I think I come from outside this discussion. I never volunteered or interned
anywhere during or after college and I am now a 6 year museum professional.
So though I agree interning and volunteering is beneficial to gain
experience, it is not always necessary. What happened for me was I got my
foot in the door and worked my way up (yeah, I know, the hard work story).
Unless youshow talent, innovation, and drive, you're stuck. To break in, be
willing to go anywhere inthe country. That in itself makes a candidate
attractive to a museum. It's a funny world, but most things work your way.

Peter Thomas Lamothe
Education Dept.
ISGM
Boston, Mass
(opinions are exclusively my own and do not reflect ISGM)
> ----------
> From:         Jennifer Gayman
> Reply To:     Museum discussion list
> Sent:         Thursday, November 4, 1999 3:32 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: Volunteering for museum jobs...
>
> I wonder if this whole concept of volunteering to get a foot up in
> this business is a largely (North) American phenomenon?  When I was
> studying in Britain, part of my course was a two month work
> experience.  Volunteer, unpaid work - so basically, our entire class
> of trained museum (almost) professionals were offering to work for
> free.  I would say at least a third of the class had a very hard
> time finding a position at a museum of their choosing - and it wasn't
> because we were all looking in the same place.  This was a
> country-wide search for most people.  One of my
> fellow students on the course was German, and he said that in
> Germany, volunteering is unheard of as a means to gain job
> experience.
>
> I bring up these points to add a new dimension to this discussion -
> is this an American phenomenon?  Why is this?  Comments? I'd also be
> interested in hearing from any British museum people out there as to
> why it's so hard to volunteer there.
>
> I personally am one who benefited greatly from all my volunteer
> experiences.  Would it have been better if I'd been paid to be there?
>  Certainly, but I knew coming into the field that volunteering was
> the way to get ahead, and it has definitely helped me.
>
> ***************************
> Jennifer Gayman
> Collections Manager
> University of Maryland
> School of Nursing Exhibition Project
> (410) 706-6635
> All opinions are mine.
>
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