Over half the book (104 pages out of 188) covers the general typical topics that any job book would cover, such as self-assessment, research, networking, interviewing, following up, etc. It briefly tosses in some mention about how these relate to the visual arts but not much. But if you haven't read any other job books, this section covers the general stuff nicely. But in my opinion it's just filler.
The much better other half covers different career paths for art majors. It is divided up into 5 paths:
1. STUDIO ART
2. COMMERICIAL ART
3. ART EDUCATION
4. MUSEUMS
5. ART GALLERIES
For each path the author touches on:
* WORKING CONDITIONS: Most cases this is obvious
* POSSIBLE JOB TITLES: There are much more here than the real-life examples, but For each title there is in-depth explanation. But I feel, that there are more positions that she did not touch on.
* POSSIBLE EMPLOYERS: It's not a big list of specific examples, it's general examples
* TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS
* CAREER OUTLOOK
* STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS: these are good
* EARNINGS: pretty up-to-date, the copyright is 1997
There are a variety of examples of real people in a different art positions. It gives plenty of real-life examples from real people in different art positions. Each talks about different topics such as downsides/upsides of their career, a typical day, advice, their career path, and duties.
Here are the examples used:
1. STUDIO ART: potter, costumer, joiner, cooper, stained glass artist
2. COMMERICIAL ART: freelance illustrator
3. ART EDUCATION: alternative high school art teacher, grade school special education art teacher,
4. MUSEUMS: assisant curator, associate registar, chief conservator
5. ART GALLERIES: gallery owner
There aren't any real listing of resources like addresses or places to contact.
OVERALL:
The second half is where the meat is. Although, the author may be missing some possibly art jobs, for the paths she does covers, she covers them in depth. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the areas that she covers. But keep in mind that this book doesn't give any real listing of contacts or addresses. It's a good resource for someone trying to figure out what career path they want to take.
