Well, my journey to be where I am is incredibly circuitous, and took a
lot of difficult time, and to places I never would have imagined, but I
wouldn't necessarily discourage anyone from seeking to do something that
they love.   If you are persistent, smart, and really love museum work,
you will eventually land on your feet with a rewarding career.   For
inspiration on the kind of jobs that are out there, surfing AAM job
lists is good, even better, check out the INTERNATIONAL job listing put
out by the Museum Studies program at the University of Leicester in the
UK.  http://www.le.ac.uk/museumstudies/jobs/job_titles_jobid.htm
 Be flexible about moving- if you are young and don't have family yet-
think about an internship overseas!  

            

Melanie LaBorwit
Education Coordinator
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
[log in to unmask] 

www.indianpueblo.org

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Diane Gutenkauf
Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2007 8:45 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] There is no silver bullet; there are (almost) no
jobs

Dear students and prospective museum employees: 

I guess the annual rite-of-Spring is starting early this year. Must be
global 
warming.

I don't usually post on this topic but I guess I have a bit of free time
this 
morning or I'm feeling easily distracted, or perhaps just old and
cranky. 

Welcome to the harshest reality of your chosen career: 

THERE ARE NO JOBS and YOUR GRADUATE ADVISOR WAS CLUELESS

Yes, you will send out dozens, if not hundreds, of resumes. 

Yes, the one job offered to you will not pay enough for you to retire
your 
student loan.

Yes, it will take you at least a year to land even that job. 

Yes, you will have to spend your own money to a) travel to an interview;
b) 
attend a professional conference; c) get more training because your grad

school program didn't offer....pick one: hands on collections care,
practical ed. 
program development, fundraising training, exhibit design...

No one on this list has the magic bullet that will help you (or the
hunderds of 
your competitors who also graduate in June) get a job. 

Your new full time job is job hunting and you have to be extremely
dedicated, 
smart, and lucky to find a good one out of the gate. You'll have to take
a 
crummy job to pay the bills, you'll have to live in a place you don't
like, and 
you'll be climbing uphill for a few years before you find a position
that's a good 
fit. 

If you aren't prepared for this, find a different career. 

Claudia Nicholson is always gracious and generous with her advice but
don't 
let that fool you. She said the same thing I did, only softer. 

Check out Nathan Richie's blog if you want to commiserate with the like 
minded: 

http://youngmuseumprofessionals.blogspot.com/

I love my job and I've loved all of my museum jobs but I'd think twice
about 
entering this field today. I had to do all the standard things to get
where I 
am....unpaid internship, museum studies certificate as a post-grad,
part-time 
low paid job supplemented by bartending, first job in my last choice
city 
working for a nut, networking, networking, networking. Today I have a 
wonderful position in a well funded institution that is redefining
itself as a 
progressive, community-focused organization. I love it but it took 20
years to 
get here. 

Good luck to you. It isn't going to be easy.

Diane Gutenkauf

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