• Working in the arts is demanding, yet rewarding, experience.arts image by NL shop from Fotolia.com
  
  Choosing the right career is a crucial life decision. Students choose a major while in college, believing that a career naturally follows a degree. After graduation they flounder in the working world, searching for the career path that is right for them. Students who want a career in art have several different career paths from which to choose, all of which demand different skill sets..
  
  

Archivist/Curator

• Archivists are essential to the art world, as they are the people who preserve and protect works of art, including paintings, sculptures, coins, documents and anything else historically and culturally relevant. Curators analyze and catalog valuable objects for public and private organizations. Archivists and curators may work in a museum, or they may work for corporations, colleges and universities, and institutions that need experts. Archivists and curators are often students of history as well as students of art.
  
  

Creative Director

• Artistic organizations all over the world have one thing in common--they need someone with a vision to be in charge. Whether it is an opera, ballet, museum, performing troupe or musical presentation, the creative director orchestrates what will be done and how to do it best. Creative directors need a strong background in the field they wish to lead, and management skills are essential. Creative directors do not need to be artists themselves, but are required to understand the art they are working with and know how best to present it to the public.
  
  

Writers, Lecturers and Educators

• Introducing art to the public and educating them about it is an important aspect of art culture. Writers, lecturers and educators accomplish this in different, but complementary ways. Writers write brief articles as journalists for newspapers and magazines or author huge multi-volume tomes that cover the history of art and the influence it had on culture. Lecturers are experts on a subject who give one-time classes on specific areas of study. Educators teach at all levels of education to expose students to the creative world. Often, people who work in one of these fields naturally transition to another: educators write books, writers give lectures, and lecturers gain permanent posts at universities.
  
  

Artists

• The creation of art is the most obvious, yet most difficult, career path for those interested in art. Artists, whether they are painters, sculptors, dancers or singers, are the foundation of an artistic world. While becoming an artist is easy---just start creating---becoming a successful artist is difficult and demands practice, talent, patience, imagination and determination.