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Museums, Galleries and Archaeology

Research careers and find opportunities in museums, galleries and archaeology.

About

The estimates that there are around 2,500 museums in the UK.

According to , in 2022, the heritage sector added £15.8 billion directly to the economy and had 538,000 workers employed in it.

London and the South East have the most jobs in museums, galleries and archaeology. However, there are opportunities throughout the United Kingdom.

Museums and galleries are having to embrace a new digital era, with many now offering virtual tours, online archives and connecting with visitors through social media.


Roles, skills and salaries

You can find opportunities in various roles, including curation, archiving and visitor experience. Other roles may be more behind the scene, such as marketing and advertising the museum.

Job profiles

Have a look at and  to find out what roles in this sector involve and how to get into them. These are some of the job profiles available:  

Skills employers look for
  • excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • the ability to effectively tailor your communication to different audiences
  • time management, planning and organisational skills
  • research skills and attention to detail
  • team working skills and a customer focused approach
  • IT skills and an awareness of how technology is impacting the sector
  • a genuine interest in and a commitment to the museum, heritage and galleries sector
Salaries

Starting salaries for graduate jobs in this sector can vary depending on the position.

To get an idea of typical starting salaries use the following resources: 

  • our  offers access to The Pay Index. This shows you how salaries vary across different roles, industries and locations 
  • job profiles, such as those listed on  or  
  • vacancy sites such as  and  

For information about how to negotiate a salary, visit Handling job offers.


Be inspired

It’s not always easy to know which roles to apply for. The resources in this section can help you find inspiration from previous students and know where to get further support.

Inspiration from people working in the industry
  • Browse our NCL Graduate Employment and Work Experience directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed.
  • Use LinkedIn’s  to find out what Ãå±±½ûµØ graduates are doing now. You could ask to connect with them, to gain advice and insights into their career. ³§±ð±ð Ãå±±½ûµØ Alumni on LinkedIn to help you get started or watch our quick tutorial on  [3:13±Õ. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
  • Attend alumni events, such as Ãå±±½ûµØ Develop, to hear directly from our graduates. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
  • Sign up for mentoring support with  a²Ô»å . These aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Register to be connected for a one-hour meeting. 
  • Attend events such as recruitment events and  employer and sector insights. Hear about graduate jobs, placement schemes, build your network and ask questions.  &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
Online reviews

Searching for reviews online can be a useful way to get an idea of what to expect from certain roles or employers. Reviews are written by employees with different opinions about what makes a good employer.  

Use the following review sites for inspiration and insight into the recruitment process: 

  •  - placement year reviews written by students. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
  • – graduate job reviews &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
  • – company reviews from employees &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

Not sure what you want to do? 

If you’re not sure exactly what you want to do, we can help. You can book a guidance appointment via Our careers consultants can help you explore your options or plan your career. 


Guide to finding opportunities

You can also find opportunities within local government and higher education establishments, who often lead research and run museums.

There are various ways to find internships, placements and graduate opportunities. We’ve added some tips below to help you get started. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

  • search for advertised vacancies using the vacancy sites listed below 
  • look at the careers sections on company websites for student and graduate opportunities. Use Researching Employers to help you gain insights into companies 
  • attend events such as  a²Ô»å employer and sector insights &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
  • contact employers speculatively – see non-advertised work experience and graduate jobs to help you find organisations to approach 
  • follow companies on social media for latest news and updates 
  • consider registering with a recruitment agency for graduate jobs 
  • register with EmployAbility if you are disabled, neurodivergent or have a mental health condition. They can offer advice and support on applications to Ãå±±½ûµØ students. They also run first year, internship and graduate programmes with inclusive employer partners 
  • ask family and friends if they have any useful contacts who may be able to offer you work experience 
  • consider alternative ways to find relevant experience and develop your skills 
  • create your own opportunity by starting your own business or working freelance

Sector and industry insights

Researching the industry is essential, whether it’s to: 

  • help you decide which area to work in 
  • identify who to apply to 
  • tailor your application 
  • impress an interviewer with your knowledge of the sector 

Here are some resources to help you get started.

