The idea of working in museums and galleries may conjure up tweed
jackets and dusty archives but in fact, these days the sector offers a range of exciting and varied graduate jobs.
Traditional curator roles still exist but you could instead design exhibitions, or work in documenting, digitising and managing collections, administration, or even arrange school trips as an education officer. Many roles require creativity, enthusiasm, the ability to work with others on a variety of projects and even international travel. And you'll be expected to come up with innovative ways to make museums more accessible.
An employer says ...
David Wraight, head of human resources for the British Museum
The British Museum has a range of roles covering curatorship to administration. We would generally expect graduates coming to work in archeology or Egyptology to have some experience in the field. But for graduates coming into fundraising or design, experience is less relevant.
In curatorial areas, we would expect evidence of qualifications and some
activity in that field – for a lot of people that will be having participated in an excavation or having their first research papers published. We would expect to see competencies around research for curatorial roles; for design roles we would expect creativity and the ability to work to house style.
The British Museum is an exciting and happening place to be in the museum world. We have an international programme of activity which is an attraction for many of our staff. We are very keen on individuals working on their own activity but also in cross-museum projects, sharing ideas across a mixture of skills and experience.
It's worth speaking to HR departments to find out about roles and opportunities and get any work experience you can. You will not make millions but you're likely to have a long, steady, interesting career and a reasonable standard of living. We advertise our roles on our website and also national museum jobs websites .
A tutor says ...
Dr Richard Sandell, head of Department of Museum Studies, Leicester University
We run a range of postgraduate programmes for people trying to get into the sector and others who are already working but want to develop their skills and knowledge. The museums, galleries and cultural sector is a competitive field so often people who have some voluntary work experience and a good first degree don't get shortlisted when they apply for jobs.
A master's in museum studies or a related postgraduate qualification gives you an edge because you'll get both theoretical knowledge and other skills such as critical thinking and creativity. We also have a network of 200 galleries and museums offering work experience to students, which puts them in a really good position. Some of the jobs are short term but many of the students see that as an advantage because they get to gather experience of very different kinds of museums on different projects. There has been a real growth in roles to make museums more accessible and visitor friendly. Unless you are going into a very specific role such as art or archeological curatorship, a general course will stand you in good stead. But there are so many courses, it's worth asking pressing questions about what you'll get from it: do they have close links with museums? Do you get work experience? Do they bring practitioners in to talk to you? Make sure you get the right programme for you.
A graduate says ...
Cat Newley, assistant curator of community history, with Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service
I finished a history and politics degree in 2006 and volunteered in museums transcribing interviews with dockers and helping out with family fun days. After looking at how to get a job in the sector, I went back to do the museum studies course at Leicester whereI learned a mixture of theory and practical skills. I worked on a Cardiff museum project for two months, helping set up temporary exhibitions, documenting objects and putting them on a computer database. This experience really helped when I started here.
I answer enquiries from the public and it's a great way of getting to know the collections and what people are interested in – most want to find out about their ancestors or the places where their family used to work. I also help run events. I enjoy the variety – taking down and putting up exhibitions, helping the display team and developing the local collection. You need to know something about history as a curator and enjoy talking to and engaging with people. It's not allsitting in a dark corner in tweed and if you wanted to switch to another form of museum work, it would be possible.It's quite hard to get a job but if you can demonstrate good volunteer experience and show your ability to adapt, and get involved in as many ways as possible, you stand a much better chance. The pay's not brilliant and you do have to love what you're doing but you can live quite comfortably on it.