'How can I get a job in a museum?' is one of the regular questions we are asked at the Museums Association. Until recently, my usual answer was 'do a museum studies course'. But now I'm not so sure.
For the past few months I've been researching how people enter the museum workforce - and what museums want from people at entry level. It's becoming clear that far too many people take museum studies masters courses each year. On top of that employers are now unsure of their value.
At a recent symposium at the University of East Anglia, representatives of many of the UK's leading museums agreed that museum studies qualifications weren't essential; they often appoint staff without them. Most entry-level jobs are massively over-subscribed; 50-100 applications are normal and some training posts attract far more.
Recruiters said they are amazed by the skills, knowledge and experience some applicants have. This is tough on individuals trying to find work, but good for employers. When asked whether they were expecting too much from people, one director replied, 'we get offered more than we have a right to expect' and then asked 'is that a bad thing?'
The symposium was funded by Creative and Cultural Skills, the sector skills council for all branches of the arts, to find out what museum employers need from their entry-level staff and what they get offered.
A few types of junior post are hard to fill. These include natural science and technology curators, jobs requiring extensive IT skills, and fundraising and development staff. Education staff tend to move on rather too quickly.
But overall, new entrants seem to have plenty of knowledge, and even experience, but perhaps not enough general skills such as communication, teamwork, project management and entrepreneurship.
Move up a level to slightly more senior posts that combine a specialism and management and there's a serious problem. Jobs can be hard to fill and often have to be readvertised. Examples given at the symposium included: managers of access or conservation; specialist keepers, including fine art; and directors of small independent museums.
Perhaps the high quality of entry-level applications has made museums lazy about nurturing staff in their first few years in post to prepare them for management and leadership roles.
Without employer encouragement to be adaptable and take on more responsibility it's easy for junior staff to fail to realise their potential and get stuck. Some junior jobs, such as documentation posts, are narrow and don't give people the chance to use their full range of skills. This restricts future career options, and the situation is often made worse by short-term contracts.
Continuing professional development, when people take responsibility for building their own skills, is only part of the answer. Nothing can beat an employer - or a regional network - that gives structured development to all staff, including those in short-term posts.
Rita McLean, the acting assistant director at Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, noted that part of the success of Diversify traineeships is the care that is taken to plan each trainee's development and give them a wide range of experience.
At the National Trust, junior curatorial jobs are training and development posts (Sarah Staniforth, the historic properties director at the trust, reported that about 150 people apply for each one).
Paid traineeships or apprenticeships do seem to be the best way of giving a balanced experience to new entrants. They can also increase the range of types of people entering museum work beyond the stereotypical white, able-bodied, middle-class woman with a humanities degree.
Employers want a greater range of educational backgrounds, and workforces that better represent the diversity of their audiences. Unfortunately, because of the cost, a universal system of traineeships looks unlikely in the short term.
For now, there needs to be better relationships between museums and training providers. This might come through creative apprenticeships or foundation degrees.
Existing masters courses could perhaps be improved if they gave students extensive work-based training (not just a four to six-week placement, which doesn't give the student a rounded idea of museum work and tends to be disruptive for the host museum). Even something as simple as regular regional meetings between museums and courses might improve things.
It would also be good to be able to offer structured volunteering and work placements for people who want to experience museum work - the ideal would be paid internships - and the way in which museums select volunteers needs to be fairer and more transparent.
My research is showing that many who take museum studies courses each year don't find a decent job in the sector. Some never get anything; others get fed up after a few years of temporary contracts and give up on museums, changing career into a better structured (and better paid) profession such as education or accountancy. Many people have to struggle until their late 20s before they get a reasonable, permanent job.
So what should the aspirant museum worker do? First, recognise the hardships you'll face, unless you are exceptionally well suited to museum work, and exceptionally lucky. Understand that there are many different types of entry-level posts, in different types of museum - and the entry requirements vary. The system is chaotic.
If you are sure you want to persevere, then experience is important. Try to do a lot of voluntary work, perhaps in several museums (although even that's not easy) - and make sure the museums hosting you give you a wide range of work to experience.
And is it worth doing a museum studies course? If you're thinking of doing it as a route to get a job (rather than for general educational interest) it's hard to say. Even though many employers say they aren't essential, some seem to look for museum studies qualifications as a way of initial short listing.
On the other hand, some say that they prefer people without museum studies qualifications. If you do decide to take a masters course, try to find one that includes substantial structured work experience. Even then, don't expect it to give you everything you need to get a job. And always have an alternative career in mind.
