Aspirations of museum curator
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Anonymous
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DC is applying to colleges. He wants to be a museum curator. Loves history classes and solid writer. we know big law is not for him (DH did this). Trying to be supportive but can you support yourself on a curator salary in DC area?
A little google research says a lot of these jobs require masters or phd for a salary less than $100k. We can only pay for undergrad so grad school would be loans which does not sound wise. Thinking naybe anthropology could be better with data science? More applicable to other opportunities after he tires of living at home. Any knowledge of museum and or other curator work?? |
Anonymous
| My DH isn’t a curator but has spent most of his career working in museums. Most of the curators either come from money, marry money, or have no family to support, to be honest. |
Anonymous
| Museum curator is a connected job for wealthy people. I have a lot of connections to museums through my work and have only known a handful who have come in through any other way. The only occasional exception is when there's a new specialty museum that happens to be your specialty--or you are hired on as a consultant to curate an exhibition on your specialty--so not a full time gig. |
Anonymous
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My neighbor is one and has a PhD from a top university. She has a crazy time finding jobs, even in DC--the competition is stiff. Salaries are all under $100K, often quite a bit under unless they are head curator jobs which of course are super hard to get.
My impression is that to advance to more senior roles you really need to have the flexibility to move to whether a job opportunity is in American or the world. When her kids were young she sometimes interviewed in other cities and contemplated moving. However now they're teens so she's sticking here and has never really made the jump to a head position. |
Anonymous
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My brother pursued this path for a few years. He had the summer internship at the Met and was very well connected. Obviously this was 20+ years ago ... he did say then that *everyone* was wealthy (our family was merely "rich."*) He went off and got an MBA and now works in a different field. One of my close friends growing up is now one of the top people at MOMA; also from a very rich family. I know he put in VERY long hours for very little pay for several years before it started to pay off for him.
So in my sample size of 2, yeah, it's tough to support yourself for the first few years, especially if you want to be seen as equal to your probably-wealthy coworkers (show up to work looking well dressed and groomed, go out for drinks and dinner, etc. All those haircuts and manicures and new shoes and such add up.) But again, my experience is going back 20+ years. Perhaps it is different now. * Using the Chris Rock definition of rich vs wealthy. |
Anonymous
| I have several friends who work for museums, zoos and similar cultural organizations. If you move up to more senior management you can push your salary into the six figures. |
Anonymous
| If he likes the idea of working in a museum, he could also consider being an archivist or registrar. |
Anonymous
| I know two people who do this in DC. Wouldn't recommend. Both have had to move to far flung places, or piece together multiple part-time gigs and rely on health insurance from their partners. |
Anonymous
I will also say that most of the coveted jobs are political or connected type positions. I.e. perhaps they want a woman of color or perhaps they go with someone who has an in in the arts world through family money. There are lots of lower level jobs (large museums will have many curators or curator adjacent positions) that are gained solely on merit. |
Anonymous
| Art law is a better choice. |
Anonymous
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Very few of these jobs exist, especially when you narrow it down by field, and there is an over supply of job seekers. They don’t have to pay much. But it isn’t the income that’s the main problem, it is getting one of these jobs at all.
Archivist (suggested in the thread as an alternative) is similar. That said I would encourage my kid to study what he loves, because a hood liberal arts education can serve you well in many careers. But being a curator isn’t likely to be his path. |
Anonymous
| UMW has a very well respected program in historic preservation. That might be similar. |
Anonymous
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OP here- your replied confirm my suspicions based on my sample size of 2 curators. One married money; one came from money.
Anyone with experience in Anthropology? Have been reading that companies hire anthropologists for consumer experience and research type work. Perhaps a better option? When I worjed in CPG our researchers had marketing quant degrees but maybe things are changing?? |
Anonymous
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This is really not your choice.
There are many career fields that people pursue because they are passionate about them or want to help people. The most you can do is suggest your son have informational interviews with people in the field, so he goes in with eyes wide open. But it will be his life. You can't "curate" it for him. Why don't people ever post on here that their kid is going into some high paying field and they are afraid they will be miserable in it (like many lawyers, for example). There really is more to life than $. |
Anonymous
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If it is at all possible, could he apply to schools in the UK? Would he meet the qualifications to apply to Oxford or Cambridge? There are abundant programs for this type of thing that produce sought after employees at museums, government heritage departments, auction houses, government funded pre-dig evaluation units and other international NGOs. Oxbridge has great programs through their Archaeology and History departments, depending on your DC's specific interest. Excellent internship and externship opportunities plus funded travel grants to more deeply explore an area of interest.
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