Louise C.
About me
| Louise C. | |
| Archaeology | |
| Archaeological Heritage Management | |
| Undergraduate | |
| 2002 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Curator | |
| Yorkshire Museum of Farming | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Library, museum and information services | |
| 2014 |
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A day in the life of a Curator in the United Kingdom
My career history
2004-2006 - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery - Curator (maternity leave) & Documentation Officer
2006 - Wolverhampton Art Gallery - Collections Resource Officer
2007 - Wolverhampton Art Gallery - Acting Collections Manager
2008 - 2010 - Queensland Museum - Collections Manager
2010 - 2013 - V&A - Senior Documentation Officer
2013 - 2014 - Bradford Museum Service - Freelance Registrar
Where I hope to be in 5 years
I would like to eventually return to a Collections Management role as that is where may main interest is.
My advice to students considering work
Try and get as much experience as you can in the sector through volunteering. Jobs in museums are very competitive, particularly at the moment where funding is scarce. Try and enhance your CV by volunteering and this will also enable you to find out which areas of museums you enjoy/excel within. Also, when you are applying for jobs please read the criteria and ensure that your application clearly demonstrate how you fit within the criteria.
My advice about working in my industry
Jobs in museums are very competitive, particularly at the moment where funding is scarce. Try and enhance your CV by volunteering and this will also enable you to find out which areas of museums you enjoy/excel within. Also, when you are applying for jobs please read the criteria and ensure that your application clearly demonstrate how you fit within the criteria.
What I do
I am a Curator in a very small museum which means that I am responsible for all aspects of the running of the museum. My responsibilities include:
- Research & Exhibitions
- Maintenance and cleaning of exhibition spaces
- Marketing
- Events
- Collections care including preventative conservation, cleaning of the collections, environmental monitoring, pest monitoring etc.
- Collections documentation & auditing of the collections
- Coordinating volunteers
- Public enquiries
Skills I use and how I developed them
Extracurricular skills:
- Collection management
- Research
- Creative writing
- People management
I have been on a number of training courses to improve my knowledge on areas of collections management such as environmental monitoring and integrated pest management. Other skills I have learnt on the job.
What I like most
I enjoy the variety but my favourite aspect is working with the collections
What I like least
It can on occasion be a little stressful as I have to wear so many hats.
Next steps...
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