For the third year running, our paid Museum Experience Internships for A Level or equivalent education leavers are helping young people navigate the world of museum careers.
Coming to the end of secondary education is a pivotal part in any young person’s life. Looking back, I remember that period between finishing my exams and getting my results as a time of conflicted emotions; long summer days interlaced with that gut-wrenching feeling when your mind turned to Results Day.
In my role as Opportunities Advisor at University of Cambridge Museums, the more time I spent talking to young people, I realised that it was not just me who felt that – a lot of young people do.
Around the same time every year, I see a rise in the number of 18 year olds looking for volunteering opportunities and work experience that can fit around summer jobs. My conversations with them are based around how unsettled they feel and a concern for what their immediate future holds. Are they looking for a job? What about an apprenticeship? Will they get into their chosen university? With all this playing on their minds, it got me thinking: what can we do to help?
We have run collaborative paid internships across our consortium for many years. These are for graduates and, over the past few years, have worked on a ‘Museum Experience’ model. Participants undertake several different roles based within one museum over three months. This gives them a better understanding of the different types of roles that take place in a museum, from collections care to public engagement.
This model grew out of chatting with students and graduates. The conversation always starts with “I would like to be a Curator. How do I do this?” but soon segues into talking about all the other jobs that might be in a museum, which are seemingly hidden to those outside. This internship can help them understand where they might want to take their career in the unique museum and heritage environment.
I realised that this model could work well for those young people in the ‘no man’s land’ between finishing secondary education and receiving their results. In addition, because the internships are paid, they can fulfil the role of both work experience and summer job, which despite being so essential for young people in encouraging independence, can nowadays be harder to find. Sarah-Jane Harknett, Head of Learning and Public Engagement at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, agreed to host these roles in the Museum for six weeks during the summer holidays.
After a few tweaks, drawing on feedback from colleges and schools on how and when we recruit, we have just successfully recruited for the third year of the Internship.
Last year, we felt that it achieved its goal showing young people what type of activities take place inside a museum working environment. But don’t take my word for it! Have a look at what they said.
“I found my time on the internship engaging and eye opening to the diverse range of both jobs and entrance routes into working in museums. Although this internship is specific to the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA) the contact with the UCM (University of Cambridge Museums) also gave us a broader view of the runnings of museums. Everyone at MAA was incredibly helpful and friendly, and took the time out to talk and support us.” Elizabeth
“The MAA was a wonderful environment to work in as an intern, totally new to the world of adult work. The team at the MAA were welcoming and helpful throughout the entire experience, open about their activities, their struggles, and forthcoming with their knowledge. The internship introduced me to the parts of museum work I hadn’t considered, and it was a rare and welcome opportunity to delve into this absorbing and multifaceted world off the back of my A levels.” Laurie
“My favourite part (it’s so hard to choose!) was probably the visit to the MAA’s new store – I hadn’t really considered the practical difficulties of storing such vulnerable (and in some cases, such massive) objects and it was fascinating to hear about all the different problems and solutions that arose from the stores move. The internship was a really fun and useful way to spend my long summer after A levels while preparing for a degree in archaeology and I would definitely encourage anyone interested in Archaeology, Anthropology, or museums to apply.” Jean
Our 2024 interns captured their experience and shared it as a Reel on the UCM Instagram page.
View this post on Instagram
This feedback is hugely encouraging. During exit surveys, all the students strongly agreed that they were interested in museums and that museums were places for people like them.
One student said: “this is the most supportive and friendly environment I’ve ever worked in. Everyone was always totally ready to help me and I feel like I’ve learned more in this six weeks than in the whole two years of my A levels.”
I really like helping to run this project alongside Sarah-Jane at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Out of everything I do in my role, this one fills me with joy and makes me wonder, what if this type of opportunity was open to me 26 years ago?
Read more about the experiences of our previous Museum Interns.
To find out about future Internship opportunities, check our Opportunities web page.
