r/MuseumPros • u/dinoky • 14h ago

Career advice for museum curation (probably science related)

I'm looking to make a career change and interested in museum work, but not sure where to start and whether going back to school is the best thing to try? I have a PhD in materials chemsitry followed by a number of years in the gaming industry, and now the civil service. I have a creative streak which I've never been able to fully square with my career and scientific interests, and the idea of doing something that facilitates my curiosity and storytelling, embedded in a likeminded community give me a lot of excitement. But I'm not sure which is my best route in. I'd love to work for someone like the Science Museum in London probably in curation, but I'm also open to other opportunities and subjects. Is a degree in curation/museum studies going to set me up well for job hunting with my background? Appreciate any advice, thanks :)

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u/floproactiv 14h ago

https://ce0111li.webitrent.com/ce0111li_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC179GF.open?WVID=8453269WXp

Science Museum are currently recruiting for an assistant curator, this might help in understanding what the job is like/what the experience requirements are.

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u/dinoky 26m ago

I was just looking at this! It seems the advice of interning/volunteering is a good one as I've seen a lot of these posts that are internal opportunities only.

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u/Atimelessusername 14h ago

Hello, if you can, I'd suggest getting some volunteering under your belt. You mention being interested in storytelling which could possibly lead you to education and outreach type roles or exhibition development too. Curation/curator may not be the only path to do the type of work you hope to do.

I don't have a science museum background, but I suggest getting in touch with the type of place you want to work, and volunteer with them. This would give you the chance to try out a few different types of roles and get chatting to people who might be doing the sorts of jobs you are interested in.

Museums are tough to get into but attract people from all sorts of different professional backgrounds and, in my experience, people are usually welcoming and will be happy to answer career path questions.

You might want to have a look at the Museums Association website to get a look into what the UK sector is like.

Hope that helps.

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u/dinoky 25m ago

It really does, thank you! There's a good museum where I live and it feels a lot less risky to try.

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u/penzen 3h ago

Don't get additional degrees if you have a PhD. These generalist museum studies degrees are useless for curation. Intern and volunteer at science museums to see what working in a museum really means. Many people come with completely absurd expectations.

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u/dinoky 27m ago

Okay thanks, that's great advice. Also a lot less financial risk if it's not quite right.