I have taken every ap history and ap art history course I've been able to since freshman year along with several art and sculpture classes and a smattering of classical literature courses. Becoming a museum curator has been my goal for a very very long time, as all things history fascinate me. I'm in the twelfth grade now, and even though I've already applied I was wondering what universities in California give degrees that are respected in the museum community, and is being a curator all it's cracked up to be? If it helps at all, I'm especially interested in jewelry. I can give more specifics if necessary, but if not thank you for taking the time to read and answer my questions!
It's really hard to say what the path is to curatorship now, because the field has radically changed in the past ten years. It's always been kind of precarious, but the ratio of jobs to job-seekers is truly ridiculous now.
It used to be the case that you could start out with a BA or MA in history (or a related major) as a volunteer for a brief time, then get an entry-level job with that experience, learn more and more on the job, and work your way up from assistant positions or collections management to the top job. Nowadays ... you must have at least an MA to get started, and if you want to be a curator in a museum large enough to let you not wear other hats (that is, not an institution that employs only a director and a curator and you also have to run special events and membership drives etc.) and/or specialize in a subject like jewelry, you will most likely need to have a PhD. You can get one of these positions without that degree, but you need to have years and years of experience in a high-level position to make up for it, and those positions are so few and so competitive that you will have a terrible time trying to get one, or to get the positions you need to give you the experience to qualify. Also, a certain number of jobs - and you will never be able to predict which - have had to be "open to all applicants" due to museum policy, but they know who they're going to hire before anyone steps in the door.
I have a specialization in fashion and textiles from my MA, several volunteerships/internships, two temporary paid jobs, four years as the sole curatorial staff member in a county museum, and a published book on historical fashion under my belt, and I cannot even get interviews. Even for jobs that require this specialization. My last three interviews, which were the only three I had last year, I'm pretty sure I got because of personal connections in one (very large museum, I know a couple of people there), another was at the museum related to the school where I got my degree (this was a low-level collections/education position, where they explicitly told me in the interview that there was no way to be promoted into the curatorial track), and the last was quite close to where I live. People I go to for advice tell me that I'm not doing anything wrong, my materials are great, I am good enough to get these jobs ... but I don't.
I don't want to scare you off something you love, but I also kind of do? Because this field is a really good way to get your heart broken. I spent December and half of January in a solid depression, and pretty much all of 2018 in a lighter one, because of my job. (Have I mentioned museum boards? Museums that aren't run by the state/federal government have them. The board is made up of untrained people with no museum experience of their own who select themselves to be on it, and your job is in their hands. You have no union representation and there may be nobody on the board who will advance your interests. There may be people on the board who think this or that policy or this or that overbearing board member isn't fair to you, but when push comes to shove they will value not getting into an argument with colleagues over protecting you.) The only reason I got out of the depression is that a publisher responded with some interest to a proposal I sent them, and I finally had something career-wise to be hopeful about again.
As a Public Historian, I would say check out programs that have a Public History or Museum Studies Program’s which are often intertwined. A great resource of information would be the National Council on Public History (NCPH). They have a list of programs and degrees and connections to help you with finding alums of programs. For the most part you are going to need to get a graduate degree to land a museum curator position. I would recommend looking into gaining job experience while you are completing your studies because the job market is very competitive in that field. Many programs are also interdisciplinary and offer additional opportunities such as Archives, Historic Preservation, Library Studies, or Archeology in the form of multi focuses or additional certificates in addition to Museum Studies.
We might also be able to help you out over a /r/MuseumPros.