As someone who may soon (crossing fingers) be hiring entry level collections staff, my answer has to be yes and no. Yes, I think that ANY museum experience is better than NO museum experience, but having no collections experience at all is not helpful. With competition as stiff as it is, I'd say you'd be much better off volunteering in collections. Your skills as a volunter coordinator and in exhibits will be very helpful I have no doubt, but rounding that out with solid collections experience would make you more desirable. Erin Erin Quinn Curator of Collections City of Greeley Museums 919 7th Street Greeley, CO 80631 (970) 350-9218 [log in to unmask] www.greeleymuseums.com >>> [log in to unmask] 05/22/04 08:16AM >>> 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).