I’m currently working on a B.A. in History and thought it would be fun/edifying to spend the summer months volunteering in some related milieu. But the Colorado History Museum charges $8 to submit an application to be a volunteer. Has anyone ever heard of this kind of thing before? I’m flabbergasted. Any time I’ve volunteered in the past (library, symphony, etc.) they’ve been head-over-heels happy that anyone would even show up. Why on earth would the museum charge a person money to volunteer?!?!
Maybe they want you to pay for a background check since they would be too cheap to do it themselves, (which I know in CA is a no-no…not sure about CO).
No, I’ve never heard of such a thing. Most museums are so grateful for volunteers that they eagerly welcome and actively recruit anyone who shows even a passing interest in helping.
That’s how I got the job in the museum I work in today. I called them up one day and offered to volunteer. They asked me to come in the following morning and fill out an application, and they’d show me around and show me the jobs that needed done. The next day, I was down in the basement scrubbing 100 years worth of caked grease off of old tools.
It may be possible the museum wants to run a background check on you and the eight dollar fee is to pay for it, but I’ve never heard of such a thing.
I was going to volunteer at the zoo and you have to pay, but it is for a uniform.
I volunteer at a local hospital and the only thing I had to pay for was my uniform-fifteen bucks. Other than that, I don’t pay for a damned thing-in fact, I get a five dollar lunch ticket every time I volunteer, we get tons of freebies (including free flu shots) and lots of gifts.
That’s really weird.
I’m pretty sure there’s no uniform involved. (Unless they make you dress in historical garb! Probably not.) Why would they need a background check? Are they afraid I’m going to lie to visitors about the Colorado’s history or something?
Lissa: What kind of museum do you work at? What is your degree in?
It’s a strong indication that they’re getting a lot of applications for volunteer work. This could be for various reasons (many local students, strong general reputation, etc.). They could end up processing thousands of applications (no exaggeration) which takes up a signifcant amount of time, and that’s paid employee time.
I work in a general history museum. We have a massive collection of just about everything from books to cars to clothes. I’m extremely fortunate to work there, because I get to work with all different kinds of materials from all time periods. (I’ll never forget the sensation of thrilling awe when I was set to cleaning a manuscript dated to 1130.)
I don’t have a degree. The museum field is one of the last where experience often means more than education. Last year we had an intern who had a master’s degree, but was struggling to find a job because no one wanted to hire someone without experience, regardless of how well-educated they were. (Administrative and higher positions may be different-- I’m referring to collections and archival positions.)
Nor is it a field you want to enter if you’re looking to make a lot of money. Some federal museum positions pay well, as well as some of the big-name institutions, but many museums have small budgets for payroll. (My paycheck is little more than a symbolic gesture.)