bageloclock t1_j97kizl wrote on February 19, 2023 at 9:29 PM

Not all smithsonian jobs are federal (most are foundation-based) but applying to any position there is similar to federal postings. It’s a pretty intense hiring process and they’ll want to ensure their resume includes keywords from the job posting. Turnaround time between application submission and hiring can be pretty long too.

Smithsonian has standard salaries depending on what they’re interested in. $45k for entry level roles with chances to make closer to $70k or $80k at the 3-5 year experience mark.

Curatorial roles are generally only offered to PhDs, collection management jobs require someone with explicit archives/collections training, and public affairs jobs def want people with comms experience.

Overall I’d encourage your friend to keep their eyes on the national council of public history’s website for various job postings. There are also quite a few cultural institutions besides Smithsonians in DC (eg, Hillwood, Heurich House, AHA, National Archives, etc).

Source: current graduate student in Public History who interns with the National Archives and has several professors who are Smithsonian curators.

afloatingpoint OP t1_j97lz71 wrote on February 19, 2023 at 9:39 PM

He has lots of archives/collection experience, so maybe that could be his entry point. And he'd be thrilled I'm sure to work for any of the cultural institutions you mentioned.

How has your experience been in your internship? Do you feel content and interested when you're at work? Does it seem like a fairly healthy work environment, or is it weird and competitive?

LittleSpiderGirl t1_j97uf1p wrote on February 19, 2023 at 10:39 PM

His archival experience will be a plus in getting through the door.

bageloclock t1_j98cxj3 wrote on February 20, 2023 at 1:00 AM

My internship is unpaid, I’m doing it alongside a fully remote full-time job in political consulting. I’m hoping it will give me a leg up come time to find a full-time role once I graduate.

The work environment is good and coworkers are all super amazing individuals. But yeah, as a few folks have pointed out it’s an insanely competitive sector on top of the fact many entry opportunities are volunteer/unpaid in nature. Not saying it’s a good thing, but it’s the status quo.

HornetBoth3214 t1_j9946df wrote on February 20, 2023 at 4:52 AM

I worked for a bit at the Smithsonian. I found that the experience varied widely depending on where you worked. Ultimately being part of SI lends itself to a myriad of opportunities, including grant funding, support units for your work in areas like accessibility, and the opportunity to get promotions/new jobs in different/new to you museums without resetting your leave, time in agency or the other HR-related headaches that often come with changing jobs.

But yes like any other large institution, some units are toxic and some are not. It all depends on where you end up and what the mindset is.

selfcarebouquet t1_j9g57cp wrote on February 21, 2023 at 6:03 PM

Getting into the Smithsonian is tough, at least for arts and humanities. I worked there briefly in a trust position that was funded by a grant and still didn’t couldn’t make the interview stage for permanent federal jobs that were basically the same job that I had done successfully as trust employee for a couple of years. I met people who finally got positions after working for years as contractors without benefits. It’s still worth applying to everything but it’s easy to get discouraged and they’ll be competing with people with a lot more experience who are willing to take an entry level job even mid-career to get in the door.