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What job opportunities are sufficient and efficient for a PhD student writing a dissertation, about to take a comprehensive exam, and currently working as a high school/college art teacher wanting to leave the education system with a museum studies background?

Jobs about urban history, museums, and the arts.

artist curator phdbound museums-and-institutions
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Tate’s Answer

You’re in that liminal, intense space where past experience, future aspirations, and present constraints intersect. It’s a powerful - if exhausting -threshold. The fact that you’re writing a dissertation, facing comps, and teaching means you’re already balancing a heavy intellectual and emotional load. So the key here isn’t just about "sufficient" income or "efficient" use of time; it’s about strategic alignment - with your expertise, with your scholarly trajectory, and with the exit ramp you’re designing from the education system. Here’s where the overlapping pieces of your identity begin to work in your favor. With a museum studies background, academic fluency, and teaching experience, you’re primed for roles that require a synthesis of curatorial thinking, communication skill, and deep cultural literacy. The goal isn’t to squeeze into a job that merely fits - it’s to build a platform that helps you pivot without burning out. Your constraint right now is time, not talent. So look for roles that:
– respect your schedule (remote, asynchronous, or flexible hours)
– respect your mind (intellectually engaging, ideally aligned with your research interests)
– offer exit velocity from the school system without forcing an abrupt leap
And remember - every task you take on now should either pay you in money, pay you in time, or pay you in future opportunities. If it doesn’t do at least one of those, it’s a detour.

Tate recommends the following next steps:

You already research, write, and think deeply. Why not redirect that toward paid content development or grant research work for institutions—museums, heritage foundations, arts councils—that need your brain but don’t need your physical presence in a classroom? These roles often require sharp writing, an understanding of audiences, and a sense of historical/cultural framing. You already do that.
Many museums and cultural spaces operate with hybrid models now—offering remote research fellowships, exhibition planning roles, or digital archive work. You could contribute to curatorial narratives, object research, digital interpretation projects - all with a flexible schedule that accommodates dissertation writing.
You're probably already producing the kind of analytical prose that can be easily re-contextualized for broader audiences. Art magazines, exhibition catalogues, online cultural platforms (think Hyperallergic, Frieze, Artforum) need contributors who can write with depth and clarity. You could pitch essays, reviews, or analytical pieces - highly adaptable, income-generating, and a good match for your strengths.
Smaller arts organizations, galleries, or even academic centers with cultural programming may need short-term help with organizing events, artist residencies, symposia, or community outreach. This kind of work keeps you connected to the cultural world, strengthens your network, and often runs on academic calendars or grant cycles.
If you have any cataloguing, digital humanities, or archival training, you’re golden. University libraries, local museums, and private collections frequently seek consultants to work on digitizing, reclassifying, or researching parts of collections. This can be niche and flexible - perfect for a PhD brain in motion.
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Martha’s Answer

Wow - you're busy, Lu'Chana! When you say "leave the education system," do you mean schools or do you mean any teaching? I ask because many museum roles involve teaching of some sort. I have put some links below about different kinds of museum jobs. Thinking further:
- Consider state and local arts commissions, tourist offices, and economic development departments. All of them support arts in their portfolios (or would need you to add arts). While there sometimes would be evening or weekend work, the general work-life balance is pretty good
- Look into the National Parks Service, which operates a number of historical sites all over the country (link below). Again, pretty good work-life balance, but you likely would have to move for promotions.
- Look into non-profits that support the arts or arts policy. The NY Foundation for the Arts (link below) has a robust job site. You might also try Idealist.

One of my children has degrees in Art History and Museum Management and now works for a non-profit in land use. Her specialty is land use for the arts. She has opened our eyes to many wonderful career opportunities for someone with your and her background. Good luck!

Martha recommends the following next steps:

Indeed.com - https://au.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/museum-careers
American Alliance of Museums - https://www.aam-us.org/programs/manage-your-career/museum-careers/
Prospects - https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/job-sectors/creative-arts-and-design/museum-jobs
National Parks Service -https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/workwithus.htm
NY Foundation for the Arts job listings - https://www.nyfa.org/jobs/
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