Institute For Career Research - Careers with Museums

DIRECTOR, CURATOR, ARCHIVIST, COLLECTING,
PRESERVING, STUDYING, AND SHARING OBJECTS OF LASTING VALUE

• Entry level: $30,000 per year
• Director: $100,000 to $150,000
• Curator: $50,000 to $75,000
• Senior Conservator: $35,000 to $65,000
• Curatorial Assistant: $20,000 to $30,000

• Enjoyment & appreciation for art, science, or history
• Enjoy doing research in your chosen field
• Should like reading books, articles, & professional journals
• Good communication skills
• Enjoy working with others
• Strong writing skills
• Computer skills
• Personal discipline

• Decides which objects a museum should acquire & how they should be displayed
• Obtain objects
• Set up special exhibits
• Set up museum policies, handle museum matters
• Work on budgets & fundraising
• Organize museum activities
• Document rare books & manuscripts & other types of media that have historical significance
• Use your expertise to protect objects
• Educate
• Keeping track of a museum's collection

• Art museums
• Art galleries
• History museums
• Science museums

• Certificatiom
• Bachelor's degree
• Master's`degree

• Many opportunities
• Work is conducted in a wide variety of setting
• Seldom boring
• Satisfaction at doing work that you enjoy & value
• Sense of gratification in handling & preserving objects

• Highly competitive
• Overabundance of paperwork
• A lot of fundraising needed
• Salaries are generally low

Would you like to help other people go back in time to the days when dinosaurs inhabited the earth or Julius Caesar was emperor of Rome? Would you enjoy teaching children how electricity works or introducing art lovers to the paintings of a master? Would you feel a special thrill of excitement and responsibility as you handled an object uncovered at an archaeological dig? These experiences can be yours if you choose a career with museums.

In a sense, museums serve as the long-term memory of Planet Earth. They are storehouses for objects and artifacts; but even more important, they are interpreters of the past. They tell us how the world evolved, how human civilizations came about, how technological advances were accomplished. They remind us of our proudest accomplishments in the form of beautiful creations and lofty ideas. They also remind us of human actions that were not so admirable, like aggression and war. Museums help us understand ourselves and the world that surrounds us.

Professional museum workers can judge the significance of an object and decide whether it belongs in a collection. Their special knowledge permits them to preserve and restore important objects that would otherwise deteriorate and be lost forever.

Museum workers understand how to set up an exhibit that protects art and artifacts while displaying them effectively for public viewing. Educators who work on the staffs of museums teach visitors about various objects and how they fit into a larger context.

Museums have become increasingly important within their own communities because of the classes and activities they offer. University museums allow college students to study their collections and take courses related to these acquisitions. Busloads of school children visit museums around the country every day to learn more about history, science, and art. Museums offer informal classes and after-school activities that teach children while providing them with safe places to be. Special events and exhibits introduce people of all ages to the exciting world of museums.

Because there are different types of museums and many kinds of work to be done, there are a number of specialized careers within the field of museum studies. Here are some of the key jobs:

• Archivist
• Character Interpreter
• Conservator
• Curator
• Director
• Educator
• Marketing Director
• Registrar
• Technician

This report will describe the main areas of employment that you can choose in museum work. You'll find out how different museum personnel help collect, preserve, study, and share knowledge about valued objects. You'll see the important roles they play in their communities. You'll learn about the museum work environment, whether you have the personal qualities that contribute to success and job satisfaction, and what type of educational background you will need for a museum career.

In addition, you'll get inside information about museum careers from interviews with people who actually do this work. So if you think you would enjoy a career that helps us preserve and learn from the past, or appreciate beautiful artistic creations, keep reading!

Exploring This Career
If you've been thinking about a career in museum work, it's probably because you've visited museums in the past. Maybe you stood beneath the towering skeleton of an Allosaurus. Or perhaps you admired an ancient Greek statue, noticing how the sculptor's skill had captured figures and faces of long ago. You might have walked through an art gallery, marveling at the many styles and techniques painters use to capture a scene or an idea.

If so, you have some sense of the ultimate goal of museums. You have noticed the meticulous care with which museum workers design and set up displays, and you have probably guessed at the knowledge and skill museum workers must bring to their tasks.

Now you are ready to learn more about the specialized jobs within the field of museums. Besides reading this report, a good way to start is to talk with the people who work at your favorite museum. Ask what they find most interesting and rewarding about their daily duties. If possible, observe them as they work.

You should take any relevant courses that your high school offers. Many museums specialize in a particular area, and you may already know which type of museum you're interested in; so begin to concentrate on history, science, or art.

Concentrate on your writing skills and your people skills, because both of these are needed in museum work.

Learn as much as you can about computer software. Museums today keep records of their collections and produce exhibit information, brochures, and other materials by computer.

For centuries people have been collecting and preserving interesting objects in order to observe and study them, interpret their significance, and exhibit them so that others can enjoy and learn from these unusual objects. The word "museum," the term for institutions that house and care for such collections, comes from the Greek mouseion, meaning "the temple of the Muses." In Greek mythology the Muses were nine goddess-patrons of the arts and sciences. It makes sense that their temple should be associated with collections because ancient Greek temples often held works of art dedicated to the gods, which visitors could admire.

Although the word "museum" itself has an ancient origin, the present-day concept of a museum did not evolve until the Renaissance. The first collections of interesting objects were not museums in the modern sense. They were housed in scholarly institutions and were intended for private study or enjoyment.