Advice: Seeking a Museum Job in DC

Submitted by afloatingpoint t3_116o8ng in washingtondc

Hey everyone, my friend, who has a bachelor's degree in history and a master's in museum studies from NYU, is looking to relocate to the DC in hopes of finding a museum job here. He's spent the past six years grinding away at auction houses in Manhattan (Phillips and Doyles) and he's pretty burnt out -- he's been making around 45k, and helping rich people buy stuff isn't exactly the museum work he hoped to be engaged in.

Any advice about finding work in a Smithsonian? Given his family history, the Holocaust Museum is somewhere he's really drawn to, but he's got an array of interests and skills. What should he know before he applies for stuff? How are salaries and working conditions in the Smithsonians right now? Are they as exploitative as the auction house world in New York, or is there real opportunity here in DC? Any input is appreciated 🙌🏾

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bageloclock t1_j97kizl wrote

Not all smithsonian jobs are federal (most are foundation-based) but applying to any position there is similar to federal postings. It’s a pretty intense hiring process and they’ll want to ensure their resume includes keywords from the job posting. Turnaround time between application submission and hiring can be pretty long too.

Smithsonian has standard salaries depending on what they’re interested in. $45k for entry level roles with chances to make closer to $70k or $80k at the 3-5 year experience mark.

Curatorial roles are generally only offered to PhDs, collection management jobs require someone with explicit archives/collections training, and public affairs jobs def want people with comms experience.

Overall I’d encourage your friend to keep their eyes on the national council of public history’s website for various job postings. There are also quite a few cultural institutions besides Smithsonians in DC (eg, Hillwood, Heurich House, AHA, National Archives, etc).

Source: current graduate student in Public History who interns with the National Archives and has several professors who are Smithsonian curators.

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afloatingpoint OP t1_j97lz71 wrote

He has lots of archives/collection experience, so maybe that could be his entry point. And he'd be thrilled I'm sure to work for any of the cultural institutions you mentioned.

How has your experience been in your internship? Do you feel content and interested when you're at work? Does it seem like a fairly healthy work environment, or is it weird and competitive?

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LittleSpiderGirl t1_j97uf1p wrote

His archival experience will be a plus in getting through the door.

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bageloclock t1_j98cxj3 wrote

My internship is unpaid, I’m doing it alongside a fully remote full-time job in political consulting. I’m hoping it will give me a leg up come time to find a full-time role once I graduate.

The work environment is good and coworkers are all super amazing individuals. But yeah, as a few folks have pointed out it’s an insanely competitive sector on top of the fact many entry opportunities are volunteer/unpaid in nature. Not saying it’s a good thing, but it’s the status quo.

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HornetBoth3214 t1_j9946df wrote

I worked for a bit at the Smithsonian. I found that the experience varied widely depending on where you worked. Ultimately being part of SI lends itself to a myriad of opportunities, including grant funding, support units for your work in areas like accessibility, and the opportunity to get promotions/new jobs in different/new to you museums without resetting your leave, time in agency or the other HR-related headaches that often come with changing jobs.

But yes like any other large institution, some units are toxic and some are not. It all depends on where you end up and what the mindset is.

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selfcarebouquet t1_j9g57cp wrote

Getting into the Smithsonian is tough, at least for arts and humanities. I worked there briefly in a trust position that was funded by a grant and still didn’t couldn’t make the interview stage for permanent federal jobs that were basically the same job that I had done successfully as trust employee for a couple of years. I met people who finally got positions after working for years as contractors without benefits. It’s still worth applying to everything but it’s easy to get discouraged and they’ll be competing with people with a lot more experience who are willing to take an entry level job even mid-career to get in the door.

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ArtHausDirector t1_j97ky38 wrote

https://www.si.edu/ohr/jobs_public

Some of these are temporary listings, and some require experience within SI to apply. It's still worth a look, though. There are even openings for the Smithsonian-adjacent ventures, like the IMAX theater at Air & Space.

The Holocaust Memorial Museum isn't a Smithsonian museum, and won't be on that list. Neither will National Gallery of Art, or any of the other private/self-operating museums in DC. They'll have respective "jobs" sections on their sites, though. It's definitely worth doing some digging.

Best of luck!

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veloharris t1_j97n5yb wrote

Good luck, but as your friend likely knows it's an insanely competitive career and very very hard to get any job let alone one that pays enough for DC.

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afloatingpoint OP t1_j97nssp wrote

Thanks. It is insanely competitive. Kind of crazy to me. But also, you never know unless you try, yeah? And there are museums, cultural institutions, and archives in places beyond NY and DC if things don't pan out. We'll see what the future holds.

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keyjan t1_j981oi6 wrote

Way more people wanting to work, than work. The former librarian at my firm wanted to volunteer at the NGA library when she retired. Librarian. Archival experience.

She basically had to get in line after 18 other people with similar or better experience, to work for free for a few hours every other week.

Dumbarton Oaks needs a Byzantine specialist; the Museum of Women in the Arts needs a remote curator for a lot of money and no benefits. There will probably be 50 applicants for each position.

Check the universities, too. Some of them may have museum collections.

