When is it ever enough?

The 1970's in Canada saw Heritage given center stage in the political landscape. Riding the coattails of our recent centennial, Heritage was infused with money and jobs across the country. One didn't need to have a million degrees and citations from various post secondary institutions to gain employment in the exciting field of museums, heritage sites, and parks. The field itself was just starting the first stirrings of professionalization. So the number of curators, interpreters, exhibit designers grew. Everything seemed promising until the economy tanked and like always the first areas to have their budgets gouged were culture and the other arts. This meant all the young, bright eyed grads coming out in the early '90's had a problem. Lots of them and very few opportunities.

Now something you should be aware of, museum and heritage folks are some of the quirkiest, passionate, resourceful and fun folks you will ever meet. This is a good thing, remember these individuals are protecting our collective past for the future and in some cases, teaching this past to the public so it remains vital. When I started in this field, I had my BA in history lots of perseverance and drive. I went out to Victoria where you can't help but trip over various museums, heritage sites and historic houses. In my mind I would have no problem getting a heritage job. It had to be like going for a job in hospitality. It was easy to get a hotel job.

My plan was to get a diploma in Cultural Resource Management from UVIC while working in a heritage job and my first stop was going to to be the BC Heritage Association. So I met with a gentleman from the BCHA and he told me to get out of heritage, a career in this field had no future! Crestfallen, I ignored his advice and forged ahead.Thankfully I did because, 5 years later,  I got to work at the greatest historic house museum in Victoria with the best co-workers and volunteers. After leaving there I returned to the museum where this journey for a fulfilling career in heritage started. The field has gone through professionalization and now having a BA in History or Museology is not enough. In some instances there are folks with PhDs doing entry level museum work. Heritage is now like any other profession. How do you stand out when everyone has the same credentials?