Entry-level positions for aspiring Arts Administrators
Kevin, a Senior Manager at a city orchestra, suggests undergraduates consider entry-level positions by first identifying "an industry or a function" of interest—such as arts, media, or live music—and then exploring related roles within chosen organizations, including "Revenue generating functions like sales Marketing," "core functions like operations," or "internal facing functions like Finance." This two-step approach, Kevin notes, provides a framework to streamline the job search process.
Arts Administration, Nonprofit Management, Business Functions in Arts, Career Planning Framework, Industry and Function Analysis
Advizer Information
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Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
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Kevin Ma
Sr. Manager, Strategy & Special Projects
Professional City Orchestra
The University of Texas at Austin, 2014
MBA - UCLA Anderson School of Management
Business Management & Admin
Arts, Entertainment & Media
Business Strategy
Immigrant
Video Highlights
1. Consider industries like Arts & nonprofit, media, entertainment, or live music.
2. Think about functions like sales, marketing, philanthropy/development, operations, product, finance, or HR.
3. Use a two-step process: 1. Identify your industry of interest. 2. Choose a function within that industry that aligns with your skills and interests.
Transcript
What entry-level positions are there in this field that an undergraduate college student might consider?
When you graduate college and join the workforce, particularly the business workforce, I recommend thinking about an industry or a function. For example, I work in the Arts and nonprofit industry, but related fields like media, entertainment, or live music are also options.
First, consider organizations, companies, or brands within an industry that interests you. This is a good starting point for identifying available positions.
The second step is to consider what your everyday work would look like within an organization in your industry of interest. This involves thinking about specific functions.
There are revenue-generating functions like sales and marketing. In nonprofits, there's also philanthropy, often referred to as development. Core functions include operations or product development – essentially, what the organization sells.
Other internal functions are finance, IT, and HR. You would typically focus on one of these functions in your day-to-day work.
I suggest approaching your career search with these two frameworks: industry and function. This provides a broad landscape but can significantly help narrow down your interests. I wish I had this framework when I was in college; it would have made the process of discovering what I was interested in much more seamless.
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