Hi, Cherish. Thank you for offering your perspective.. I dropped out of the OU graduate program as I felt I had at best, only 20% of my life (I'm 75 in a week) left and 5% of that life would be working on a degree. Can you tell I am an engineer? I do not see me working outside of my personal one-man-show slide rule museum, but I would love to network to maybe get some intern help and find a place to accept the collect in the future.
My wife and I would love to spend a month or so in the winter in South Carolina. The last four years we escaped the snow by going to Mexico. The USA has much to offer. Where would you suggest to hangout and soak in the culture of the southern east coast?
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Michael Konshak, Curator
International Slide Rule Museum
1944 Quail Circle
Louisville, CO 80027
+01 303-921-8709
https://www.sliderulemuseum.com
ISRM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit
Member:
American Association of Museums
Association of Northern Front Range Museums
Oughtred Society
United Kingdom Slide Rule Circle
Cherish Thomas via American Alliance of Museums wrote:
01000180d2d2ba95-060658bd-a688-4dfe-b91e-f1fad5e197ff-000000@email.amazonses.com" type="cite" style="margin: 0 0 0 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid #CCCCCC; padding-left: 1ex"> Hi Michael, I do not have a Master's in Museum Studies, but perhaps I can offer a varying perspective. I've been actively working in the...
| Re: Graduate Degrees in Museum Studies | | | | | Hi Michael,
I do not have a Master's in Museum Studies, but perhaps I can offer a varying perspective.
I've been actively working in the library/museum field for four years now, and I worked my way into my current position as the registrar of a small museum through experience and networking. During my undergraduate studies (which also had little to do with museums or history), I was elected to serve as the student chair of my school's library search committee. Through this experience, I was offered a position as a reference assistant at the county library upon graduation. While at the library, I spent most of my time working in their South Carolina history room, assisting patrons with historical and genealogical research. About five months into my time at the library, I was introduced to the curator of the local museum and began a year-long (unpaid) internship with him. I now work full-time as the (paid) registrar of this same museum. Ironically, I believe the registrar here before me graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Master's in Museums Studies and, to my knowledge, she is no longer working in the museum field.
All this is to say that, although helpful, degrees are not always necessary in obtaining gainful museum employment. Since the museum world is so very small, I would almost say that networking and experience outweigh degrees - especially in rural states and small communities like mine. Nevertheless, if you (or I) were to apply to museums in bigger cities with greater prestige, I would say an advanced degree is imperative in order to be a competitive applicant.
I hope my experience puts matters into perspective for you! Best of luck with your studies. Feel free to reach out anytime.
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Cherish Thomas
Florence County Museum
Florence, South Carolina
All views and opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer
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Original Message:
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Original Message:
Sent: 5/17/2022 12:19:00 PM
From: Cherish Thomas
Subject: RE: Graduate Degrees in Museum Studies
Hi Michael,
I do not have a Master's in Museum Studies, but perhaps I can offer a varying perspective.
I've been actively working in the library/museum field for four years now, and I worked my way into my current position as the registrar of a small museum through experience and networking. During my undergraduate studies (which also had little to do with museums or history), I was elected to serve as the student chair of my school's library search committee. Through this experience, I was offered a position as a reference assistant at the county library upon graduation. While at the library, I spent most of my time working in their South Carolina history room, assisting patrons with historical and genealogical research. About five months into my time at the library, I was introduced to the curator of the local museum and began a year-long (unpaid) internship with him. I now work full-time as the (paid) registrar of this same museum. Ironically, I believe the registrar here before me graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Master's in Museums Studies and, to my knowledge, she is no longer working in the museum field.
All this is to say that, although helpful, degrees are not always necessary in obtaining gainful museum employment. Since the museum world is so very small, I would almost say that networking and experience outweigh degrees - especially in rural states and small communities like mine. Nevertheless, if you (or I) were to apply to museums in bigger cities with greater prestige, I would say an advanced degree is imperative in order to be a competitive applicant.
I hope my experience puts matters into perspective for you! Best of luck with your studies. Feel free to reach out anytime.
------------------------------
Cherish Thomas
Florence County Museum
Florence, South Carolina
All views and opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer
------------------------------