Looking for jobs or alternative jobs with B.A. in Art History, Help!

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

Well, yes. To be brutally frank. Offices are where you'll find the great majority of white collar jobs.

If you have any office skills like typing, working with MS Word, etc (and you should with a liberal arts degree) then my advice would be to spend time working as a temp so you can get some personal perspective about what it's like to work in different various types of businesses. Then if you find a business and a setting in which you are comfortable you can make personal contacts with the HR people, find a mentor, that sort of thing and try to turn it into a permanent career-track job.

Honestly, if you were my student or my kid I'd tell you the following.

1. You can pursue a career in art history but that's going to mean going the PhD route with lots of sacrifice and somewhat slim chances of finding a great job in a place where you want to live.

2. You can hover around the fringes of the art world, working in galleries, coffee shops, etc. But you're never going to build any kind of secure future with healthcare, retirement benefits, or even a middle class lifestyle. Which may not seem super important now, but it will, especially if you get married and/or have kids.

3. You can chose to separate your personal interests (say...art) from your professional life and search out some profession that you can find rewarding enough to stick with while you do the things you really like in your spare time. The vast majority of Americans really fall into this category. They tolerate their work because it provides them with the means to do whatever else is important to them in their lives.

The business world is always looking for smart articulate people who can communicate well, think on their feet and just generally be diligent about their work. And there are millions of liberal arts grads out there working in business. Because frankly that's where the money is.

I second this post.

[loves2read]

The business world is always looking for smart articulate people who can communicate well, think on their feet and just generally be diligent about their work.

that might have been true when the business world was not consumed with cutting jobs to raise its profit margin or maximizing what it can get from its employees vs spending time/money training people as to how to do the jobs they were hired for--
nowadays businesses want people with experience for entry level jobs--you need to have practical knowledge about almost every facet of working at a particular type of job--whether it is the specific software systems used on computers, practical experience doing whatever you might be applying for, and if it is a sales job--then they prefer that you have contacts to bring that will bolster their sales quotas right from the start...

run a search on Monster and find how many entry level jobs there are for REAL jobs--not some marketing ploy trying to sell you something or a commission sales job most people can't earn a living doing...
most colleges have few companies coming to do interviews with BA/BS grads NOT in specific fields that are tied to business or other marketable skills...

if you think I am wrong--then just link to some legitimate job offers asking for a general college degree and your attributes--
the military is about the only one that makes a viable alternative--

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

Originally Posted by loves2read

The business world is always looking for smart articulate people who can communicate well, think on their feet and just generally be diligent about their work.

nowadays businesses want people with experience for entry level jobs--you need to have practical knowledge about almost every facet of working at a particular type of job--whether it is the specific software systems used on computers, practical experience doing whatever you might be applying for

run a search on Monster and find how many entry level jobs there are for REAL jobs--not some marketing ploy trying to sell you something or a commission sales job most people can't earn a living doing...
most colleges have few companies coming to do interviews with BA/BS grads NOT in specific fields that are tied to business or other marketable skills...

if you think I am wrong--then just link to some legitimate job offers asking for a general college degree and your attributes--
the military is about the only one that makes a viable alternative--

It depends on the type of job. Some professions do require some technical skills and knowledge of some particular software programs. However many companies don't and they have their own custom designed software applications. The only way you can ge the experience is working for the company. So that's the part where the previous poster talked about making your employment a career track and finding mentors, contacts etc.

Also what you see in a job description, many times is not applicable to internal employees. Many companies promote from within. I have seen plenty of people getting promoted when they didn't have most of the requirements in the job posting(example someone with no degrees when the description required a Master's) and these were over 100k jobs.

[loves2read]

you are right in that many job descriptions seemed designed just for current employees--that is part of my point--
many businesses are not looking to hire people from the outside they have to train to work for them--BUT the rules in most companies that are supposed to make them use fair employment practices say that jobs have to be posted and written to that they ARE open to many prospects...
but they make it difficult for just anyone to be hired...

I just wanted the person who posed that observation to give something to back it up--it sounds great-is very inspirational to someone who does not have a workhistory with specific job-oriented skills but does have positive attributes to offer-
but in reality it is really not that applicable to real-world business hiring practices--
and gives false hope
the problem is that most people think they are smart and personable and could LEARN almost any job--but they have already been to college--a business wants to put them to use making money for the business in some way, shape, form--not spending more time to train them...

the only job I had that did that was working for the state of TX as a caseworker for Health and Human Services--years ago--we spent about 12 weeks being trained (and paid) in how to interpret state/federal rules and determine eligibility for food stamps and medicaid programs--school for 8 hours a day--most people hated it--
and once we were assigned to an office unit we were on reduced assignment for like another 2 months to get used to actually doing the work--
sort of like basic training--
but it was a terrifically difficult/stressful job--
there is no way that just college classes could prepare you for it--
and most college degrees don't really prepare you to do work for specific companies because like you said there are nuances to working at any job--even cash registers are different from McDonald's to Target to Kroger in some fashion...and policies are always different from store to store--
so I think the lower paying jobs--like cashier--are often more patient and willing to train than better paying jobs that have more variables...
just think most businesses now a days don't want to waste the time doing that --

my SIL works as quality improvement manager--works specific projects around the country for 6 mo or more at a time--flies out Sunday night--comes back Friday--
his company has lot of turnover with project people--but they will take a chance and hire people with variety of business backgrounds and then the project manager has to explain how to do what they need to do--
some people don't want to work as hard as they have to--they don't like getting up early or working maybe the second or third shift when they work a 24 hr plant--you can't train someone to be "professional" and on time and responsible--but you can try to foster a sense of responsibility and team work--
he does not get a lot of credit for helping the people on his crew to become better at what he needs them to do but he has been pretty successful in building a good team for his past three projects--
he is a good coach but tough--

but the reason he has to take the time to train the people is that the job is hard and only desparate people usually apply--those who can't get a stay at home job that pays well--people who have maybe been downsized from age maybe or because they were just not that good/smart--
so he is not always working with good clay...
they get lot of turnover--and he won't let people take advantage of him--he might give people a second chance -- but not a third...

[kxh3011]

Not yet, but plan to check into it soon. Thank you.

[Ch33ky1]

my advice is to get training/education in something that actually makes money. then you can afford to do (as a hobby) what you love. I'm not sure if I'm right in this view, as I would truly love to read renaisance literature for a living, would love to be a chef, would love to study beaches but in reality, I couldn't live the comfortable life I want with those choices. Nothing is easy. I may be wrong though, but it's just my approach.

[loves2read]

interesting article about the perils of trying to move away from a college degree

The New Poor - For-Profit Schools Cashing In on Recession and Federal Aid - NYTimes.com

[kxh3011]

Thank you for all the advice and help. I did apply at Heritage Auctions for a Customer Service or possible intern position. I have been reading the books, "What Color is your Parachute" by Richard N. Bolles and the "Knock 'em Dead" books. These books have provided a lot of job searching advice as well.