Since we've recently been bombarded with "Gee, I have a X degree and want to
work in the museum world, what do I need to do to get a job," posts, I
figured I'd write an unoffical guide to getting a museum job which sums up
everything people have said and will say to questions like that. Feel free to
add to it.

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Deb's Unofficial Guide to Getting a Job in the Museum World

So you want to work in museums? Why? You think they're cool; you want to
justify getting a degree in obscure pre-celtic French impressionist painters;
or you really loved going to your local museum as a kid and want to work
there. Whatever the reason, the museum job hunt is challenging, demanding and
ultimately rewarding. Expect your job hunt to take 6 months to a couple of
years. Yes people get jobs first shot but those are the exceptions. The job
hunt is like a job in itself. It will take time and effort to get where you
want to be in the museum world.

1. Research museum jobs. There are many different types of positions and
fields out there to go into. Museum educators, curators, registrars,
development/grant writers, administration, special events, exhibits, computer
specialists and volunteer coordinators just to name a few. The smaller the
museum, the more areas each person will have to cover.

2. Network, Network, Network. Find museum professionals and talk to them.
Find out what experiences they have and what education they got. Most museum
professionals are friendly and will take time out to talk to you. Ask for
informational interviews. DON'T bring your resume to them. It's bad form.
After you talk to someone, thank them profusely and ask them to refer you to
someone else. Send them a nice note after you leave. You never know when they
might call you back or pass a job lead on to you. Make a schedule of
networking like one a week, every two weeks or every month. Keep it up and
keep meeting people.

3. Think Small. This comes in two parts. First off, don't apply for that
director position straight off. Go for the executive assistant instead. Don't
go for full curator, go for registrar or curatorial assistant. You need
experience even if you are coming from another career field and have job
experience.
    Secondly, look at smaller, local museums. Smaller museums usually will
allow you to get a lot of work experience in different areas. In a large
museum, you might be stuck in one area like registrar of a certain
collection. But in a smaller museum, you might be a registrar, lead
educational programs and help coordinate volunteers.

4. Volunteer, Intern or Work Part-time. If there are no positions open or you
aren't sure if you really want to work in the museum field, look at
volunteering or interning or getting a part-time position. Most museums won't
turn down someone who is eager to work and is willing to learn. Don't expect
to come in and take over either. Again, start small. If you want to be a
registrar, start out by volunteering to clean artifacts from a local
archaeology dig. If you want to do museum education, volunteer to help out
with summer camps. If you stick around long enough and show people that you
are responsible, you will get more and more responsibilities. Larger museums
usually have formal intern or volunteer programs. For the Smithsonian, Elena
Mayberry is a treasure-trove of information. (I always have to plug Elena
because she helped me get my first museum job. :) Interning and volunteering
are good ways to meet people and NETWORK.

5. NETWORK! Did I mention networking?

6. Professional Organizations. Find out what the professionals in your area
belong to and pay your dues. A good one to start out with is the American
Association of Museums. Not only will you keep current on what is happening,
you also can put it on your resume. All professionals should be a member of
at least one professional organization in their profession.

7. Go to Professional Conferences. Have VISA will travel. Pay it off later.
Take advantage of student discounts. This is probably the best way to meet
people and NETWORK. A lot of conferences also have job boards and resume
drops. There are usually jobs posted at these conferences that aren't listed
anywhere else. Come with plenty of resumes and business cards. Thanks to ink
jet printers, you too can have decent looking business cards.

8. You're competing with people with Master's degrees and 5 years of
experience. Get used to it. You may be just as competent to do the job as the
next guy but his MA with 5 years of experience will get his foot in the door
while it slams on yours. Keep applying for jobs but volunteer, intern or work
part-time to get you that experience. If you want to be a curator of
pre-Celtic French Impressionist painters, you'll have to get an advanced
degree in pre-Celtic French Impressionist painters. Museum educators usually
have advanced degrees in either a subject area and/or education of some sort.
Exhibit designers usually have degrees in architecture or design. Other
fields like development or computers can have  backgrounds from a variety of
fields but will have experience in their area. If you only have a bachelors,
don't expect much. Bite the bullet, get those student loans and get an
advanced degree. Regardless of what degree you end up with, you'll still need
experience.

9. Look at companies that work with museums or similar fields. If you can't
get a job in a museum, get a job with a company that works with museums.
There are plenty of companies that do exhibit design, artifact restoration
and shipping, educational materials and bunches of other stuff. Clients with
those companies are a good way to find people and NETWORK. There are also
similar fields that you can go into that will give you job experience for
museum work. If you want to curate, work for an auction house; if you want to
do education, try libraries or local schools. Computer or design people can
get a job practically anywhere. Combine similar job experience with some
museum volunteering and you'll have a resume that can compete with the
Masters + 5 years of experience.

10. Don't expect to get rich. Most museum salaries are in the low-20s
regardless of the job or location. Some are higher but you'll never compete
with the corporate sector. A lot of times, your first museum job will pay
less than your student loan debt. Be prepared to budget carefully or work
another job to make ends meet. See #9 for other job options until you get
those student loans paid off.

11. Be willing to travel. There are plenty of museum jobs out there if you
are willing to go for them. You might end up in the middle of nowhere
starting out but that will get you experience and a lower cost of living as
well. Who knows, you might like the bucolic countryside.

All these won't guarantee that you'll get a museum job but it will increase
your chances. Sometimes, all that is required is being in the right place at
the right time. Good luck!!

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