I loved college, loved being in school and after about a year or two as an undergrad I didn't have any illusions about being able to get an interesting job in the Art History field without an advanced degree. I thought academia would be okay but I was unsure about having to publish my work, I'm okay at modern art but it isn't my forte so I wasn't sure a gallery setting was right for me, an auction house sounded cool but I wasn't ready to move to England or New York City so I thought working in a museum would be the best fit for me.
During junior year I did my internship and I didn’t think I got it right. I loved the work but I quickly learned there was so much politicking. I wasn't sure I could handle it. So in my 22 year old naivety, I thought I could be happy with a job that paid the rent. Going for my Master’s or PhD if I wasn’t going to like where I worked didn’t seem like a good idea.
I got a good job for a large corporation making more money than anyone I knew of from my graduating class. Not an exorbitant amount, but I was totally independent from my parents and comfortable, not scraping by or being underwritten by Mommy and Daddy like a lot of my friends were. I quickly learned the politics, gossip, brown nosing and backstabbing were not the mysterious affliction of only museum employees but totally permeated the workforce. So I figured if I was going to have to deal with it anyway I might as well like some aspects of my job. It took me about two years of working in a cubicle before I decided I was ready to walk away from a steady paycheck and good benefits to confront the inevitable mounds of debt and sparser lifestyle I'd encounter to be a student again. And I’m excited about it. Grad school is definitely a brighter prospect to me then working in a grey cube staring at black and white documents all day. Bring on the twin beds and Ramen Noodles!
