Open Forum

How would you finish this sentence:

"Being a mid-career museum professional means......"

serious, snarky, your definitions of mid-career, I want to hear it all

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Sarah Erdman
She/Her
Museum and Early Childhood Education Consultant
Cabinet of Curiosities LLC
Washington, D.C.
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Having your feet firmly planted on the ground. You know enough about the field to form intelligent opinions and to help/teach incoming professionals. On good days, you still have hopes and dreams for furthering your organization and career. You have highlights that make the pay, long hours, and craziness all worth it. Maybe even your grad school loans are partially paid off (<g class="gr_ gr_527 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling" id="527" data-gr-id="527">hahahahahahahahha</g>)?

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Julie Arrison-Bishop
Special Projects Manger
The House of the Seven Gables
Salem, Mass.
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-12-2019 11:10 AM
From: Sarah Erdman
Subject: Being a mid-career museum professional means....

How would you finish this sentence:

"Being a mid-career museum professional means......"

serious, snarky, your definitions of mid-career, I want to hear it all

------------------------------
Sarah Erdman
She/Her
Museum and Early Childhood Education Consultant
Cabinet of Curiosities LLC
Washington, D.C.
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It means having seen and done enough to make informed decisions about your work and career. You know what you do and don't want to do. You should know what type and size of museum you want to work for.

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Tina Smith
Museum Educator
Museum of Anthropology - Wake Forest University
Winston Salem NC
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-12-2019 11:10 AM
From: Sarah Erdman
Subject: Being a mid-career museum professional means....

How would you finish this sentence:

"Being a mid-career museum professional means......"

serious, snarky, your definitions of mid-career, I want to hear it all

------------------------------
Sarah Erdman
She/Her
Museum and Early Childhood Education Consultant
Cabinet of Curiosities LLC
Washington, D.C.
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The above plus . . .
Having to decide between moving up (professionally/monetarily) and family (because it usually means moving to another institution).

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Linda Endersby
Registrar/Collections Mgr
Museum of Art & Archaeology, University of Missouri - Columbia
Columbia MO
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-12-2019 11:10 AM
From: Sarah Erdman
Subject: Being a mid-career museum professional means....

How would you finish this sentence:

"Being a mid-career museum professional means......"

serious, snarky, your definitions of mid-career, I want to hear it all

------------------------------
Sarah Erdman
She/Her
Museum and Early Childhood Education Consultant
Cabinet of Curiosities LLC
Washington, D.C.
------------------------------

"Being a mid-career museum professional means......"

Being able to be an outstanding member of a great team! Knowing enough about your own realm of expertise to understand how it fits within the machinery of the entire operation. With years of experience and loyalty to the organization, you are able to lead as well as follow and participate in a positive, excellent outcome! This brings you the reward of knowing that you are making a real difference and demonstrating the kind of flexibility and positive supportive energy that contributes to the overall success of the institution. Yay!!

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Kristi Lucas-Hayden
Volunteer Director
Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center
Santa Rosa CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-12-2019 11:10 AM
From: Sarah Erdman
Subject: Being a mid-career museum professional means....

How would you finish this sentence:

"Being a mid-career museum professional means......"

serious, snarky, your definitions of mid-career, I want to hear it all

------------------------------
Sarah Erdman
She/Her
Museum and Early Childhood Education Consultant
Cabinet of Curiosities LLC
Washington, D.C.
------------------------------

Learning to pick your battles as you're not going to win them all.

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Susan Maltby
Conservator
Toronto ON
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-12-2019 11:10 AM
From: Sarah Erdman
Subject: Being a mid-career museum professional means....

How would you finish this sentence:

"Being a mid-career museum professional means......"

serious, snarky, your definitions of mid-career, I want to hear it all

------------------------------
Sarah Erdman
She/Her
Museum and Early Childhood Education Consultant
Cabinet of Curiosities LLC
Washington, D.C.
------------------------------

Realizing how important your colleagues are: as resources when you have questions, sounding boards when you need feedback or a reality check, and drinking buddies when things go kerfluey!

