That’s an interesting idea. What you have described is what goes into writing museum labels for a new or upgraded exhibit. The only sticking point would be that they might be looking for experience, which she doesn’t have.
I agree with looking for a volunteer docent position. These are not every day jobs…but would give her something related on her resume.
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That makes sense. As much as I hate to say this, does she have enough support to begin with volunteering? A lot of nonprofits will be more willing to hire a new person with little to no experience if they establish a track record of doing good work for free at that institution for awhile.
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I agree on the volunteer work route. That would at least give her resume some museum-associated street-cred while she’s working another job for survival purposes.
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One of her professors told her that at her level she should be thinking more of fellowships than internships, but at this point, beggars can’t be choosers.
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Did that professor help point her in the direction of which fellowships they are thinking of and/or provide introduction and letter of reference?
Not sure where she’s located but in the Chicago area, late spring/early summer is a pretty good time to get a docent/volunteer position. The tricky part will be being available for the training (and applying around the times training starts at different places).
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She can teach herself Raisers Edge, which is the dominant software used by museums. It is a product owned by Blackbaud…a highly integrated system used by all kinds of nonprofits for administration, financial management, enrollment, etc. She will never lack for opportunities if she is proficient in either of these systems.
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You can even go and work for the company making this system.
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For what “type” of museum would she like to work? In “what area” would she ideally like to work?
At the museum where I work, among our volunteers are those pursuing bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D.s. They volunteer in the area based on their skillset, field of study and area of interest (e.g. curation, research, marketing, education, IT, etc.). There is an application process.
Employees have different professional and educational experiences. I would think her journalism experience and skills could be beneficial to different museum departments. Presenting a portfolio of journalism work and highlighting her technical skills can help get her in the door for skills-based positions, and she can show a passion for museum learning through volunteering and an explanation as to “why” she decided to pursue a master’s degree in this field.
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History and culture museums are definitely her preference but she would do science if it was offered. It’s looking more and more likely that interning may have to be on the table if all else fails. It’s discouraging because she’s gone the unpaid internship route for multiple summers in journalism and was hoping that that part of her career journey was behind her. That said, if a full-time museum position doesn’t pan out in the foreseeable future then part time volunteering might be the only way to stay in the loop at some capacity while doing something else.
If you’re able to subsidize her, maybe she could relocate to a larger city with more opportunities (NYC, Washington DC, Chicago) and try to get anything (even office work) in a museum, gallery or auction house. It’s challenging to be an applicant who is sending a resume from afar when there are qualified local applicants who wouldn’t have to deal with relocating, etc. and could start right away.
My niece is an art major at FIT and I worry about how employable she’ll be upon graduation. She’s in NYC and has a job working as an assistant in one of museums there. Prior to leaving for college, she worked as a receptionist in an art gallery in her hometown. Her dream is to work in a museum in France yet she takes no steps to learn the French language, so I don’t think she’ll get too far with that. Knowledge of multiple languages in that field would definitely be an asset.
A Masters from JH is a big (and potentially expensive) piece of paper - she should lean on them more, if she isn’t doing so already.
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My SIL got his degree in Public History which is museum studies like.
Initially, he pieced together a couple of part-time gigs to make a living.
I just went and looked and Mount Vernon is hiring (Open Positions at Mount Vernon · George Washington's Mount Vernon)
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Did you say whether she is working right now or is she full-time in the job search (without a paying job)? Perhaps she should get on the substitute teaching list at schools near her place of residence. With her interests and her level of education, I’d think she would be a great sub, and at least until recently they were in short supply. It’s work experience: a real workplace with real responsibilities, and it wouldn’t necessarily be every day, which leaves time for museum networking.
ETA I think you said she was still in school…so maybe this idea is for after graduation, sorry!
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JH has museums, can she volunteer at JH museums while finishing her studies?
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How computer literate is she? This will be her secret sauce and no need for unpaid internships. She can start with a part-time job in JHU’s development office learning Raisers Edge and be proficient by the end of the summer. Or any JHU affiliated institution…med school, the hospital, etc.
