Susannah,
Matthew is correct. There is no single, simple answer to that question. The
variables are legion.
A museum degree can often get you in the door, as well as push you over the
top in a search, but it is not and should not be the end-all. A museum
degree can provide a person with training and experience that would take
them many years to acquire working in the field, and likewise a few years
in the field can provide a perspective and skills that an unexperienced
grad could not hope to equal. It is the combination of the two that makes a
whole.
Look at it this way...There are lots of recent grads out there with masters
degrees in museum studies and a little experience(internship or
volunteership). However, I would wager there are very few environmental
interpretation graduates with several years of stable experience out there.
That will be important to an employer. There can be a lot of sameness out
there, so it will likely behoove you to toot the horn of uniqueness.
It is up to you to find a way to grab the attention/interest of a potential
employer, such that you end up on top of the pile. It is then up to the
employer to decide what combination of skills, experience and education
will best serve them. If you can find a way to show the employer that your
particular combination of skills, interests, and education(not relevant
that it is not museum studies) are most suitable to their situation and
needs, then you have the job.
Good luck and good question.
Mark Janzen
Registrar/Collections Manager
Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art
Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection
Wichita State University
(316)978-5850
Susannah West
<susannah@XACTCOM
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education vs. experience
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So many museum jobs have specific educational requirements that at least
are
mentioned in the job descriptions. But how much do employers weight
education over experience? I do have a masters, but in environmental
inerpretation, not in a museum field. (At the time, my school had no
museum
studies program as such, so the museum studies part of my degree was what I
was able to cobble together through independent reading and volunteering at
local museums. ) I am presently working at a historic house museum, a
poor-paying position, but one which I enjoy immensely. I am hoping to move
on to a position with a larger museum in the next few years. I consider
the
experience that I have gained at my present museum to be invaluable, and I
would hope that it would be valuable to a potential employer as well.
However, I realize that I would probably be competing with (younger)
applicants with degrees in specialized fields.
Susannah West
John Rankin House
Ripley, Ohio
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