What are the job responsibilities of a museum curator?

How likely would it be for me to get a job at a very popular/ prestigious museum?

• Such as The smithsonian, or The British Museum..I am a High school student... I hope to eventually become a curator... Is there such a thing as an assistant curator? Also, I volunteer all the time at four different museums and am a docent at one of them. But When I graduate college, I want to be on the staff of a great museum. How likely is this? Any suggestions etc.? My mom says that I should major in History , is she right? Thanks!( :

• Answer:

  Internships and connections are the key to getting what you want with a history degree. If you are going to major in history it is important you get into a school that has a reputation for milling out high quality history majors. Forget going to a no name school, it isn't worth your time and the money spent. If you are well connected and do as many of the right internships as needed you will find yourself employed after you get your degree. As of right now, I would reccommend skipping college for a year and going straight into museum work and get as much experience as needed.Try working at a place you want to move up in and see how much you like it there. You don't need a degree to be successful but yes it does help in some situations. Why do you want to work in a great museum? Do you study alot of history now? Ask youself alot of questions before make the leap. Is History my true passion? What is your favorite period of history? Do you like museums and also do you like managing people? Are you good at telling people what to do? Do you enjoy telling people what to do? Do you feel like you are a good spokesperson? Do you have anyone in your family who is a curator in the museum business? I am not asking you these questions, but maybe getting you to think perhaps? . Think long and hard about majoring in history, we are a dime a dozen and many are unemployed. Many that do make it after college have to work in something totally unrelated to their degree. I may seem kinda blunt, but I don't want people to make the mistake I made, and think life was a pie in the sky after college. Times now are difficult and will continue to be for quite a while. Alot of colleges have considered doing away with degree such as english, history, poli sci, basketweaving, and such. A history degree is not easy no matter what college you attend. Expect to spend 40+ hours in a library to get a 3.0, and 60+ hours in a library for a 4.0. You will be writing....no I mean writing for hours. Do you enjoy writing? Do you like writing research papers in high school? That is what college is about. Oh yeah and don't forget about getting a PHD, you better be a one tough person academically I was fooled in high school because all of my history classes were taught by coaches and I played sports, so I always got a good grade. When I went to community college, the history teacher was amazed by my lack of grammar, and writing thought process. I spent 6 years getting a degree, 2 at community college and 4 at a university level. I started out at the bottom classes at community with the ESL students, and I am white and don't speak spanish. I graduated college with a 3.12 and I was all systems go for 3 of the 4 years at university. I found a "good job" making 8.50 an hour at a local sports store about five months after college in 2008. All of my professors in college were all veterans of the Vietnam War, and had an appreciation for history, all were brillant and tough academically. I realized history was wrong for me about six months before graduating. Not because I didn't like history, but because I wasn't going to find a job to support myself. . I lived in a stressed state that whole time, and never want to relive those six months of my life again. Don't waste your time in college...it a "Great American" vacation that can cost you lots of time and money.