George Wilhelmsen ⋅ Rochelle , IL Sargent & Lundy ⋅ 38 years experience

James,

Well, that is a challenge. The challenge is you are competing for work, that while fully qualified for, has a lot of people who love to be around this stuff that volunteer to do it.

You need to find a place that is well-funded, that can afford to hire staff. That rules out most small "volunteer run" museums.

However, it leaves open the bigger venues. Some that come to mind: The Smithsonian and the Boeing Museum in Washington, or perhaps the Experimental Aviation Association's museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The first two have large aerospace presences, while the last of them is a dues run organization. All of them need good historians. They may not be where you want to live, but they are options that don't require you to work at a fast food place while you volunteer to do what you love to do.

If that doesn't pan out (few openings, lots of applicants), consider how your degree can be applied elsewhere to allow you to make a living, and then where you can do that, and still be close enough to volunteer to help out an organization that needs your skills and expertise.

I'm sorry I can't offer much more than this. I hope this helps.

George Wilhelmsen

Neil Serafin ⋅ Sequim , WA Telecommunications ⋅ 40 years experience

Hello James from a fellow political science major. Your push for the job you want could start with county museums. Most lack any paid historians. They rely on untrained volunteers mostly. The county museums located near battle fields may need you. These museums work with the local chamber of commerce to increase the tourist traffic. I am a big fan of not following the crowd. The crowd of historians will look for jobs with the Military Academies. Current DOD budgets may have these positions go unfunded for years. Offer something different in your quest on being a military historian. Example- history of women, minorities and religious groups in the military.

Michelle Grünberg ⋅ Palmetto , FL iconnectu, llc ⋅ 25 years experience

Hi James. I just enrolled as an Advisor, and had a unique idea you may like. Today much of our talents can be found via Social Media. You could create a nice YouTube Account and shoot short great videos at museums sharing your expertise. They should be well lit, good sound, and at an angle. Oh and 90 seconds tops. My website has some blog posting tips about video shooting. Www.iconnectu.info/blog. This will be great to supplement your resume.