My daughter will be getting her Masters in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins later this year. Daughter left journalism to pursue a Masters in museums (which she loves) because journalism was proving to be very draining plus job security isn’t what it used to be. She has been looking for museum jobs for the last few months but has been striking out on applications submitted on the big job sites such as Indeed and Glassdoor. Either it’s an outright rejection or a ghosting, a lot of ghosting. I’ve asked around and was told it must be because she has no experience working at a museum (true), or that she needs to first show commitment with a fellowship or internship, but daughter tells me those are few nowadays and under or un-funded. And she still needs to eat. She’s even been rejected from gift shop and customer-relations entry level positions. Very dispiriting. Given the reputation of the program, I’m thinking it might have to do with the structure of her resume (specifics on how to list her job history, insertion of keywords, etc.) and cover letter. She has been given conflicting advice, in fact, on the cover letter: either keep it formal and professional or be more passionate and express herself. Both versions haven’t worked so far. I’d be grateful for any advice to give her on how to even get noticed. She was a top student. She writes well. It has to be some other component that is missing.
It is possible that she is doing everything right but there are no openings for such positions now. That happens, for example, with talented musicians seeking symphony spots. Sometimes there are no new jobs regardless of talent.
Perhaps she should expand her search to adjacent opportunities that need her skill set.
Where did last year’s class of such graduates get jobs? Can career services help?
What is museum studies as different from art history?
Too many applicants, too few jobs, and she is not hooked (in employment, this means pre-existing connections to people with influence in hiring)?
College Scorecard | College Scorecard indicates that recent JHU master’s degree graduates in museology or museum studies (under multi interdisciplinary studies) earned a median of $48,296 per year. This seems to be around the level of general bachelor’s degree (non-major-specific) jobs that bachelor’s degree graduates in majors that do not lead directly to well paying career paths get. This suggests expanding the search to consider any type of general bachelor’s or master degree jobs, not just ones related to the major.
Museum studies specifically deals with how a museum operates, grows and stays in business: curation, fundraising, asset management (as in artifacts, documents and artwork), exhibit design, public outreach, educational programs, how to modernize museums to attract and engage attendees, etc.
She has been summarily rejected from all art museum entry-level jobs because she lacks a degree in Art History in any capacity (English major undergraduate). No surprise there. Her interests lie more in history and culture. She was initially thinking of getting a History PhD as a lot of the upper level positions in curation understandably require a certain level of expertise, but if she can’t even get a foot in the door at any entry level position, would it even be worth it?
Maybe you can also apply to auction houses, art investment funds, and if you are numerate, then to management consulting and ibanks (they take anyone that is smart, presentable and has a presence; I am going to get a ton of flak here :-). )
Does she have any work experience in the field at all? Could you fund her doing an under/ unpaid internship to build those contacts / resume?
What work experience (any) does she have on her resume? from undergrad/ summers/ etc?
I like @neela 's adjacent suggestions as well. Insurance companies and brokers also have departments focused on insuring museum works, museums and art. Maybe worth a look at least?
good luck
“operates, grows and stays in business: curation, fundraising, asset management (as in artifacts, documents and artwork), exhibit design, public outreach, educational programs, how to modernize museums to attract and engage attendees, etc.”
some ideas:-
- non profits and government agencies need fundraising, grant writing
- consulting firms do pitch writing, operational management, managing large programs of work
- govt and municipal and non profits do public outreach - comms, engagement etc education
- retail needs merchandisers, store layout/ contents to engage shoppers
- global banking and consulting will also need people with knowledge of history and culture to close and deliver cross border projects
Is she fluent in either German or French? My daughter’s friends who have gotten museum jobs are fluent in one of those two languages - it can be surprising the types of mastery certain jobs are looking for.
She needs to stop applying and start networking. Get a list from the alumni office of every alum employed at a historical site, museum, gallery, archive. Then send a brief email and a copy of her resume and ask for help in her job search.
Next step…her professors. Ask for suggestions help and introductions.
Finally…the professional associations in the museum field (there are several). I believe that all of them have student rates for membership AND specialized job postings for members.
The generic job boards are a complete waste of time. She needs to be introduced…either personally or via her association membership…to the people who are hiring!!
It’s hard to imagine that her MA program doesn’t have a pipeline to some internships. What about career services? Another thought would be to contact the History Department (of JHU or her undergrad institution) and ask if they post museum-related job or internship opportunities for their undergrads, and perhaps follow up on some of those leads if they are available. I teach in a history department (all undergrads) and we post several openings per year for entry-level positions at local historical museums. Finally, she can check out historical sites (not just museums, strictly speaking) to see if they have positions. Between Baltimore and Philadelphia, there should be lots of historical sites looking for summer workers, and she can use those positions to build her public history experience that she can use to make herself a more attractive candidate for museum jobs.
Are there any local galleries where she could get some experience?
Has she been a volunteer docent?
I would think there are many possible employers, but in DC/ MD/VA region, so many volunteers cover basic needs.
Tangential tourism - historic re-enactment of battles, military museums, music concerts , historic buildings with small collections.
Jane Austen fans have an event at aa historic mill.
https://manor-mill.com/janeausten
Summer festivals, camps, concerts hosted by historic sites or museums?
But may be competing with college interns and volunteers.
Also larger economic trends here
https://www.smallmuseum.org/jobs
Or fellowship for recent grad at tdhe Walters
Has she considered auction houses, domestic and abroad? Her skill set (including her journalism studies) might be a good match, as weeks and months go into researching a piece, validating provenance, valuation, writing captive lot descriptions, before the results can be formalized in a printed, expensive catalogue - which can be become collector items on their own.
She either might realize that she ends up loving the variety of that career - or at minimum, build up a resume and direct contacts with museums!
Has she actually visited museums that interest her and just straight up asked if there are any opportunities, volunteer or otherwise?
If she gets the cold shoulder at one, visit another and do the same thing.
These are the two things that I was thinking. If I had a child in the same situation, I might be inclined to support them for a while while they take part in an internship. Having something on your resume that resembles “real world work experience” is important. Internships can also be important in terms of making connections.
She can propose to Bloomberg that she starts an Art column, writing about the items that are getting auctioned at Sothebys and Christie’s. Or she can do the same job at sothebys and the Christie’s, but publishing them at Bloomberg.
Yes. She has interacted with a few that have interested her, even interviewed some higher ups for a class assignment. They’re happy enough to give “informational interviews” but clam up when the talk turns to actual jobs at their museum. They’ll say they have nothing at the moment (actually, they do according to their own websites and job boards, upper-level spots only), but to “just keep at it and you’ll find something”. She’s heard the same song from some of her professors as well. My gut tells me that museums are still trying to get back on their feet after the beating they took during the lockdowns. Budgets must be tight, and they are making do with the personnel they have until finances improve, and whoever they do hire had better have sufficient experience to hit the ground running and not have to waste time and money on to train.