Since my days as an intern aren't that far behind me I think I can be
pretty objective. The fact of the matter is that museum work isn;t all glamour and we
must all start somewhere.   Now I am on the other side where I supervise interns.  The work that I often assign interns
is work that we all perform ourselves but often don't have the time to
complete so it piles up.  The work that my interns and volunteers
perform provides a great service to our department and is highly
valued.  I think the term dirty work, degrades both the interns and
professionals that perform the basic everyday duties that are part of
working in a museum.  When "staff" level work is given to interns, especialy when they are not paid is a form of
exploitation and is a "great" way to avoid paying a qualified museum
professional.  While not everyday will be an opening, I would
advise all interns and potential interns to maintain an open and
positive attitude.  There are such things as bad internships, if you
think you have one leave.  If you have a good one and find that you don't like the work,
maybe you should take it as a good sign that museums may not be the
path you want to pursue.

In any event,

Good luck and good internships.

Vivian C.R. James
The Newark Museum