One of the perennial topics at professional conferences and when I meet colleagues are the challenges of working at an historic site, historic house museum, or history museum.  They often center around ever-decreasing resources, board members who aren’t raising money, and the constant attention to financial and personnel management.  Nothing new about that, except you’ll notice some additional topics depending on the person’s age.

Generation X (those born 1965 to 1980) frequently mentions that career advancement is stagnant.  They’ve been blocked by the previous generation, who were the first major generation of trained museum professionals and have held senior positions at museums and historic sites for twenty years or more. These Baby Boomers will be retiring en masse soon to open up many opportunities, but Gen X may be caught Continue reading →