Confessions of an Art Historian

Stephanie Fischer
2 min readSep 8, 2023

After a few years, I am back on this little website where I came across an article I wrote about ways I deal with external doubts about my career choice. It pains me to admit that the doubt has become more internal than external these days.

Here’s the rundown — I graduated with my Master of Arts from New York University in January with a curriculum built of art history, art therapy, digital humanities, and museum studies courses. I had this imaginative plan for myself in graduate school about following my aggressive curiosity and building a career that allowed me to be free in continuing to develop ways in which the view can connect more deeply with the artist.

But, I write to you from the comfort of my New York City apartment where I await a weekend spent working at a grocery store.

Months of applying to hundreds of jobs, only to get a handful of interviews, just to be ghosted by institutions you admire.

I even worked with a recruiter throughout the summer and still, no job. It was an interesting experience working with a recruiter. She called one day, and we had a wonderful conversation. She told me I was a “really good fit for an entry-level role.” Amazing, I, a Master’s degree-holding young professional, was fit for an entry-level role.

However, interviews did come flooding in. Second interviews, trial workdays, and project proposals. Ghosted.

What is wrong with me? I ask myself this on the daily. Was this path a mistake

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Stephanie Fischer

Art, psychology, life, and more. Art writer who aims to explore the lives of artists and deepen understanding of art.