I've just graduated with a BA in History myself, and have taken a year out to travel and gain some relevant work experience before, hopefully, starting an MA in Museology/Museum Studies in the UK next year. And, like many museum hopefuls, I've tried to get as much experience as possible in the field - I've completed a summer internship at the Smithsonian, done a short work placement at a film archive, and am currently doing research at a museum in Singapore in preparation for a new exhibition, on an intern's salary. But recently, the nagging question of how expedient these short-term 'experience' stints will be in the long run has cropped up. Some people have suggested that a future potential employer would be more interested in whether I've managed to hold down a 'real' job (ie a properly-paid, long-term employment stint, not necessarily in a museum, as such jobs aren't that easy to get into in Singapore) than the number of volunteer/work experience placements I've done. There's been some pressure from family members to forget the year out idea and to find myself a regular, permanent job instead of moving from one stint to another before I leave again next September. Does anybody have any thoughts on this? As another poster pointed out, I've tried to focus on specific aspects (curatorial, in this case) of museum work instead of volunteering to try everything and anything, but I'm growing increasingly uncertain as to whether these short-term placements will ultimately prove more useful than holding down one (not necessarily related) job for a prolonged stretch of time before trying to enter the museum world. Liana ----------------------------------------------------- 5000J Marine Parade Road #03-43 Singapore 449291 Tel: 65-4498483 ------------------------------------------------------- ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).