If I may comment on Melissa's post,
Directors without experience in museums or history are probably the rule,
rather then the exception. The director's job is to manage the museum/site
and ensure it has enough operating capital to fulfill the institution's
mission. MBAs are probably better equipped to administer such things than
MAs. Now, take a look at the person in charge of the education and
interpretation department(s). You better hope they have a background in
history or museums or education.
The director wants to hire the best people for the jobs offered, and those
he or she hires must have the necessary skills to successfully do the job.
No one person will have all the tools to do everything in the museum. The
Director makes the money (I mean, secures the funding) and projects the
institution's image.

I also think you may have made a faux pas with your statements:
"But, listen lol I will be interviewing for a seasonal job where I have to
dress as a 19th century school maim and teach class to a group of students
several times a day in an unheated one room school house, in a little tiny
town in Oregon.
It isn't glamorous but it will look great on my resume. It is also a huge
step up from the Santa's elf position at the mall (kidding)"

That may be what you're thinking, but you shouldn't say it in public.
Especially a forum like this. You never know who's reading these posts and
you just telegraphed your lack of concern and/or seriousness for the
position and, consequently, the mission of the site.
From my own experience as a retail manager, historic site director, and
program director, I can tell you that I did not, and would not hire anyone
who gave me a hint that the job was not important, only the experience to be
gained. If you don't take me or my programs seriously, I won't take you
seriously.
It's good to be ambitious and to realize that you have to work your way up
in small steps in field. Just keep in mind that most places with the jobs
aren't going to be paying princely salaries even to senior staffers. I was
once called about a position at a small historic site by a director who was
very interested in my experience but had to decline going further because
the salary would have been less than I was making and I didn't think that
was even possible. It's a shame because the director is a nice guy who
obviously loves his site but knew full well that the people he would have
loved to have hired were beyond the budget he had to work with.
Another hint: Anything in living history had better done out of a love for
history and a passion for presenting it. Few of us get rich doing it. But we
do it because the rewards we do get are far more enriching than money.

Sincerely,

Scott D. Peters
Research Director/Archivist
Ocean County Historical Society
26 Hadley Ave., P.O. Box 2191
Toms River, NJ 08754-2191
(732) 341-1880
[log in to unmask]

"Telling the Stories of Ocean County"

Historically Speaking
ALHFAM-First Person Interpreters Professional Network (FPIPN)
[log in to unmask]

"The ordinary distinctions in society are often vague, and imply no just
pre-eminence: rank and titles are
adventitious things and instead of designating merit or virtue, are
frequently the baubles of imbecility, or
the sparkling decorations of meretricious pageantry"

William Griffith, on behalf, and by order of the New-Jersey Society for
promoting the gradual Abolition
of Slavery, Twelfth Month (December) 20th, 1803

----- Original Message -----
From: "Melissa Gunter" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2002 8:17 PM
Subject: Re: Getting a job in the field


> Believe it or not getting an interview with no real museum experience
wasn't
> so hard for me, I have other applicable experience, I have education and
> nonprofit experience and a BA in History.
> But, listen lol I will be interviewing for a seasonal job where I have to
> dress as a 19th century school maim and teach class to a group of students
> several times a day in an unheated one room school house, in a little tiny
> town in Oregon.
> It isn't glamorous but it will look great on my resume. It is also a huge
> step up from the Santa's elf position at the mall (kidding)
> I can't wait for the interview and I am so excited about the job. Honestly
I
> haven't stopped smiling since I got the call back (simple pleasures when
job
> hunting).
> One thing that I thought interesting was that the director of the living
> history center has no background in history or museums at all. It really
may
> be who you know. I'm new to all this too, as I just finished my BA and am
> mid-education really liking the idea of a pay check for a few years.
> Hope I didn't waist anyone's time with my levity.
>
> Melissa Gunter (Newbie, who found the list because it was recommended for
job
> hunters in museum fields on the web.)
> Portland, Oregon

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