Your concerns regarding age discrimination echoes some of the debate
that has been going on here in the UK about pay in museums as well as
the lack of diversity in museum staff.

Nothing can prepare prospective museum employees for the fierce levels
of competition in the museum jobs market.  There are just so many well
qualified, experienced and talented people (of all ages and backgrounds)
wanting to work in the sector that museums really can hold out for their
'perfect person' and this situation, it seems to me, panders to the
prejudices of those in the hiring positions - even when checks and
balances are supposedly in place in terms of anti-discrimination policy
and training.

I'm sure we have all had experiences of meeting people with PhDs an
other impressive qualifications doing work in the museum industry on pay
levels that would be laughed at in other sectors - and yet they will
probably also tell you that they are grateful to have any job at all.  I
myself, after five years experience as a curator at a national museum in
London, moved to another area of the country and found myself forced to
do temping and admin work for almost five years before I found a job in
the sector - requiring moving 400miles.

On my long, lonely job hunt (between the ages of 25 and 29years, by the
way) I had countless job interviews all over the country and very often
I got the impression that the organisations already knew who they wanted
to hire (often a long-term volunteer or an existing employee they wanted
to move from a temporary contract to a permanent position) but that they
were compelled to advertise the posts for the purpose of fairness. 
Which I understand but it does make for a lot of heartache for those
turning up time and again with little or no chance of actually getting
the job.  It's also very very hard not to take it all personally.  Maybe
you have been discriminated against because of your age (and I totally
agree that no-one should be asked for their date of birth on a job
application) but I also do think that everyone, regardless of age, race
or gender, is finding it extremely difficult to get a foot in the door
of museums and to earn a living wage when they do.  Indeed, I have heard
of some emplyers discriminating against women of child-bearing age
because of the time and expense involved with maternity leave - so you
it seems that women in the workforce just can't win.

I too, was told by a well-meaning senior archivist, that she could only
afford to work where she was because her husband earns a good salary. 
This is a very sorry state of affairs (particularly for those of us
without rich husbands!) and I'm not entirely sure what can be done about
it.  The Museums Association (http://www.museumsassociation.org)  has
done some research into pay in museums and diversity in UK museums, but
so far the only practical solution seems to be to keep on getting more
training and more qualifications, because it is dog-eat-dog out there.

Sorry if that's not very encouraging.
Good luck with the job hunting.

Meredith Greiling
(Now happily employed but on a temporary contract!)


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