Open Forum

Edit 2/14/2023:

I want to thank everyone for their advice! Sorry for the late response to your responses. Honestly, I was turned off from this job board after receiving some rude and belittling personal messages. It was so nice to log in and feel supported today! I can clarify some things, I originally did not know how much personal information to share and wanted to play it safe: 

1. I'm looking for a variety of positions. I have experience with exhibit design, oral histories, archives, content creation, historical research, museum curation, and writing and editing. 
2. I'm located in West Virginia but I am wanting to move else where. I'm looking everywhere in the U.S., through D.C. is ideal!
3. Unpaid internships are out the question. I really appreciate the advice, but my husband and I are both recent college graduates and I can not afford to not be paid. I do have one unpaid internship under my belt, plus a paid one I did at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Please do not think this is me being "lazy". I worked nearly 35 hours a week in undergrad to support my way through college and continue to work hard (Plus I've been working since high school. Generational poverty in Appalachia has made breaking the poverty cycle difficult for a lot of us.)
4. I also was vague because I thought the more vague I was, the more people could benefit from the advice given. A lot of people seem to be in similar situations, so I think I was originally looking for general advice and personal stories. 

I again want to thank the majority of you for being supportive and offering advice. Your kindness has over shadowed the replies that made me feel stupid, uneducated, and unimportant. 

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Hi everyone,

I'll try to keep this brief, but I need some advice! I graduated in May 2022 with an MA in Public History (I also have a BA in History and English) and I have been looking for a job in the field ever since! I will say my opportunities in college were limited (due at first to needing to work full paying jobs and then Covid) but I did work at a historical archive for 2 years and did 2 internships.

The issue is, I apply, I apply, I apply. Every day I spend so much time looking for new job opportunities and crafting new cover letters. The positions I've applied for either say I'm not experienced enough, or they never get back to me. This is where I need your help. What do I do? Am I searching the right websites? How do I make myself competitive? Do I look for more internships? Try to get a Ph.D.? ( I don't want to teach). Did I spend 7 years in school for nothing? I've been working in grant writing for the past year and it just isn't for me. Any advice for how to break into the museum world would be greatly appreciated!

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Katie S.
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Hi Katie,

I agree with Vivian, I got a masters in Art History and Museology, but museums tend to be looking for experience. I broke into Museums by doing an unpaid internship 10 hours a week until they eventually hired me. While I worked there, I managed to get into another unpaid internship for a bigger museum, (less than 15 hours per week), which enabled me to get some decent opportunities (for money!) 

I know how frustrating it is to start, believe me. It's hard, but don't quit investing in opportunities for yourself. Find a small museum near you and inquire about internships or volunteering. This will slowly build your resume with hands-on experience, which will be your ticket to the next step. Good luck, we're all rooting for you!

Hi Katie. I am new to museums myself. I don't think you say what kind of job you're looking for. After looking at your LinkedIn, however, I wonder if you're interested in PR/marketing/external affairs at a museum?

From what I've heard from AAM-CurComm, becoming a curator or working in that division is highly competitive. Perhaps if you're not keen on development/fundraising nor education, are there other roles besides communications you would be interested in?

Similar to what Vivian and Veronica are saying, I would try to volunteer in a role where you acquire the skills employers are seeking in the types of jobs you want to get. In my case I am volunteer-teaching.

Hi Katie et.al., 

I've been thinking all day about the responses you've received so far. Folks keep recommending unpaid internships--which I think ignores a few harsh realities of museum work. First is the equity issue of expecting our newest crop of potential employees to support themselves on air and promises while they donate their labor to our noble cause in hopes it might get them enough experience to land an entry level job. There's a reason the Instagram accounts calling for change in our industry are folllowed by thousands of people. 

Let's face the facts, there are a lot of museum studies programs cranking out a lot of graduates and not enough jobs in the industry to absorb them. You want a museum job, what are you going to do to make sure you stand out in this crowd? No, don't get a PhD. Find a trusted friend to really examine your application letters and your resume. What are the gaps? How well are you matching your skills to the job requirements? Yes, it is going to take a long time before you land that first paying job. That's not a new problem in museums. But don't volunteer, because perpetuating this inequity helps no one and there's no guarantee it will get you a job. Perhaps another internship will help. Find a paid one that fills in the gaps in your training. Reach out to local museum people and ask for informational interviews, ask them to help you assess your skills and training. You may be reaching for jobs that are way beyond your training and competing with a lot of folks who do have the experience you lack, 

Oh and shame on any employer who fails to acknowledge an applicant. Really, how hard is it to send an email these days? 

