Job Opportunities

PHRC is the best Jobs board for people looking specifically for opportunities in the field of Public History. Unlike other museum oriented jobs boards, PHRC job seekers don't have to sift through art museum or other unrelated jobs. Every job posted here is for people who want to work in the public history field, whether as an archivist or an education specialist, a director or an exhibit designer.

Media Jobs

There are many opportunities for public historians to work in the media.

1. Public historians may work for consulting firms or as self-employed individuals, providing services and content to media presenters. (See above)
2. Public historians may work as self-employed directors and authors, pitching projects to large media corporations that will then produce the project.
3. Public historians can be employed by media firms as in-house historians and producers.

It is this final category that I will explore in more depth.

When considering employment opportunities in the media, the public historian must determine if she wants to work in "old" or "new" media. Dominated by television broadcasting, old media can also encompass radio, film, and various print mediums. New media can encompass Web-casting and other delivery methods of digital, electronic information. Most large companies maintain separate divisions of people involved in old media and new media. Depending on the individual company, these divisions may work together to produce joint projects that mirror one another, projects that complement one another, or, projects which are distinct from one another.

While public historians can find many niches in the media industry with a history background alone, collateral coursework in Communications, Journalism, and Radio/Television/Film departments, as well as coursework and experience in new media will help make the public historian more employable in this field.

Jobs

In the late '70s, Jobs, with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, made the easy and affordable (compared to other computers of the time) personal computer become reality, years before the advent of IBM PC. In the early '80s, still at Apple, Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of the mouse-driven GUI (Graphical User Interface). After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985, Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in the higher education and business markets. NeXT's subsequent 1997 buyout by Apple Inc. brought Jobs back to the company he co-founded, and he has served as its CEO since then. Steve Jobs was listed as Fortune Magazine's Most Powerful Businessman of 2007.

In 1986, he acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd which was spun off as Pixar Animation Studios. He remained CEO and majority shareholder until its acquisition by the Walt Disney Company in 2006. Jobs is currently the Walt Disney Company's largest individual shareholder and a member of its Board of Directors. He is considered a leading figure in both the computer and entertainment industries.

Jobs's history in business has contributed greatly to the myths of the quirky, individualistic Silicon Valley entrepreneur, emphasizing the importance of design while understanding the crucial role aesthetics play in public appeal. His work driving forward the development of products that are both functional and elegant has earned him a devoted following.