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cardamom_peonies t1_j984k84 wrote

Yooo, he needs to hit up USAJOBS.com. if he's a recent grad, there are pathways/recent grad programs

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HornetBoth3214 t1_j993qsy wrote

I currently work in an exhibits development role for a federal agency. I also previously worked for SI. In my current role, I read applications for some GS 7/9 roles. So that is where I am coming from in offering this advice.

Honestly as someone who tried to get a NYC job, I found it tough to make the transition because NYC museums hire from NYC grad schools and DC hire from DC grad schools. Ultimately I did not get a NYC job and my partner had to go fulltime remote for us to accommodate staying here. For federal jobs, I have been most successful using the Resume Builder on USA jobs and also make sure you pay attention to the KSAs. If he doesn't mind not being directly IN the District, there are several lesser known federal museums in the area (DEA museum, new Army Museum in Alexandria, army medical museum in Silver Spring). Also don't rule out the Library of Congress or AOC collecting institutions (Capitol Visitor Center, US Botanic Gardens). Plus NPS jobs although NPS generally has low ratings in federal employee happiness survey and you usually have to work your way up through positions that are full time but seasonal. DoD also runs an arts in embassies program; for someone with a collections background this could be a really cool job, organizing loans and exhibits across the world.

The local park systems also manage museums and historic sites, plus National Trust is headquarted in DC and recently hiring for DC area positions (Woodrow Wilson House etc). Historic Alexandria generally had good pay rates. Fairfax County has full time museum jobs under the "historian" title and MNCPPC (PG county/Montgomery) has a vibrant historic sites program as well.

Is he doing any volunteering/board service/writing about museums? For me hiring someone who has the majority of experience in the world of private galleries I don't doubt those are transferable skills, but I would like to see evidence in the cover letter they are keeping up with trends in the world of museums or maintaining professional memberships etc. So if he is thinking about what to do in the next few months to make himself more competitive, authoring something (even a blog, we love blogs) or presenting at a conference or volunteering somewhere that could be mentioned as examples in an interview would be great. I have interviewed a lot of people who studied museums, their career went somewhere else, and now they are coming back to public- serving institutions.

Like any industry, there is a lot of toxicity and burnout in museums. I have worked for city and county museums and also federal, plus spent a year consulting after a pandemic layoff. By far, my federal museum job has provided the best worklife balance.

After almost a decade in the field, I feel I may be overpaid for people with similar experiences at non federal museums, but I think that is my brain just being broken from being in a field where our labor is not valued. I am a GS 12 so I make a pretty standard salary for those with 10 years experience and a masters degree in other fields, but for museums I feel a little overpaid.

I would be happy to speak directly with your friend if you DM me. The Smithsonian is not the end all be all; there are many other federal agencies with museums or museum functions. Plus non Smithsonian museums in DC.

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witchyarchivist t1_j98amf2 wrote

Look into History Associates. They’re based in Rockville but will help with gaining experience in a ton of areas. I worked with them before landing my current federal archival job. Clients include museums, law firms, national parks, universities, state governments, corporations, quite literally every field.

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bageloclock t1_j98cph7 wrote

This! Another place is Gallagher & Associates who does exhibition design and consulting.

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selfcarebouquet t1_j9g1obu wrote

Do not apply to History Associates even if desperate; you’d be better off changing careers. Purportedly they are marginally less horrible than they used to be but I still would not recommend.

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witchyarchivist t1_j9h27jd wrote

I literally just left working for them 2-3 weeks ago. For a foot in the door gig, it’s an excellent opportunity. My supervisor was an absolute angel and the folks I worked with were absolutely lovely.

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Loki-Don t1_j9a5mc6 wrote

Getting a job in a Smithsonian museum is like getting a job in academia. It’s absolutely impossible because you have to wait for someone to die for a position to be vacated.

Museum jobs like that are the crème de la crème for folks in that field, and between the reality that there are so few of them, and that people keep them for life once they have them, it’s unlikely your friend will ever get one because when they come available every person who ever graduated in Museum studies anywhere in the world is applying for it.

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LittleSpiderGirl t1_j97uo0q wrote

Is your friend already applying for jobs in the area? He doesn't have to be on the ground here to get a feel for opportunities.

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Derpolitik23 t1_j98lq1l wrote

Your friend needs to get creative and look outside of traditional museums/libraries.

Plenty of law firms, think tanks, associations, and advocacy groups in DC are always seeking people with archival or librarian experiences.

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hexesforurexes t1_j9aldfz wrote

It’s a shit show here too. I worked in the field for over a decade and got out because I was tired of being gaslit about COLAs/how racist and toxic it can be. The people that thrive in this industry are generally a certain type of privileged person who has a partner that is bringing in the money. People stay at their jobs for decades. He’s not going to have an easier time here unfortunately. One of my pals has similar qualifications, graduated at the top of her class, and only got a full time position after six years.

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kamen4o t1_j9ap9x7 wrote

The federal hiring process is particularly focused on experience rather than direct personal connections; there's particular caution about nepotism, etc. Networking is always a great way to learn about new opportunities, but the best thing your friend can do is gain relevant experience to the particular type of job he'd apply for. It sounds like he might be well prepared to apply for a job in some kind of acquisitions role, but he could strengthen his credentials by gaining other types of paid or unpaid experiences.

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realNoahMC t1_j98u6fo wrote

Not sure what exactly he can work as but he seems perfect for a local DC job or a fed job.

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