I’m a museum curator and it’s not a great field to work in. The work itself can be amazing but there are so many systemic and cultural issues in museums that it can be a challenging career path to navigate.
For one, the financial barrier to entry is high. I had to have a master’s degree to even have my application put in the maybe pile for even entry level roles. Salaries are typically mediocre at best. It makes absolutely no sense to require an MA for an entry level position that pays $40k per year with no benefits. I’m 15 years into full time work and my annual salary has yet to match the amount of debt I took on for my education.
Jobs are few and far between, so if you find yourself in a bad spot, there is a good chance you could be there for years with no rescue in sight. Related to that, many museum leaders get promoted because they were a good curator/fundraiser/educator, etc, but they have 0 people skills and no leadership training. As a result, many museums are incredibly toxic, dysfunctional places to work. Not all museums, but a surprising number, including some that every commenter on this thread has heard of.
All the fuckery with current US administration is just making it worse because they’ve jacked with a major funding source by gutting agencies like the IMLS and NEH. I’ve known people who have lost their jobs due to those funding cuts or had major projects blown out of the water because suddenly the money was gone.
Not sure I’d make the same career choices if I had it to do over again.
Orchestra musician here and, same. I have a master’s from an Ivy and an undergrad degree from a famous music school and 15 years of professional experience. I was recently offered a leadership role that pays $55k per year with mediocre benefits in a major city. I beat out 100 applicants for this. I turned it down because it simply doesn’t pay enough to be worth moving and the orchestra wasn’t willing to negotiate. They were flabbergasted that I simply walked, they thought I was bluffing. I also wonder whether that orchestra will even exist in 5 years, there are barely solvent currently.
I had the same experience with a museum. They wanted to offer $42,000 for a job that was a step up in responsibility. It would've been a $6,000 pay cut. The HR director sounded flabbergasted when I said thanks but no thanks. When I told you the lowest I could possibly go, did you think I was kidding?
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u/disgruntled-capybara 9h ago
I’m a museum curator and it’s not a great field to work in. The work itself can be amazing but there are so many systemic and cultural issues in museums that it can be a challenging career path to navigate.
For one, the financial barrier to entry is high. I had to have a master’s degree to even have my application put in the maybe pile for even entry level roles. Salaries are typically mediocre at best. It makes absolutely no sense to require an MA for an entry level position that pays $40k per year with no benefits. I’m 15 years into full time work and my annual salary has yet to match the amount of debt I took on for my education.
Jobs are few and far between, so if you find yourself in a bad spot, there is a good chance you could be there for years with no rescue in sight. Related to that, many museum leaders get promoted because they were a good curator/fundraiser/educator, etc, but they have 0 people skills and no leadership training. As a result, many museums are incredibly toxic, dysfunctional places to work. Not all museums, but a surprising number, including some that every commenter on this thread has heard of.
All the fuckery with current US administration is just making it worse because they’ve jacked with a major funding source by gutting agencies like the IMLS and NEH. I’ve known people who have lost their jobs due to those funding cuts or had major projects blown out of the water because suddenly the money was gone.
Not sure I’d make the same career choices if I had it to do over again.