Career guides

Read career guides for this sector, such as:  

  • – roles in galleries and gallery education
  • – become an archaeologist
Industry news

Use online magazines and journals to follow news from your industry. Reading about trends and developments is important for applications and interviews. 

Examples include: 

  • - museum and galleries news and stories
  • - news from the Museums Association
  • and - archaeological magazines
Attend events

Attend events to hear directly from professionals in the industry. 

The British Council for Archaeology organises , including conferences and lectures. 

See also our events page for recruitment events a²Ô»å employer & sector insights.

Student societies

Join specific student societies such as the .

Social media

Use social media to find industry insights 

´³´Ç¾±²Ô  on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Posts often include news, events and opportunities. You can also find useful insights on careers on X a²Ô»å TikTok. Treat these with caution, as not all content may be accurate. 

Find out more about how to use social media for your career.

Professional bodies

Consider joining a relevant professional body/industry network  

Professional bodies often: 

  • run networking events  
  • have specialist groups you could join 
  • post vacancies on behalf of their members 
  • have member directories, useful for speculative applications 

Key organisations include: 

Councils and government departments

  • - supports the arts in England, including libraries and museums
  • - Government department with responsibility for museums and galleries
  • - UK body representing archaeology with news, opportunities, courses, events and societies
  • - represents the leaders of the UK's national collections and major regional museums

Heritage and archives

  • - the national archives of England, Wales and the central UK government
  • - protects and promotes England's historic environment

Museums and galleries

  • - represents gallery, art and education professionals
  • - for historians and researchers working in education, galleries, museums and publishing

Antiquaries

Archaeology

Heraldry and genealogy

Finding professional bodies worldwide 

³Ò´Ç¾±²Ô³Ò±ô´Ç²ú²¹±ô’s country guides include details of professional bodies. Find them under ‘Professional and Personal Networking’ on each individual country guide. 


Advertised work experience

Placements and internships aren’t common. Instead, volunteering and paid part time work are more common.

Use our resources to get started with looking for opportunities:

  •  - search for internships and placements in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
  • Internships, placements & shadowing - links to vacancy sites 
  • Global work experience - for internships or placements abroad 
Volunteering and part time work

Apply for advertised opportunities as early as possible.  

North East organisations

  • - offer student volunteering projects within the heritage and cultural sector
  • - voluntary opportunities
  • - opportunities for volunteers
  • - excavations volunteer opportunity
  • - voluntary opportunities
  • - voluntary opportunities

UK organisations

  • - search employers by sector, eg software engineering or technology
  • Professional body websites sometimes include member directories, which are helpful for finding employers.
  • - Leicester University's job site for heritage and museums management includes job listings for internships and part-time work
  • - conservation internships
  • - voluntary opportunities
  • - voluntary and work experience opportunities
  • - internships and volunteering
  • – finding work experience in archives and conservation
NCL internships

The Careers Service runs flexible  with local employers and on campus. NCL internships are aimed at all students, from any stage

Search for these under Vacancies on . Type in ‘NCL internship’ into the text search box. 

You can find these advertised throughout the academic year. Full-time summer opportunities are advertised from around March.

Worldwide experience

Access GoinGlobal for internships in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find: &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

  • additional vacancy websites &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
  • CV, application and interview advice  
  • advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world
Looking for ideas

If you’re looking for inspiration, try searching our directories. You can see where our students have had internships and placements in the last five years. To see all results in a search category, keep the search field blank.


Advertised graduate opportunities

When to apply

The resources in this section advertise both graduate jobs and graduate schemes. See our graduate jobs page to understand the difference between them.

For graduate schemes, apply as early as possible.

Graduate schemes are less likely in museums and galleries. Instead, graduate jobs are more likely. Graduate jobs tend to be immediate start positions which can be available all year round. You are more likely to apply for these towards the end of your studies.

