>Remember, too, that curatorial expertise is more attractive combined
>with  skills in fundraising, PR and computer knowledge. An internship at
>an advertising agency or newspaper could be invaluable even if the area
>isn't the one you plan to stay in. Someone who is adept as learning
>languages should gain some basic knowledge of an object oriented
>programming language such as C++ or Java. It's good insurance for the
>future.


I agree with Robin.  I am not a graduate of a Museum Studies, I come to
the position with two Masters(History and Teaching) and got my current
position because of my knowledge of the local school systems, classroom
experience, and grounding in curriculum development in Social Studies.  I
also worked my way up through the ranks from an unpaid intern, so the
fact that I know almost every nook and cranny on sight probably helps.
And I do not think I am very unique, especially in very small museums and
especially in areas that have no museum studies programs close by.   Many
of my colleages around Baltimore have degrees, minors, or backgrounds in
marketing, accounting, computers, or some other unrelated, yet highly
desirable skill.  Even retail experience is valuable in an institution
with one or two employees and a Museum Store to run.  To be honest I wish
I had at least a couple of credits in Museum studies.  I find myself
playing catch up when discussing theory with my colleages and it would be
nice to have a body of knowledge or library to draw from when I begin a
new program.  On the other hand, I regularly hire part time docents for a
job that starts at $5.00 an hour and I turn away applicants with multiple
graduate degrees. My staff is full of people with graduate degrees in
History, Art Education or related fields and five "alumni" have gone on
to full time jobs as Volunteer Coordinators, Directors of Education or
Site Managers at museums or natural history sites and none of them have
Museum Studies degrees or even certificates.  My files are currently
full of letters and resumes from recent Museum Studies, Museum Education,
& Public History (and one holder of a Masters in "Museum/Archival, Public
History, and Editing Studies"  I'd love to see that course catalog)
graduates that I cannot hire.  We already have four people on a small
staff with Museum Study degrees. What we could really use is a historian
who can network computers and repair delapidated office machines.  I just
hired a series of people with and without graduate degrees, not just
because I thought they could do the job,  but because they also had
ancillary skills such as video production, photography, computer skills,
special education experience, or  page layout skills we could use but
cannot afford to hire specialized personnel or even contract out.  They
all had the necessary skills, education, knowledge, and attitude, but so
did the 25 or so people I turned away who could offer nothing extra.   I
am not arguing against Museum Studies degrees or certificates, very far
from it, but as someone mentioned earlier in this thread, it a tough job
market out here  and an extra skill in a non-curatorial area is almost a
must.

Good Luck,

Matthew A. White
Director of Education
Baltimore Museum of Industry
1415 Key Highway
Baltimore, MD 21230
(410)727-4808
[log in to unmask]