Maurice Davies is the deputy director of the Museums Association. He is undertaking research into entry-level recruitment in museums as a visiting fellow at the University of East Anglia
For the past few months I've been researching how people enter the museum workforce - and what museums want from people at entry level. It's becoming clear that far too many people take museum studies masters courses each year. On top of that employers are now unsure of their value.
At a recent symposium at the University of East Anglia, representatives of many of the UK's leading museums agreed that museum studies qualifications weren't essential; they often appoint staff without them. Most entry-level jobs are massively over-subscribed; 50-100 applications are normal and some training posts attract far more.
Recruiters said they are amazed by the skills, knowledge and experience some applicants have. This is tough on individuals trying to find work, but good for employers. When asked whether they were expecting too much from people, one director replied, 'we get offered more than we have a right to expect' and then asked 'is that a bad thing?'
The symposium was funded by Creative and Cultural Skills, the sector skills council for all branches of the arts, to find out what museum employers need from their entry-level staff and what they get offered.
A few types of junior post are hard to fill. These include natural science and technology curators, jobs requiring extensive IT skills, and fundraising and development staff. Education staff tend to move on rather too quickly.
But overall, new entrants seem to have plenty of knowledge, and even experience, but perhaps not enough general skills such as communication, teamwork, project management and entrepreneurship.
Move up a level to slightly more senior posts that combine a specialism and management and there's a serious problem. Jobs can be hard to fill and often have to be readvertised. Examples given at the symposium included: managers of access or conservation; specialist keepers, including fine art; and directors of small independent museums.
Perhaps the high quality of entry-level applications has made museums lazy about nurturing staff in their first few years in post to prepare them for management and leadership roles.
Without employer encouragement to be adaptable and take on more responsibility it's easy for junior staff to fail to realise their potential and get stuck. Some junior jobs, such as documentation posts, are narrow and don't give people the chance to use their full range of skills. This restricts future career options, and the situation is often made worse by short-term contracts.
Continuing professional development, when people take responsibility for building their own skills, is only part of the answer. Nothing can beat an employer - or a regional network - that gives structured development to all staff, including those in short-term posts.
Rita McLean, the acting assistant director at Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, noted that part of the success of Diversify traineeships is the care that is taken to plan each trainee's development and give them a wide range of experience.
At the National Trust, junior curatorial jobs are training and development posts (Sarah Staniforth, the historic properties director at the trust, reported that about 150 people apply for each one).
Paid traineeships or apprenticeships do seem to be the best way of giving a balanced experience to new entrants. They can also increase the range of types of people entering museum work beyond the stereotypical white, able-bodied, middle-class woman with a humanities degree.
Employers want a greater range of educational backgrounds, and workforces that better represent the diversity of their audiences. Unfortunately, because of the cost, a universal system of traineeships looks unlikely in the short term.
For now, there needs to be better relationships between museums and training providers. This might come through creative apprenticeships or foundation degrees.
Existing masters courses could perhaps be improved if they gave students extensive work-based training (not just a four to six-week placement, which doesn't give the student a rounded idea of museum work and tends to be disruptive for the host museum). Even something as simple as regular regional meetings between museums and courses might improve things.
It would also be good to be able to offer structured volunteering and work placements for people who want to experience museum work - the ideal would be paid internships - and the way in which museums select volunteers needs to be fairer and more transparent.
My research is showing that many who take museum studies courses each year don't find a decent job in the sector. Some never get anything; others get fed up after a few years of temporary contracts and give up on museums, changing career into a better structured (and better paid) profession such as education or accountancy. Many people have to struggle until their late 20s before they get a reasonable, permanent job.
So what should the aspirant museum worker do? First, recognise the hardships you'll face, unless you are exceptionally well suited to museum work, and exceptionally lucky. Understand that there are many different types of entry-level posts, in different types of museum - and the entry requirements vary. The system is chaotic.
If you are sure you want to persevere, then experience is important. Try to do a lot of voluntary work, perhaps in several museums (although even that's not easy) - and make sure the museums hosting you give you a wide range of work to experience.
And is it worth doing a museum studies course? If you're thinking of doing it as a route to get a job (rather than for general educational interest) it's hard to say. Even though many employers say they aren't essential, some seem to look for museum studies qualifications as a way of initial short listing.
On the other hand, some say that they prefer people without museum studies qualifications. If you do decide to take a masters course, try to find one that includes substantial structured work experience. Even then, don't expect it to give you everything you need to get a job. And always have an alternative career in mind.
Maurice Davies is the deputy director of the Museums Association. He is undertaking research into entry-level recruitment in museums as a visiting fellow at the University of East Anglia
