State Jobs in the Culture/Tourism Sector

June 4, 2015 10:40 AM

I'm thinking about next stage career ideas, and have been curious, for a while, about working for US state agencies that deal with the arts, culture, heritage, humanities, and tourism. Can you help me surface some resources on the web about such jobs, offices/agencies that offer them, and pathways into them?

I've met a handful of people who work in such positions - creative economy initiative directors, field services for state historian preservation agencies, etc., - but seem to have trouble finding clearinghouses of basic information about such jobs. Of course, all the states have somewhat unique organizational systems, etc. It may help to note that I'd be looking for fairly senior roles. My background is in educational nonprofits, where I've been a senior manager, interpretive planner, educator and administrator for 15+ years. If I could design an ideal role, it would be to advocate for and liase with organizations across a state (or the country) in state or national policy work.

posted by Miko to Work & Money (7 answers total)

These tend to be hard-won, underpaid jobs that people hold on to for lifetimes. In some states, governors are slashing budgets for culture programs, whereas city mayors (often in those same states) are using culture as a means of driving tourism. So, the biggest growth in this area is cultural tourism. An events planning background is helpful here, but an interesting skill set I see among senior culture planners is law, especially city zoning and granting policies. In Boston, for instance, this person is making waves. I would suggest following the lead of people like her, see what new programs she initiates, and go directly to the source to see if they're hiring. Any one-stop-shop for culture job listings will likely be flooded with applicants. A smarter route is to target cultural institutions that you admire.
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 11:41 AM on June 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: These tend to be hard-won, underpaid jobs that people hold on to for lifetimes.

I understand - I already work in cultural institutions, but now am really interested in doing something at a higher level of advocacy - and I'm used to that kind of underpaid, overstressed employment, so it's not a deterrent. I'm mainly looking for resources, networks, listing services, titles and agency keywords I can search, that sort of thing. It's helpful to point out that big-city mayors and planning departments establish this type of role. Individuals in similar roles, as you've supplied, are useful to know about too. I'd like to end up in a role with some similarity to that.
posted by Miko at 1:45 PM on June 4, 2015

The National Council on Public History has this jobs site. The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies does not have a jobs page, but does have a directory of state arts agencies so that you can do your own search through them.
posted by katya.lysander at 5:00 PM on June 4, 2015

I don't have any specific advice, but you might try and look at universities that have strong graduate programs in these areas. For example, I used to work in Historic Preservation, and (at the time) the best one-stop resource for jobs in the field was PreserveNet, which was (and apparently is still) run by students at Cornell.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:25 AM on June 5, 2015

Seconding PreserveNet and NCPH, another job board is the Cultural Resources Network. Federal jobs often make it to those boards, but they are often only posted for a week or so, so it's a good idea to set up job alerts for agencies like the NPS at USAJobs.gov. Lastly, I Need a Library Job can be worth a look as they do a great job of compiling jobs that would be a good broad fit for information professionals (due to job shortages many MLS-holders are looking outside the field these days).

I worked in this realm in the past; as with many jobs in this area you may find it easiest to look locally and get to know people through volunteer work/serving on boards. Consulting is also a possibility in this realm -- for example, for historical consultants.

NCPH is likely the closest professional organization to what you are seeking and their conference would be a good place to network (Baltimore in 2016, though I think they have regional events too). The American Folklore Association is much more academic, but it might be worth checking the program as I think they draw some folks along those lines too.
posted by veery at 6:58 AM on June 5, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I'm a member of NCPH but some of the other boards were new to me. Appreciate the resources!
posted by Miko at 9:30 AM on June 5, 2015

Response by poster: PreserveNet led me to this summary of the field and to the American Cultural Resources Association - - just the kind of thing helpful for me at this stage.
posted by Miko at 9:34 AM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]