Susannah,

Short answer: While I know of some museums that value the correct  
degree over appropriate experience, I tend not to have respect for  
them or their programs. This type of rigidity is usually expressed in  
more ways than just applicant requirements. You wouldn't want to work  
for them anyway.


Long answer: The answer to your question is that there is no answer,  
or better there are thousands of answers, each one different for  
every possible employer in the field. And if you factor in the fact  
that even one employer may have different answers to that question  
depending on what type of position they are filling you might have an  
endless permutation of answers to your question. In the education  
corner of our field I have known museums that would only hire  
applicants with Masters in Museum Education. In fact I have known an  
institution or two that only seemed to hire graduates of a specific  
program. But then, I've known programs that specifically shy away  
from this type of degree for some positions, prefer applicants with  
less formal museum education training and look for applicants with  
classroom teaching training or experience.

The job of the job searcher in this field is to honestly assess your  
strengths and weaknesses, have at least a general idea of what you  
want to do and where you want to be (geographically, small versus  
large museum, type of museum, etc.) and then do the research to find  
out which institutions will value who you are and give you a chance  
to do what you want. Most times this means doing research and legwork  
BEFORE the right job is advertised. Have informational meetings with  
people who can help give you advice and contacts to find the right  
position.

And also set realistic expectations. I tried to make the jump from  
history museum to science museums a while back. Everyone said it  
couldn't be done without serious retraining. It took awhile to find  
the right position, but here I am the Director of a Science Center in  
a History Museum.

Be careful of people or graduate school reps (who are also people,  
poor phrasing, that) who tell you that you must have a degree or must  
have experience. Normally what they mean is that is what THEY have  
and it worked for them, or that they have some vested interest in the  
matter.

As is the case with so much in this field, there is no one answer to  
this question. Just strategies for maximizing your desired outcomes  
in a given situation.




Matthew White
Director, Hands On Science Center
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
202/633-3698
[log in to unmask]


On Aug 11, 2006, at 10:57 PM, Susannah West wrote:

> 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
>
> =========================================================
> 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).