Museum education officer : Career development

Few museums are big enough to offer much career progression. Staff in large organisations and specialist staff whose work relates to a single museum collection usually progress through graded posts. Elsewhere, promotion prospects may be limited, so you may have to move to another museum and/or area for a more senior post.

There is a real need for museum staff to manage their own careers, which, given appropriate experience and contacts, may include freelance and consultancy work. Staff may also move between sectors, particularly at senior managerial or specialist technical level, or in the visual arts.

Ongoing promotion is likely to be towards broader management roles, such as museum director or director of leisure or cultural services. There has also been a trend for some senior management posts to be filled from outside the museum sector and this is undoubtedly the case for most commercial and service management posts.