--Diane

Diane, I agree with you but the reality is many museums either have to rely on volunteers or unpaid interns or the museum has to let things slide.  Change will only come when universities stop factory producing museum studies grads, promising them the moon.  Yes, we need to change but let's be realistic and not rely on desperate emerging museum professionals to achieve that change at the risk of at least getting experience.

Hi, Katie.

What you're going through is one of the shameful secrets of the world of museum work. Getting a job is tantamount to hazing, and after expecting prospective staff to arrive with a degree in hand, it's ludicrous to then say, just kidding, now you need to volunteer. I'm with Diane, for the love of God, don't get a PhD. Have someone who works in HR or hires a lot, look at your resume. Or, if you can afford it, work with a job coach. Go over the many articles on themuse.com on resume writing. Write down your interests and your skillsets to try and figure out where they connect with museum work. Many aspects of museum work can also be applied in other non-profits and/or education. Development may not be your thing, but what about communications, DEI, outreach, education? Are you tied to a particular geographic region? If yes, then your search needs to be broader, meaning all sorts of not-for-profits. Last, you might want to arrange some informational interviews at a museum you like near you. Ask the same questions you're asking here, and see what the answers are. 

I wish this weren't so hard. Remember, it's not you. It's the field.

Joan Baldwin

Well, the very excellent article I read today about Filoli's equity pay initiative seems on point here: Filoli article

As Lana (gee thanks) pointed out, I've been in this field a long time. I have said, and will continue to reiterate something this article also says, if a museum can't pay its workers, its business model is flawed and it needs to do some very deep thinking about priorities. 

And, Evelyn, I am not sure I completely understand your last statement. I think relying on desperate EMPs IS the problem. And we need to stop doing that. For all our sakes. 

Thank you for finally saying that, Diane. It's beyond frustrating to me that museum's and museum professionals carry on this idea that young college grads should come work for free if they expect to ever get a job in the museum field. NO ONE SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO WORK FOR FREE. I understand that it's part of the reality museums are dealing with, but we museum professionals should not perpetuate this idea. And if you're going to require a Masters degree, for God's sake offer more than $30k a year salary. Some of us have student loans to pay off. Also, thank you for addressing the lack of acknowledgements to applicants. It literally takes 5 seconds to at least say hey, we got your application.

Hi Kate,

Like many people trying to break into the field, I too know the frustration of trying to get in your foot in the door, which I am still trying to do myself, for far too many years.  The first thing that I would recommend is trying to focus more on what you want to do in a museum.  Are you trying to work in collections, visitor services, or exhibitions?  From there try and find books, papers, or presentations to try and learn more about the skillsets.  For example, I want to work in collections, so I got into reading books and papers on collections care, accessioning environmental monitoring, and so on.  This way you can better understand what your looking for and articulate what you want to learn more about. 

As some people have echoed and it very much rings true, volunteering and/or interning is one of the few ways to gain experience in the field, but to also build connections and references that can help you land a position.  I would if you can try and continue to gain more experience in the area of the museum that you are looking to work in as well as try and find ways to get your name out there, whether it's through writing papers for something like collections forum on a project you did, or doing a presentation at something like AAM, AASLH, or NEMA, which will allow you to put yourself out there more.  Outside of that, I am not really sure what more I can offer.

The increasing desire for extensive skillsets, educational requirements, and experience that is now seen as the standard for entry has made it tough for many to break into the field.  I too agree with what some people have said here that the field really does need to do some "soul searching" when it comes to what you are asking for from an entry level associate.  As someone who has put a lot of their life on hold to get a master's in museum studies and taken on multiple internships and who is currently working as a temp and is also overlooked due to not having enough of the right experience, it's tough and as you have said "Did I spend 7 years in school for nothing", I have asked myself as well.  

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Adam Kowalczyk

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It's not ideal, but I have had several friends work 2-3 part time jobs at museums (jobs, not unpaid internships). Sometimes they led to full time positions within those institutions, and others it led to making connections with other museum people which eventually led to full time positions. 

Hi Katie and Everyone, 

You can warm your hands with the heat of this topic. Hot hot hot. In reading through the comments I had some categorical replies, but then I kept reading and reading and it was too much to respond to.

Katie, I suggest you jump back in and address some of the fundamental questions that will yield actionable help.

1.) What is your dream position or museum department (at least as far as you suspect that position would be)

2.) What are 2-3 other positions or departments you think you might enjoy or would be willing to try (sometimes getting in the door means sneaking in the side entrance, meaning start with one department with intention of moving when something else opens up)?

3.) Where are you living now?

