Don't be discouraged by the level of experience sought in ads. The
education and level of experience required within the museum field is
generally out of whack not only with the pay but with reality in
general. My experience has generally been that, regarding entry level
positions, museums will end up settling for about one fourth what they
ask in their ad (i.e. they want 2 years development experience=you
worked in the gallery at school for a semester, or they want someone
with a masters=you have a B.A..

There are more jobs in museums and fewer people trying to fill these
positions. Certainly, the more favorable your qualifications the better
your chances. But with a job market in this sort of situation, the best
thing you can do is network like crazy and put yourself in the right
place at the right time.

Don't rule out internships. You may be making only a little less money
and you'll be in a better position to taylor the experience to your own
learning goals.

If you're really driven things will happen for you. Short staffing in
most museums will give you a good opportunity to learn about all sorts
of things simply because there's too much work for the size of the
staff. As a result you almost always are provided with an opportunity to
demostrate your skills and initiative.

There's a huge downside to museums (pay, job security...) but if you
don't let that bog you down you'll have a huge advantage over those who
do, but choose to stay within the field anyway- and there are a lot of
them.

Good luck.

-Rob
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