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Museum education officer: Miranda

This Case Study belongs to Museum education officer.

Miranda did a degree in theatre and performance at Warwick University, and then decided to do an MA in Fine Art at Central St Martins.

When I was doing my MA, I was confident that I’d follow this with making my living through my work - spending time in my studio, exhibiting, perhaps selling a few pieces - but when I graduated I soon realised that I needed to make some money! I got an internship with Whitechapel Art Gallery on the curatorial side but, although this was interesting, I found it very admin-heavy.

I heard that the Wallace Collection were looking for some short-term cover in their education department and applied for this. It was an administrative role supporting the education department. I organised family programmes, wrote copy for publications, contacted freelancers and arranged sessions for school groups. I worked really hard in this role and went above and beyond what I was asked to do. Occasionally, speakers failed to turn up and I had to jump in and run a session at short notice. My managers noticed my approach to the work and so, when my contract finished, I asked if they would consider me for freelance work and they agreed that I could run some sessions.

Almost all museums and galleries rely on freelancers to actually run the education programmes, and it’s a really closed shop. At that stage of my career I wouldn’t have had enough experience to be accepted on my CV alone, so I had to take the route of working in an admin job and getting to know people. I worked hard and took advantage of all the opportunities that presented themselves.

The museum education freelance world is a small one and once you’ve got a foot in the door it’s relatively easy to pick up more work. I ended up freelancing at a range of London museums including the National Maritime Museum, the Museum of London and the National Portrait Gallery.

Eventually I decided I needed a regular income and I applied for my present job as a museum education officer. This is a great role - very varied and autonomous. I’ve launched the education department for the museum, devised a learning programme, employed freelancers and created sessions. I run teachers’ evenings, manage interns, write copy, employ designers, fund raise and run exhibitions.

The best thing about my current job is developing programmes of education - I really feel that I get to shape what’s happening and it’s great to see people learning.

This is a very hard field to break into as there’s lots of competition and when you make it, it’s not well paid – you must really love what you do and enjoy your work for its own sake. You’ll probably have to work for free and take low-level admin jobs just to get your foot in the door. You’re more likely to get an internship at a smaller museum, but you’ll always need to work hard and be enthusiastic and committed.

Case Study sourced by Julia Yates of University of the Arts, London , 18 December 2009.