCK!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Yes, i'm a big fan of small classes and knowing my prof. which is why most of my schools are small LAC's. I have another ? about a prof. career. Is it possible to work "on the side" as a prof. and have an actual career as a museum director,curator, etc? or vice versa? thanks</p>
<p>realistically, you might have a main career with a museum and also teach as a course or two as an "adjunct professor" at the nearest college or university, wherever you live. From what I hear, to pursue a tenure track as a prof is very all-consuming (requiring much publishing and moves around the country as job positions open on different campuses). That might get in the way with the development of your museum work. However, the joy of teaching one or two college courses could be yours as the "adjunct professor." And you wouldn't need the benefits from the college. This is how colleges try to cut costs, by hiring more adjuncts and giving fewer tenure spots out, so understand that you won't be loved by every full-time prof who teaches down the hall. I admire your long-range view. Be sure to get plenty of advice along the way about which undergrad and grad courses to take and cities to land in for your museum career.</p>
<p>hey, hey there's a new thread on "Museum Studies" today under Graduate School with some great links for you</p>
<p>Reminds me of Ross from Friends.</p>
<p>If you are an artist as well as an art historian you can pursue an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degree. This degree is more "hand-on" than most Phd programs in terms of creating art. In college teaching an MFA is what they call a "terminal degree" in some fields like a Phd. An MFA takes three years to complete.</p>