Recent comments in /f/washingtondc

flanneljack1 t1_j99a85d wrote

Reply to comment by 129za in Do you all have stories of people who quit the typical DC corporate/political career and pursued something else? by [deleted]

Teaching? It’s a fun job, which I’m passionate about, but I’m struggling financially. Can’t afford appropriate housing for my family. I’m making substantially less than my peers with similar education level in the non profit sector. It’s also an increasingly demanding job, every year the workload increases but the pay does not, or if so, by very little.

I’m 7 years in and making 10k more than day one. Which is being torn to shreds by inflation and increased costs with a growing family. I would only recommend teaching to the idle rich. It’s an unsustainable career.

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HornetBoth3214 t1_j9946df wrote

Reply to comment by afloatingpoint in Advice: Seeking a Museum Job in DC by afloatingpoint

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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HornetBoth3214 t1_j993qsy wrote

Reply to Advice: Seeking a Museum Job in DC by afloatingpoint

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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MidnightSlinks t1_j98y9r9 wrote

Reply to Do you all have stories of people who quit the typical DC corporate/political career and pursued something else? by [deleted]

My former co-worker quit to teach diving and run boat tours in the Caribbean.

Several yoga teachers at my old studio had gone from enthusiastic practitioners with office jobs to part time instructors to full time instructors.

My friend left corporate law when she had kids and never looked back (husband has a good job and she loathed big law). She may go back part time but won't be pursuing anything in the legal field.

Not sure this counts because it's actually more work, but my other friend quit Big 4 consulting to go to medical school to be a pediatrician.

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