Of course this all depends on what area of Museum work you want to be involved in but in general yes clerical skills are never out of place, computer skills are also very good, But I would also include photography, can you use something other than digital camera?; carpentry, not that you have to build a house, but being able to help with exhibit building and installation is good; sewing, in the collections field I have to make storage and display mounts all the time and having minimal sewing skills so you can make a padded hanger or cover a mannequin do help; The most important skill that I could tell anyone and unfortunately it is one you can't study up on, is ingenuity/creativity, with limited budgets we all have to find ways of getting our jobs done with less time, less supplies and less people and so how can you do that and still make it look good. So exercise your imagination whenever you can.
My $.02 worth

Jenny Yearous
Curator of Collections Management
State Historical Society of North Dakota

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Garet Bleddynn
Sent: Monday, July 19, 2010 11:20 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Random Job Skills Question

Good morning, everyone.

Since I am coming up on my final two semesters of coursework for my
MA, I thought I would ask a general question. When you entered the
work force, what skillsets did you find yourself needing most often
that were not part of your academic coursework? Did you find yourself
needing clerical skills? Accounting skills?

I just happened to think about that this morning, and it seemed like
an interesting question.

Have a great day,
Garet Bleddynn
MTSU Public History MA Candidate

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