I believe I have a lot of talents to offer an employer and yet I have been unsuccessful in finding a "good" job.
Currently, I am working a part-time temp. job at a finance firm, I process on-line investments and research accounts. I have been there for 9 months.
I have 2 BA's, one in Art and another in a foreign language. I have studied abroad 3x during my academic career. The last time was with a scholarship where I did an internship for 5 months at a small design firm.
My artistic faculties include: Photography, Graphic Design, Drawing, Ceramics and Metals.
I have office experience, customer service experience,
I am basically a "jack of all trades."
I am feeling really hopeless with the way things are going with the economy and have started to think about going back to school to get my Master's.
Do you think this is a good idea? Would you possibly have any recommendations on a career path I should think of pursuing?
I have a great interest in museums and have gone on sites like USAJOBS.GOV. Most of the positions that I believe I would be able to do require a MA.
Thank you for your help and I look forward to your answer!
Thank you for your help and I look forward to your answer!
Answer:
It sounds like you have some great skills and knowledge that an employer would want. The problem may be one of two things.
1) how you're displaying you skill and education when you are applying to positions.
2) Connecting what jobs your are qualified for to what you are interested in.
My first question would be if you have applied to entry level graphic design positions? Or if you have interest in that? Here is a link to some of those type of positions: http://jobs.career-advisor.net/a/jobs/find-jobs/q-entry+level+%22graphic+designer%22
You are right about the fact that Museum jobs usually require a Master's degree or higher. It is never a bad idea to get more education if you are able to. However, Museum Technicians often only require a Bachelors Degree.
Museum technicians usually need a bachelor's degree in an appropriate discipline of the museum's specialty, training in museum studies, or previous experience working in museums, particularly in the design of exhibits. Similarly, archives technicians usually need a bachelor's degree in library science or history, or relevant work experience. Relatively few schools grant a bachelor's degree in museum studies. More common are undergraduate minors or tracks of study that are part of an undergraduate degree in a related field, such as art history, history, or archaeology. Students interested in further study may obtain a master's degree in museum studies, offered in colleges and universities throughout the country. However, many employers feel that, while museum studies are helpful, a thorough knowledge of the museum's specialty and museum work experience are more important.Here is some great information about the jobs market for Archivists, Curators, and Museum Technicians http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos065.htm
I found just a few of these jobs but you may want to check in-person at Art museums near you. These types of positions are usually not posted on the internet.
Here is some great information about Graphic Designers. You can take some local computer classes to get you graphics knowledge up to speed and get a job fairly quickly. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos090.htm
Here is a pdf file titled "What can I do with my Liberal Arts degree". Please check this out too.
I hope this helps.
