Behind the scenes at a museum…

Having walked the halls, gazes at the displays, played with the interactives on gallery or got your hands grubby in the archeological dirt you've decided that you want to work in the world of museums. .

But how to get behind those doors?

Here's a brief guide to getting into the key areas of museum life.

Curator
Curators are specialists. They know everything about Greaco-Roman architecture, cameras of the 1930s or fashion in the 70s. And they bring that knowledge to bare on exhibitions, on care of collections and management of galleries. Curators will aquire new objects for the collections and will be called on to offer opinions and possibly publish research about the collections. So it goes without saying that almost all curators have research degrees, at least to MA standard. How else would they know about it?
Getting in….
Choose a subject you love and study it at least to MA level. Get lots of work experience in museums that are of interest to you. Lots of jobs in museums are only advertised internally and you will be in the right place to pick these up. You can also do a postgraduate in Museum Studies at Leicester, York, Liverpool, UCL or St Andrews. This is another very good way to get into museums as a curator. Dedication and passion - that's the name of the game!

Conservator/Restorer
Objects in museums have special care requirements involving handling, chemical restoration and use of appropriate materials. Precious items have to be dealt with in the right circumstances, on gallery, in the stores or out in a laboratory. And you will have to advise on moving the objects from the stores to the museum and back again. So you can probably tell that there really aren't going to be any short cuts to getting into this one.
Getting in…
Degree time again. Most conservation degree courses ask for A Level chemistry and some require an art foundation. Check it out for yourself in our database of courses [link to database]. If you decide you want to go into it after you've already done a degree then you will probably need to have a science, fine art of history degree. Work experience - sorry to bang on about it! - or volunteering is a great way to get your foot in the door.

Sponsorship and commerce
Increasingly museums rely on their commercial activities to add to the money they are given by the government or and receive in entrance fees. The boys and girls that make sure the big corporations hand over their dosh work in sponsorship. The smooth ladies and gents that get big companies to hire the museum for extravagant parties work in corporate entertainments and the team from the shop who sell rubbers to the multitude for vast profit (come on, we've all bought them!)
Getting in…
Being able to explain ideas, enjoying meeting new people and persuading people that your ideas are great are the best qualifications for getting into sponsorship. Essentially you are selling the museum so you will have to understand what you're talking about! Good ways to get in include doing work experience, getting to know the team and being on hand when that vacancy comes up. You can also try working as a secretarial temp or as part of the on-gallery teams that take care of the visitors and finding out about the vacancies available in the museum from the inside!

Working in the shop can be a way to get a great foot on the ladder, walk in and ask if there are any vacancies. Make sure they take your name for the future. Or apply to the jobs that are usually advertised in the newspapers. Make sure you have some relevant experience.

Get into corporate events through being an assistant or secretary or again volunteering and worming your way in. But there is no need for a specific degree.

Education and programmes
Most museums have an education officer and you don't have to have worked as a teacher to get into it. Museum Education officers and programmes officers work on the events at museums for school children and the visiting public. Creativity, being good with people, thinking on your feet and having stamina of iron (!) are all skills you need.
Getting in…
The best way to get in, if you aren't coming from training as a teacher or with direct experience of schools, is to become one of the educators on gallery and then with all the fun you have working on other people's shows you should be able to move easily into creating your own. You can have any qualifications, it's the skills that are all important.

Marketing and PR
We all know what they're for and its just as important for a museum as for anyone else to attract visitors, public approval and the interest of the media. In fact, this is one area where working elsewhere for a while would be an advantage.
Getting in…
Vacancies are usually advertised in the national press, although you can still use the route of becoming a volunteer or paid employee on gallery and get to the internal vacancies first. Having experience in other areas will be very beneficial, in fact most advice is to cut your teeth elsewhere and then move to museums. You don't need a specific degree for this either.

Visitor services
Who makes sure the toilets are running smoothly, the caterers are providing hot food, the buildling isn't too hot and the front desk don't leap down your throat just for asking directions? Visitor services.
Getting in…
This is another place where no degree is needed, more important is brightness, understanding of team work, an interest in facilities and an enjoyment of working with people. It's also another place where you can enter directly as a secretary or assistant and move up the scale, but you could also learn about the business from another leisure sector, such as a gym or theme park and then move over into museums.

And to conclude

So that's a quick overview and here are some more important points to remember:-

• There are lots of different jobs in museums, it's not just about being a curator, and all of them are rewarding and interesting.
• One of the best ways to find out what jobs are going at museums is to be either a volunteer, do work experience or join the on gallery teams at the lowest level.
• Don't expect big bucks. Museums do try and match salaries in the outside world but as a general rule they have less cash to throw around than commercial organisations. Rewards are there in job security, long holidays and regular working hours.

by Katie Streten