Julia Moore raises a good point in this thread on how one lands a good
museum job.  Unadvertised, attractive jobs in the museum field, it seems to
me, are the rule rather than the exception.

Obviously, there are more openings being filled in this country than are
announced in AVISO or on this list.  My impression remains that the act of
advertising nationally is forced by government in most cases, actual
necessity in a few.

There are locations, including mine in Appalachia, that have an extremely
difficult time attracting professionals to live there.  I include doctors,
clergy, teachers, school administrators, county and local government, etc.
Not many are willing to live and work away from the beaten path.  I find it
invigorating.   National searches for other professionals or
semi-professionals in this locality are by networking, as advertising has
proven fruitless.

Heather McKay writes about her desire to relocate to Washington DC but
needs first to find a decent museum position.  My personal impression is
that the "promote from within" policy is overriding in federal government.
Yet people still do get their start at the bottom rungs of some of the
institutions there -- and sometimes at poverty wages.  But hey, that seems
to be true of museums everywhere.

Ross Weeks Jr.
Tazewell VA