Vacancy sites

Use our resources to get started: 

  • MyCareer - search for graduate schemes and graduate jobs in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
  • Graduate Jobs – lists graduate vacancy sites

Museums and galleries

  • - Leicester University's job site for heritage and museum management
  • - vacancies in areas of heritage and museum work
  • - news and jobs
  • - jobs in education in museums and galleries

Archaeology

  • - member subscription required

Public sector and higher education vacancies

  • - search for jobs in museum/curatorial work
  • - for vacancies within higher education
  • - advertises local museum vacancies
  • - public sector and not-for-profit jobs including museums and galleries
Worldwide vacancy sites

See International jobs for details of overseas vacancy sites. 

Access GoinGlobal for job adverts in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find: &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

  • additional vacancy websites &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
  • CV, application and interview advice  &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
  • advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world 

Non-advertised work experience and graduate jobs

Not all work experience and graduate jobs are advertised. In fact, many people create opportunities through: 

A speculative approach is common for finding work experience and graduate jobs. This is where you approach a company directly to ask if they have any opportunities available.

How to access hidden opportunities

Start by identifying organisations you are interested in. Our guide to finding organisations below can help. Then use the following steps to approach them speculatively about possible opportunities: 

  1. Identify a contact name to address your cover letter to. Call or email to find out who handles recruitment within the organisation. Or, find a key contact in the department you want to work in. 
  2. Send them a tailored CV and cover letter. Express your enthusiasm for the sector. Show that you have researched the company
  3. Follow up your speculative application with a phone call, or email, around a week later. This shows you are serious and motivated.
  4. If your application was unsuccessful, ask for feedback or advice, and keep trying! 
When to contact organisations

You can use this approach at any point in the year. We recommend that you: 

  • start your research as early as possible to gather relevant contacts
  • contact organisations around three months before you want the opportunity to begin 
How to find organisations
  • find organisations on . Select ‘search' then 'organisations’ 
  • use the business directories and databases on our Researching employers page 
  • search for companies on LinkedIn. The Find Alumni tool shows you where Ãå±±½ûµØ graduates are currently working
  • browse our directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed

UK organisations

  • Find organisations on - click on ‘search organisations’ under the Vacancies tab
  • - list of museums and galleries in the UK
  • - search for galleries, museums and historic places in the UK
  • - search for record repositories including organisations with collections of manuscripts
  • - list of excavations taking place across the UK
  • – see exhibitions happening across the UK

°Â´Ç°ù±ô»å·É¾±»å±ð o°ù²µ²¹²Ô¾±²õ²¹³Ù¾±´Ç²Ô²õ

Search GoinGlobal's employer directory for company information in 196 countries. Their country guides list professional bodies around the world.


Specialist recruitment agencies

Recruitment agencies can be useful for finding graduate jobs in museums, galleries and archaeology. These tend to be for immediate start positions. It's worth registering with one or two agencies towards the end of your course. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

Specialist agencies include: 

³§±ð±ð recruitment agencies to find more agencies. 

Finding overseas recruitment agencies

GoinGlobal's country guides include details of recruitment agencies in specific countries. They are listed under the following headings: &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

  • staffing agencies and temporary help firms &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
  • executive recruiters and search firms &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

Recruitment agencies may not operate in the same way in different countries. In the UK agencies are free for job seekers, but this may not be the case elsewhere.

Explore the terms and conditions of an agency before signing up to use them. 


Other ways to gain relevant experience

We've added some suggestions to help you develop your skills and gain relevant experience

  • networking - attend conferences, presentations and events or join local groups, eg
  • visit , which has a list of exhibitions and events to network at in the region
  • seasonal work as a tour guide (eg at ), interpreter or visitor reception assistant
  • enter a related competition - prizes can often include internships

Work for yourself

Working as self-employed or freelance is more common for those later on in their career in museums, galleries and archaeology. However, it is definitely still possible.

Our START UP team can help you explore working for yourself at any stage. Whether you want to explore an idea or have already launched a business or freelance career, you can access the following help: 

  • support with idea generation 
  • provide tailored advice 
  • help you develop your skills 
  • introduce you to like-minded peers 
  • refer you to further support from mentors 
  • award grant funding up to £3,000

Related sectors

Our occupational guides can help you explore and consider your options. If you’re interested in museums, galleries and archaeology, you may also be interested in: