Aspirations of museum curator

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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??

I was an anthropology major in college and went to grad school in museum education. I worked in museums and in a related field with lots museum professionals - curators, educators, exhibit designers. Many of my peers have spent their careers at the Smithsonian, which is the most lucrative gig in town, but not at first and it’s very competitive. Curators are among the most overeducated and underpaid of the lot. It’s tough to crack $100k in museum work without supervisory management responsibilities and a well funded institution.

+1. I worked as a curator assistant for the Smithsonian and I concur that it is a competitive field. These positions don’t come up often because curators tend to stay in their jobs for life. The pay is not good, and even worse for a curators assistant. But the work is interesting and satisfying.

If you want to volunteer at the Smithsonian, I recommend getting started now with the paperwork so that when summer comes around, he will be in the system. It can take a while for the paperwork to go through and to be reviewed by staff at the museums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why oh why are we worried about this NOW? Let him go to a college where he can study liberal arts, choose what he likes, utilize the career services office to find internships and go from there? Most kids change their major once they get to college, several times. Just don't allow him to apply narrowly to schools that only offer a strong program in what he thinks he wants at age 16.

BTW my daughter is an anthropology major. It is a VERY broad major, including everything from archeology to linguistics to cultural and medical anthropology. Its a great liberal arts major with alot of emphasis on writing and analysis, arguing various perspectives. She is possibly pre-law but also very interested in nonprofit development work due to her internship. Nothing wrong with this major.

Op here. Not worried yet but starting our school list and want to have a general idea of interests because not every school has every major and some seem to be cutting back on non- stem offerings. Like you, I am thinking anthropology might be more versatile than history as it is very broad as you mention above. I personally did not choose a major until junior year of college so I am not expecting a 16 yr old to know at this point.

May I ask where your daughter attends school and is she happy with the program?

She attends UVA and is a great department, she loves it. Was originally pre med and happened upon an anthropology class first year and has found her passion and academic strength.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why oh why are we worried about this NOW? Let him go to a college where he can study liberal arts, choose what he likes, utilize the career services office to find internships and go from there? Most kids change their major once they get to college, several times. Just don't allow him to apply narrowly to schools that only offer a strong program in what he thinks he wants at age 16.

BTW my daughter is an anthropology major. It is a VERY broad major, including everything from archeology to linguistics to cultural and medical anthropology. Its a great liberal arts major with alot of emphasis on writing and analysis, arguing various perspectives. She is possibly pre-law but also very interested in nonprofit development work due to her internship. Nothing wrong with this major.

Op here. Not worried yet but starting our school list and want to have a general idea of interests because not every school has every major and some seem to be cutting back on non- stem offerings. Like you, I am thinking anthropology might be more versatile than history as it is very broad as you mention above. I personally did not choose a major until junior year of college so I am not expecting a 16 yr old to know at this point.

May I ask where your daughter attends school and is she happy with the program?

She attends UVA and is a great department, she loves it. Was originally pre med and happened upon an anthropology class first year and has found her passion and academic strength.

DP. I had a lot of anthropology major friends at UVA and almost every one of them went on to be a lawyer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why oh why are we worried about this NOW? Let him go to a college where he can study liberal arts, choose what he likes, utilize the career services office to find internships and go from there? Most kids change their major once they get to college, several times. Just don't allow him to apply narrowly to schools that only offer a strong program in what he thinks he wants at age 16.

BTW my daughter is an anthropology major. It is a VERY broad major, including everything from archeology to linguistics to cultural and medical anthropology. Its a great liberal arts major with alot of emphasis on writing and analysis, arguing various perspectives. She is possibly pre-law but also very interested in nonprofit development work due to her internship. Nothing wrong with this major.

Op here. Not worried yet but starting our school list and want to have a general idea of interests because not every school has every major and some seem to be cutting back on non- stem offerings. Like you, I am thinking anthropology might be more versatile than history as it is very broad as you mention above. I personally did not choose a major until junior year of college so I am not expecting a 16 yr old to know at this point.

May I ask where your daughter attends school and is she happy with the program?

She attends UVA and is a great department, she loves it. Was originally pre med and happened upon an anthropology class first year and has found her passion and academic strength.

DP. I had a lot of anthropology major friends at UVA and almost every one of them went on to be a lawyer.

. Yes and she is potentially prelaw, interested in bioethics. It's a popular pre-med and pre- law major, again, its very broad like most liberal arts majors, and if the OPs son majors in it, at least it's not so specific that he limits himself in career options. That's my point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is a white boy, I'd gently tell him to forget it. Like higher edu, museums everywhere are seeking to polish their diversity credentials. Just the reality for the next generation.

He would probably be better off as a government historian or archivist.

Also need to be honest with him re money and expectations. Nothing wrong with being a lawyer.

The Art Institute of Chicago fired the white volunteers due to equity.

White males will have a tough time in the museum world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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??

My daughter has an undergraduate and a graduate degree in Anthropology. I will admit that I had my reservations about her choice (I assure you I kept them to myself) and have had to confront my own misconceptions about the field. It isn't all fieldwork in remote locations or the study of esoterica. DD considered museum work but found it too isolating and was oppressed by the constant funding shortfalls and financial worries at institutions. She became very interested in ethnographic research and in building educational systems to meet the needs of the communities being served--Columbia has a very strong anthropology and education program. Anthropologists are sought after to work in areas UX/UI, developing and implementing AI tech, advertising, etc. She has a good job, is self-supporting and has good work-life balance. I think it has worked out pretty well for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why oh why are we worried about this NOW? Let him go to a college where he can study liberal arts, choose what he likes, utilize the career services office to find internships and go from there? Most kids change their major once they get to college, several times. Just don't allow him to apply narrowly to schools that only offer a strong program in what he thinks he wants at age 16.

BTW my daughter is an anthropology major. It is a VERY broad major, including everything from archeology to linguistics to cultural and medical anthropology. Its a great liberal arts major with alot of emphasis on writing and analysis, arguing various perspectives. She is possibly pre-law but also very interested in nonprofit development work due to her internship. Nothing wrong with this major.

Op here. Not worried yet but starting our school list and want to have a general idea of interests because not every school has every major and some seem to be cutting back on non- stem offerings. Like you, I am thinking anthropology might be more versatile than history as it is very broad as you mention above. I personally did not choose a major until junior year of college so I am not expecting a 16 yr old to know at this point.

May I ask where your daughter attends school and is she happy with the program?

If your child is a junior (or younger) I highly recommend the summer internship at the Met. It's highly competitive (and you'd have to figure out how to spend two months in NYC) but it's a great entry point into that world. My brother did it 20+ years ago (as I mentioned early in this thread) and enjoyed it immensely (and made serious contacts in that world.)

https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/internships/high-school

[Anonymous]

Why does the salary matter? You honestly believe humans are worthless unless they make biglaw money? Weird.

[Anonymous]

^
Ignore troll who is not following complete thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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??

My daughter has an undergraduate and a graduate degree in Anthropology. I will admit that I had my reservations about her choice (I assure you I kept them to myself) and have had to confront my own misconceptions about the field. It isn't all fieldwork in remote locations or the study of esoterica. DD considered museum work but found it too isolating and was oppressed by the constant funding shortfalls and financial worries at institutions. She became very interested in ethnographic research and in building educational systems to meet the needs of the communities being served--Columbia has a very strong anthropology and education program. Anthropologists are sought after to work in areas UX/UI, developing and implementing AI tech, advertising, etc. She has a good job, is self-supporting and has good work-life balance. I think it has worked out pretty well for her.

Thank you- I was reading about Anthropologists becoming more sought after for UX experience and AI, advertising etc. and thought he might find that interesting. Appreciate the anecdote!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why oh why are we worried about this NOW? Let him go to a college where he can study liberal arts, choose what he likes, utilize the career services office to find internships and go from there? Most kids change their major once they get to college, several times. Just don't allow him to apply narrowly to schools that only offer a strong program in what he thinks he wants at age 16.

