Timothy and all early professionals, It is actually a little difficult to answer such a question, as it varies from institituion to institution, and professional to professional. It is definitely true that any experiences as a full-time employee with strong responsibilities will be critical elements on your CV, as will your degrees. Part-time and volunteer work is also valuable. However, in my experience, you can easily pidgeon-hole yourself. Lots of experience in a specific area will tend to force you to lean in that direction. If most of your experience is non-collection, then you might have difficulty moving in that direction. Collections care tends to be a different creature than other elements of museum work, and the knowledge is very specialized. If you want to work in collections care, then I would suggest finding a way to involve yourself there in some way. Even if you stay in your current position, see if there is a way to help out in that department, and learn those ropes as well. As long as you can demonstrate interest and competence in an area to a prospective employer, then it will not matter as much that your position was not directly responsible for collections care. Over all, a broad range of experience will be more attractive at the early stages of your career, than a very focused CV. Unless you already aspire to a specific type of position, you should try to acquire knowledge/experience from all areas of museum practice. All that said, if you are certain, based on your current experience and understanding of the field, that you want to be in collections care, then switching positions as available would probably be in your best interest. I would also say, do not give up your current position until an equitable collections care position is open, since you are still gaining experience that will be valuable. Good luck. Mark Janzen Registrar/Collections Manager Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection Wichita State University (316)978-5850 Timothy Wade <[log in to unmask] CNS.FSU.EDU> To Sent by: Museum [log in to unmask] discussion list cc <[log in to unmask] SE.LSOFT.COM> Subject A question for the list 05/22/2004 09:16 AM Please respond to Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask] SE.LSOFT.COM> Perhaps I can start a new thread to occupy everyone's minds. I currently work in an Art and Science Museum, and I will have a degree in Historic Administration/Public History. My area of interest is collections management, and I eventually want to work in that field. At my current position, I am Visitor Services/Volunteer Coordinator for my museum, and have, in the past, worked in the education department as well as assisting with exhibit installations. I've always felt that ANY museum experience looks good on the CV for future employment. My question is as follows: is that true? Could I spend my time more productively at another job and volunteer at a museum in the area I want to work in? Is my time in this position valuable to my future career? Any comments/thoughts would be greatly appreciated! ========================================================= 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). ========================================================= 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).