She doesn’t need to work for free with a master’s degree!
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If she has not yet registered or met with The JHU centralized Career Services offices, I would recommend that she do so ASAP. Meet with a counselor, make sure her resume is organized and geared towards the jobs for which she is applying, take advantage of any career networking and alumni networking services they offer, do a mock interview for feedback, etc. She will probably want to use a few different versions of her resume dependent upon position. Maybe one that has a section focused on Museum Studies and highlights research projects to make up for lack of work experience and another focusing on transferrable work skills from previous positions (public speaking, client relations and so on). One resume might want to highlight her journalism skills for positions that may require newsletter writing or blog posts.
Agree with everyone that has mentioned informational interviews, networking (both formally and informally), attending events at organizations she wants to work for, and especially volunteering at museums. I would encourage her to look at smaller organizations for volunteering, such as small town historical societies, as they often offer the most opportunity for being able to do a lot of hands on work within the organization. Applying for gift shop & customer service jobs is a good way in too - encourage her to continue that effort - but it works better at smaller institutions as a foot in the door than say at a Smithsonian where jobs are relatively segregated. Non-profits can be hard to break into. Summer hiring can be slow across the board, especially at non-profits where their fiscal year ends June 30. Hiring is often done after that date (and employee summer vacations), so Fall may be the best hiring time for her. Job searches can be gut wrenching and soul crushing. Keep stroking her ego, highlight the positives, and be encouraging.
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My daughter has a minor in museum studies and is finishing her masters in history with a concentration on art (her thesis is on Displaying Tibetan art in the western world so I’m SURE there will be plenty of jobs for her!). For the past year rather than teaching she’s been working on a cataloging project with a professor and a university in Wales (she likes it so much more than teaching History of Wyoming one more time).
But she’ll still have trouble finding a job, I’m sure, as her location is also going to be limited as she’s moving with her boyfriend and where he’ll get a job. She’s actually hoping for an online job for at least a year until they get settled somewhere.
A few years ago when I was searching for Anericorps jobs, I did find one for her at a Reservation (in Wisconsin) to help set up their displays. I think it would have been really good experience for her and they provided housing, insurance and a stipend but it would have been bare living for a year. Still good experience.
My cousin has been a researcher at a ‘think tank’ for many years in NYC. She’s really enjoyed that. Her degrees are in American Studies and then an MS in library science. She has a friend who does the ‘Monuments Men’ type of art research, trying to trace ownership of art that was separated from their true owners during and after the war(s). Speaking French, German or Italian helps.
My youngest briefly considered Museum Studies for undergrad, at least as a minor, though she was concerned about career prospects and earnings. She just finished up her freshman year, and the on campus job she found was at the university archives. It paid - not real well - but better than her sister’s undergrad job at the same university as a math TA.
She did have experience in archiving in high school, though something like that might be a place to start - somewhat museum related and would probably be a paying job.
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This would seem to be a no brainer. My son is a museum studies minor and has an internship set up at the university owned art museum in the fall as a sophomore. And gets 3 hours credit!
I was talking to my daughter, the museum studies minor and now History masters. She does have some experience in the university museum (required for the minor) and she’s done lot of her research for her masters in museums in London, Cambridge, NYC and locally. Your daughter might have more experience than she thinks she has by just finishing the requirements for her degree. If not, there are a lot of museums in Baltimore and she needs to get out there and start volunteering or working or just hanging out and meeting those who do work in them. She could also volunteer in a DC museum on Saturdays or for an event.
One thing we did talk about was meeting with her adviser to make sure she has the right wording on her resume for her experience and education. The professor also has some tasks for her this fall just so she can put them on her resume. (they like her; the profs are always asking her to do tours of the department, to host meeting, to help the new TAs - and they pay her extra to do these things). I told her that government agencies use auto readers to search for key words and she may need two (or more) resumes just to get the magic words right.
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