On 22 March 2023 we held our second DHPA event and welcomed three alumni from the School to share their career journeys and their top tips for students. Kieran and Liz both pursued a postgraduate Master's degree in Museum Studies after completing their undergraduate degrees in History and Art History-English respectively. They now work as curators, Kieran for the R&A World Golf Museum and Liz for the National Galleries of Scotland. The aim of this event was to highlight the many different paths a DHPA can take you and our third speaker, Aurora, demonstrated the transferability of her Religious Studies-International Relations degree to her job as a social worker.
Kieran talked about the research and writing skills he gained from his undergraduate studies which he now uses when crafting publicity articles and interpretation copy for the collections he works with. Although his job title is ‘curator’, his job is multi-faceted and has included contributing to the refurbishment of the museum, care for the champion’s trophy at The Open, and being interviewed about an upcoming exhibition for a newspaper article. Liz, too, commented on the breadth of roles in museums work, with curation only making up one aspect. Just as important, she argued, are roles working on collections management, fundraising, learning programmes and outreach, public relations and digital engagement, to name a few examples.
This varied element of the job was a highlight for both speakers. Kieran talked about the diversity that museum work offers, explaining that the variety between desk-based tasks (like researching and writing) and practical jobs within the museum or archive makes for a fantastically interesting day-to-day. With this exposure comes the need to be constantly curious, Liz explained. Her passion for museum work lies in the opportunity to keep learning and, at times, to build up knowledge about completely different topics out with the subject of her DHPA degree.
Liz recommended that every student interested in a career in museums take time to understand their motivations. This is particularly important given the competitive nature of the sector, the tendency for low-paid jobs and the fact that availability of work can be dependent on funding, so many jobs are offered on short-term contracts only. Both speakers agreed that their Master’s course was beneficial in providing work experience, the exposure to lots of different topics and the opportunity to build a professional network. However, not all museum roles may require a postgraduate degree in Museum Studies, and there are alternative routes into the sector, such as programmes that focus on work-based learning.
For those aiming to pursue a career in this sector, both Kieran and Liz agreed that gaining experience is essential but encouraged students to consider smaller museums and galleries alongside bigger ones. Your degree offers you the opportunity to develop research skills but volunteering outside the university can be an excellent way to get your foot in the door. Kieran and Liz recommended working for an organisation in person (where volunteering tasks are often things like cataloguing) or even looking for online volunteering opportunities. It can also be useful to think about how your existing skills relate to museum work. If you have a part-time job and it involves tasks like inventorying stock, for example, that experience can come in useful for museum work too.
Our third speaker was Aurora, who began her career in consultancy in London, but latterly moved to social work back in Aberdeen. She spoke honestly about the pressure to get a ‘good’ job after graduation and the importance of realising when to make a change. The key takeaway from this experience, she explained, was knowing that you can work in different industries, for example science, technology, engineering or maths, without having a background in the area by nature of being a middleman (i.e. a consultant). Following the disruption of COVID-19 she reconsidered her next steps and completed a Master’s in Social Work at Robert Gordon University, for which she received funding from the Scottish Social Services Council. Now a fully qualified social worker in Children’s Services for Aberdeen City Council, she finds her day-to-day job more closely aligned with her values.
When asked about the relevance of her degree, Aurora explained the intersection of religion with social work, both in the nature of the work and the fact that many social workers are motivated by their personal religious beliefs. Building on her undergraduate studies, she used her Master’s dissertation to explore the impact of faith and religion on social work practice. Understanding different religious practices is beneficial when working with people, as her awareness for traditional holidays and festivals means she can be sensitive to others’ priorities. She gave the example of working with a family currently fasting for Ramadan and the implications that has on her contact with them.
Being able to relate her job back to her undergraduate degree is something that motivates Aurora, alongside working with people. Promoting social justice is a key part of what she does, especially in Children’s Services where she’s often making tough decisions on behalf of young children and even unborn babies. Being able to see the effect of her contribution is very rewarding, but the emotional impact of the work can be difficult to manage. However, she emphasised that she is part of an incredibly supportive team working hard to make a difference to people’s lives. During the session she shared lots of information on different types of social work and the variety of employers, which ranged from the government and local authorities to third sector organisations and regulatory bodies. The main takeaway from her presentation was to think broadly about where and how your DHPA degree could be relevant to your career aspirations, and to understand your personal values.
