# History student navigating USA Jobs without success **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 8, 2003, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-student-navigating-usa-jobs-without-success/212038 "2003-11-08T05:11:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lollipop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@lollipop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lollipop)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-student-navigating-usa-jobs-without-success/212038/1 "2003-11-08T05:11:08Z")
I’m finishing my M.A. in History this semester, so now it’s time to get serious and find a job. I’m looking for a position either in education or historic preservation, possibly a museum job. In any case, a friend suggested I check out USA Jobs, however the site is organized terribly. What agencies should I be searching, and what would be the best keywords. So far I’ve searched museum and historian with little success. Also an suggestions for other sites would be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-student-navigating-usa-jobs-without-success/212038/2 "2003-11-08T15:02:02Z")
Try [museumjobs.com](http://museumjobs.com). ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-student-navigating-usa-jobs-without-success/212038/3 "2003-11-08T15:04:22Z")
Here’s another [link](http://www.museumstuff.com/professionals/jobs/index.html) which might be helpful. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-student-navigating-usa-jobs-without-success/212038/4 "2003-11-08T15:04:30Z")
Questions asking for suggestions and advice belong in the IMHO forum. I’ll move this for you. - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Baby\_Fish\_Mouth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a8b319/32.png) [@Baby\_Fish\_Mouth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baby_Fish_Mouth)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-student-navigating-usa-jobs-without-success/212038/5 "2003-11-08T15:35:36Z")
[Preservnet’s Employment Listings](http://www.preservenet.cornell.edu/employopps.html) A great resource for jobs in historic preservation [H-Net Job Listings](http://www.matrix.msu.edu/jobs/) Comprehensive site for listings in education and public history [National Council on Public History](http://ncph.org/jobs.html) Another site with job listings for public historians [Aviso–American Association of Museum’s Job Ads](http://www.aam-us.org/aviso/index.cfm) One of the best resources for museum jobs Best of luck! ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-student-navigating-usa-jobs-without-success/212038/6 "2003-11-08T23:16:57Z")
You might just want to go down to your local museum and see if they’re hiring, or know anyone who is. That’s how I got my job in the museum in which I work. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-student-navigating-usa-jobs-without-success/212038/7 "2003-11-08T23:39:41Z")
Check out Aviso and also the website for the American Association of State and Local History. Both have job listings. If you’re serious about a museum career, start volunteering/ interning at a museum _now_. Folks with advanced history degrees are a dime a dozen, but job applicants with real-world museum experience are harder to find. And, as with any field, it’s as much who you know as what you know. Serve your time in the trenches as an intern/volunteer/lacky and get to know the museum professionals in your area. A recommendation from a respected professional in the field often means a lot more than a degree.