BTW my daughter is an anthropology major. It is a VERY broad major, including everything from archeology to linguistics to cultural and medical anthropology. Its a great liberal arts major with alot of emphasis on writing and analysis, arguing various perspectives. She is possibly pre-law but also very interested in nonprofit development work due to her internship. Nothing wrong with this major.

Op here. Not worried yet but starting our school list and want to have a general idea of interests because not every school has every major and some seem to be cutting back on non- stem offerings. Like you, I am thinking anthropology might be more versatile than history as it is very broad as you mention above. I personally did not choose a major until junior year of college so I am not expecting a 16 yr old to know at this point.

May I ask where your daughter attends school and is she happy with the program?

If your child is a junior (or younger) I highly recommend the summer internship at the Met. It's highly competitive (and you'd have to figure out how to spend two months in NYC) but it's a great entry point into that world. My brother did it 20+ years ago (as I mentioned early in this thread) and enjoyed it immensely (and made serious contacts in that world.)

https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/internships/high-school

What a great opportunity -thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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??

I was an anthropology major in college and went to grad school in museum education. I worked in museums and in a related field with lots museum professionals - curators, educators, exhibit designers. Many of my peers have spent their careers at the Smithsonian, which is the most lucrative gig in town, but not at first and it’s very competitive. Curators are among the most overeducated and underpaid of the lot. It’s tough to crack $100k in museum work without supervisory management responsibilities and a well funded institution.

+1. I worked as a curator assistant for the Smithsonian and I concur that it is a competitive field. These positions don’t come up often because curators tend to stay in their jobs for life. The pay is not good, and even worse for a curators assistant. But the work is interesting and satisfying.

If you want to volunteer at the Smithsonian, I recommend getting started now with the paperwork so that when summer comes around, he will be in the system. It can take a while for the paperwork to go through and to be reviewed by staff at the museums.

Yes- I was surprised by looking at the website how much is involved just to volunteer. Even the volunteer positions seem highly competitive!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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??

I was an anthropology major in college and went to grad school in museum education. I worked in museums and in a related field with lots museum professionals - curators, educators, exhibit designers. Many of my peers have spent their careers at the Smithsonian, which is the most lucrative gig in town, but not at first and it’s very competitive. Curators are among the most overeducated and underpaid of the lot. It’s tough to crack $100k in museum work without supervisory management responsibilities and a well funded institution.

+1. I worked as a curator assistant for the Smithsonian and I concur that it is a competitive field. These positions don’t come up often because curators tend to stay in their jobs for life. The pay is not good, and even worse for a curators assistant. But the work is interesting and satisfying.

If you want to volunteer at the Smithsonian, I recommend getting started now with the paperwork so that when summer comes around, he will be in the system. It can take a while for the paperwork to go through and to be reviewed by staff at the museums.

Yes- I was surprised by looking at the website how much is involved just to volunteer. Even the volunteer positions seem highly competitive!

+1 You have to do a lot of internships too which are also competitive--I think that's why its perceived as a 'rich' person's job--or at least someone coming from a solidly UMC background--the academic credentials are high, you have to have plenty of time to do volunteer work to lead to internships, the museums tend to be in HCOLA and the end result if you are lucky and last through this is a fairly low-paying job for its competitiveness/credentials. But it's like wanting to become a professor--it's a very long, hard haul for a few slots that don't pay a lot. But if you want to do that kind of work, that's the way you do that kind of work.

I agree with the posters who say--try out volunteering--if your kid still wants to pursue that path, at least they have taken the first step. And it may make them aware that the rewards aren't worth the sacrifices to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^
Ignore troll who is not following complete thread.

"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."

Insane to think most people DON'T make less than $100k. And guess what? They do just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UMW has a very well respected program in historic preservation. That might be similar.

While true, the only person I know who pursued this at UMW (to work in museums) has part time online gig only tangentially related to the field (like records management or something like that). No luck finding a job, federal or private, in the field.