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Barbara Punt
President
Punt Consulting Group
Redondo Beach CA
javascript:AddSignatureVariable('barbara@puntconsulting.com');
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-16-2019 04:31 PM
From: Susan Maltby
Subject: Being a mid-career museum professional means....

Learning to pick your battles as you're not going to win them all.

------------------------------
Susan Maltby
Conservator
Toronto ON

Original Message:
Sent: 01-12-2019 11:10 AM
From: Sarah Erdman
Subject: Being a mid-career museum professional means....

How would you finish this sentence:

"Being a mid-career museum professional means......"

serious, snarky, your definitions of mid-career, I want to hear it all

------------------------------
Sarah Erdman
She/Her
Museum and Early Childhood Education Consultant
Cabinet of Curiosities LLC
Washington, D.C.
------------------------------

I am just at the mid-career level, in my tenth year:


Being a mid-career museum professional means being really thankful to the field for having given me a context and environment to exercise my creativity. It is a rich field encompassing so many dimensions of human activity (for example, both the opportunity to intimately connect with objects, as well as with the larger public).  


But given the financial challenges to remaining a museum educator (the salary feels so paltry compared to how hard we work, and will be hard to justify to myself as I progress in age and experience), being a mid-career museum professional also means making hard choices about where, how and whether one will be able to continue work that we very much love!

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Deborah Boudreau
Education Director
Rocky Point NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-16-2019 04:31 PM
From: Susan Maltby
Subject: Being a mid-career museum professional means....

Learning to pick your battles as you're not going to win them all.

------------------------------
Susan Maltby
Conservator
Toronto ON

Original Message:
Sent: 01-12-2019 11:10 AM
From: Sarah Erdman
Subject: Being a mid-career museum professional means....

How would you finish this sentence:

"Being a mid-career museum professional means......"

serious, snarky, your definitions of mid-career, I want to hear it all

------------------------------
Sarah Erdman
She/Her
Museum and Early Childhood Education Consultant
Cabinet of Curiosities LLC
Washington, D.C.
------------------------------

Being able to recognized and accept that your years of experience and knowledge are
no longer valued or considered necessary by a new museum administrator. Time to take your retirement, what little it may be, and consider joining the world of consultants. Frustrating and rewarding all at the same time.

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Beth Sennett Porter
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-12-2019 11:10 AM
From: Sarah Erdman
Subject: Being a mid-career museum professional means....

How would you finish this sentence:

"Being a mid-career museum professional means......"

serious, snarky, your definitions of mid-career, I want to hear it all

------------------------------
Sarah Erdman
She/Her
Museum and Early Childhood Education Consultant
Cabinet of Curiosities LLC
Washington, D.C.
------------------------------

Original Message------

Being able to recognized and accept that your years of experience and knowledge are
no longer valued or considered necessary by a new museum administrator. Time to take your retirement, what little it may be, and consider joining the world of consultants. Frustrating and rewarding all at the same time.

------------------------------
Beth Sennett Porter
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Having worked with several (and in recent years become one myself), I've come to see mid-career museum professionals as some of the most driven and resourceful people.  If they're still in the field after ten or fifteen years, they've probably survived the soft money evaporation, the layoffs, the "modest" compensation, administrative changes, the uncertainty, the upheaval of relocation, etc. that are all too common.  They've probably had to reinvent themselves or at least demonstrate a high level of adaptability on more than one occasion.  Some have figured out ways to work in the museum field without working at a museum.  And despite all of the adversity and challenges they've faced, they still have a love of discovery and the sharing of knowledge, and continue to believe in the purpose and function of museums in society.  They're part youthful optimism and part savvy pragmatism.  And they've been in the field long enough to know its pathologies, but have enough years ahead of them to still be motivated to advocate for and work toward positive change.

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Michael Holland
Principal/Owner
Michael Holland Productions

Redmond, WA USA
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-12-2019 11:10 AM
From: Sarah Erdman
Subject: Being a mid-career museum professional means....

How would you finish this sentence:

"Being a mid-career museum professional means......"

serious, snarky, your definitions of mid-career, I want to hear it all

------------------------------
Sarah Erdman
She/Her
Museum and Early Childhood Education Consultant
Cabinet of Curiosities LLC
Washington, D.C.
------------------------------