4.) Where are you willing to live, ie how far are you willing to move or travel?

5.) Can you share your resume and recent cover letter here?

6.) Are you willing to work part-time to start? That is to say, can you piece together a living with your grant writing and a part time job to get going?

I feel like there are more basics that will help us hone our responses to you. for example. If you wanted to be a curator, then yes get that phd, but no don't get that phd if you're going to work in development or education. At least not yet. Anyway, I'll keep it breief so you can jump in here. Good Luck!

Hi Katie!

I appreciate all the feedback you're getting, and I agree with pretty much all of it! I want to offer some really practical advice. This may not apply to you (I hope not), but it will definitely apply to others who come across this thread.

I'm a museum director. I've advertised for numerous types of positions over the last couple of years. I can't tell you how many applicants I've had who seem not to have read the job description. I've read some wonderful resumes from people with public history degrees who were in no way qualified to manage our historic buildings. If you think it's something you COULD do but don't have the requested credentials, then use a cover letter to explain how your skills could match the job. I'm seeing over and over again applicants who I'd love to have in other roles, but if I say I need HVAC knowledge and experience, or a photographer to do darkroom processing, your archives experience or research skills don't fit the bill. Our culture often tells job seekers to just apply for everything because "you never know." I suppose that's sometimes true. But it's frustrating to have applicants who seem to have not bothered to read the actual job description. 

As for not hearing back from employers . . . shame on them, but that means shame on me at times. I'm juggling dozens of applications for multiple positions all while trying to do my regular job, and it's actually hard, despite what one other commenter said, to send that many emails turning people down. It stinks for the applicant, and believe me when I tell you, those of us hiring wish we had enough time to respond to every application. 

I can also assure you that your degree WILL be useful even if you have to do something outside of museums for a while. I've hired more than one person who wanted a career in our field but had to go outside of it. They then bring skills and experiences to the museum job that "pure" museum people don't have. Good luck and keep looking!  

Hi Katie - wow I feel like this is me writing to myself 6 years ago. I graduated with my MA in Public History in 2017, had a summer assistantship that luckily began directly out of school, applied for any and everything for months and finally got a terrible curator job, then had this exact experience again trying to find a museum job that was slightly more humane - and it took forever and endless applications. I remember tallying the jobs I applied to and at one time got to like 185 applications. I would keep track of how many interviews I got, how many non-responses I got, and how many "no's" and offers I received. The vast vast vast majority of places would never get back to me and I remember one incredibly depressing response I got from a tiny museum in the middle of nowhere that barely paid anything and was asking for bare bone qualifications - they had to close their applications early because they'd had nearly 200 applicants (and it wasn't even a good job!). The museum world is overflowing with new graduates & folks who get the good jobs and don't leave because they're the good jobs. After all my months and months of applying & tallying I got two offers - one to a tiny place in the middle of nowhere that was again paying less than $30k and another in my home state that was miles better.

If you reallyyyyyyy want to stay in the museum world I think you're doing the best thing - apply apply apply. You can't limit yourself geographically (if you have to then it's going to take even longer to find a position so I'd advise switching to a new field if you want to stay put or just being ready to wait even longer for something), if you're in the U.S. apply for things in places you've never heard of or never wanted to live (one of the best pieces of advice my grad professors gave my cohort is that we would likely be working in tiny towns in places we had no idea existed for our first jobs - that was true for me for my first 2 positions out of school). I applied for jobs from Barrow, Alaska to Maine to Texas etc - honestly probably every state now that I think of it.

And if you don't want to wait forever you can't limit your applications to just want you wanted to focus on - when I was in grad school my passion was collections management - it's all I wanted to do and I really did not care at all about exhibit work (my background is archaeology so I just wanted to take care of the *stuff*). When I was applying for anything it would be museum collection, education, guest services, exhibits etc - anything I felt I was qualified for. I ended up getting an exhibits curator position and while it's not what I wanted my focus to be, it's a position that's still in the world of public history, I get to apply my skills to it, and it's nice seeing people learn from the things I create. One piece of advice my then-boss gave me at my summer job right out of grad school was to even apply for things that were asking for more years of experience than I had - honestly great advice. Job postings are insane and will ask for 5-7 years of experience for a $30k job. I'm sure you're qualified for most museum positions given your internships, MA, and any other exp you might have gained through the years (if you have vol exp add that in to years of exp on your resume). 

Honestly I regret all the time I sunk into unpaid internships and volunteering since it is unpaid labor so unless you have ample free time I wouldn't agree with the folks who keep suggesting those routes - I think it's an outdated way of viewing the job market. The museum world is surprisingly brutal when it comes to employment - I think I'm one of only two or three others from my MA cohort who are even in the field anymore (others could never find jobs, got sick of the lack of pay, or were just overworked and underpaid and found things in other fields). If you're like I was and museums are your dream and you can't see yourself being happy in another job I'd say to keep track of how many things you're applying to and give yourself a weekly quota to reach every week - my goal use to be apply to 15 jobs per week. 

I'd be happy to look over or edit your resume :) (feel free to email me at ashleejlanier@gmail.com) I've been in your exact scenario & know how depressing it feels so if I can help let me know! Good luck with the search - I hope something comes along for you!! 

Editing to add - please don't apply to a PhD program if you really don't want one! When I was in your shoes I had the same thought just to get back into the school & public history environment or to feel like I was doing something that might help my career. PhD's aren't necessary for the majority of museum jobs (I used to only see them for federal and state positions - I'm in a state position and a MA wasn't even a requirement for my job back when it was posted). You can be a museum educator or curator or what have you without sinking more time and money into school. My husband has his MA in History (not public) and was applying to any and all teaching positions he could find for years before changing fields - one job he applied for was for a super rural community college and the other applicant had 2 PhDs......(and they were applying for a job that was paying $30k with no benefits - unfortunately a PhD won't solve your problem). 

Ashlee 

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Ashlee Lanier
Asheville NC
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Hi Katie,

As others have said unfortunately getting your foot in the door is hard, but it is possible. The only thing that I can add is be willing to do anything in the meantime that might help you gain experience do other things that will appeal to jobs. I worked retail going through my undergrad and graduate program and even after I graduated with my MA in Museum Science before I landed my first job at a small historic house in an unincorporated town. But working retail gave me the knowledge and skills in customer service and handling finances that along with my MA made me stand out when I applied to that historic house where I was the ONLY paid employee. I had to do everything there, giving tours, education, curatorial, lawn care, cleaning and even learned how to fix the toilets in the visitor center. After three years and traveling 100 miles a day (I lived in Amarillo, TX nearby and drove five days a week to work) I landed the job I have now IN Amarillo and got to cut down on my drive time seriously. It is still a small museum with 7 employees, but the fact I had the retail experience and all the other experience from the historic house made me look better among all the other applicants for this position. 

So keep at it and try to gain other experience as well. 

Good Luck,

Further question: what is everyone's opinion about putting non-related job experience on applications related to museum work? For example, I won a county wide award for my work as a barista, which involved customer service, drink making, etc. Some websites say "Oh yes put all your work experience!" others say "No way, only put related experience!". What do you think? 

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Katie Saucer
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Replying to the edit to say my first permanent job (not a summer position) out of grad school was in WV in a tiny tiny town lol. Super happy to hear about you staying away from unpaid internships - & so happy to see someone else say they're unethical - I was feeling crazy reading some of these replies - unpaid internships are just exploiting labor from those who need experience & have literally no other choice. As a fellow person in Appalachia & in that generational poverty cycle I completely understand - also anyone who says you're lazy for not doing a job that doesn't pay is an out of touch weirdo. 

Definitely put all your work experience on your resume right now! When I got my first job in the museum field my resume was only retail, volunteer work, and unpaid internships. Great advice I got from one of my old bosses is to not start taking your older jobs off (non-museum related) until you've got your foot firmly in the door and few museum/public history-related things to replace them with. I only just took my retail jobs off my resume last year and I graduated in '17 & have been working in the museum world since then. But still leave the skills you've gained from those jobs in a "skills" section of your resume even after you're a museum veteran :) those skills are good for life. 

Good luck & try to ignore the out of touch & rude folks in this thread!! 

Thank you Ashlee- it's nice to hear from a successful Appalachian in museum work!

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Katie Saucer
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You never know what's not relevant experience (a bouncer in a bar can probably handle difficult visitors smoothly!  retail work over the holidays probably gave you the skills to handle rushed crowds at family festivals, etc), so I'd consider including it maybe in a separate section of the resume ("Non-museum jobs, relevant skills"?, with specific info as to title, responsibilities, challenges) and/or mentioning it casually near the end of the letter.  The museum person hiring may find intriguing gems in your past that didn't immediately seem relevant. I wouldn't go back as far as high school (or maybe I would, not sure), but summer jobs in college might prove to have been great training in dealing with the public, meeting deadlines, proofreading, etc. I hired many people as a museum education director and loved finding relevant surprises in their backgrounds. Really specific info (on all experience: actual duties and results, beyond titles) in the resume and cover letter are what make the application stand out.  Good luck to you!