This or That: To Non-Profit, or not… Non-Profit

Written and Contributed by a NEMPN Committee Member

In my opinion, museums that are not the traditional non-profit set up are some of the best kept secrets for working in museums. These can range from federal museums (the well known being the Smithsonian, the National Park Service, but there’s also the National Archives and Records Administration, the various branches of the military, the CIA, the list is huge) to university museums (of which there are over 600 in the US alone!). The reason these are some of the best kept secrets to work for is the sheer staff size within the parent organization. While not necessarily every museum team is staffed fully (I say as a collections department of one), the parent organization has employees in many other different offices, meaning likely there are much more human resources related resources available to their employees. There will be more robust health care offerings, paid time off policies, more access to alternative work schedules, access to paid classes or other education related funds, as well as routine raises due to pay scales being formalized. Both federal and university work can also count towards the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program as well, making it an attractive option if you have student loans. 

With many museum workers being burnt out from being overworked, not making a living wage, lack of access to health insurance, or having to cobble together part time roles, branching out from the traditional non-profit museum can bring many quality of life changes to museum workers. Depending on the institution, there may also be less of the “museum worker who wears many hats”, but also positions can be extremely rigid, so even if that was something someone wanted, it might be hard to branch out. 

Though working outside of non-profits is not always sunshine and roses. There are cons for both federal and university positions. 

For federal, the cons should be pretty obvious, especially in the current political landscape. 2025 brought many layoffs across the federal government, with some specifically aimed at the newest employees. Federal employment in the past usually felt very safe, it’s rare for there to be these intense levels of layoffs, bringing in a new level of mental insecurity when at work. There’s also all of the new restrictions of what difficult topics federal museums are allowed to do exhibits on or have public programs about. The hiring process is often convoluted and misunderstood as well, and is also changing with the new political climate. Applicants who apply to jobs at agencies in the Executive Branch (essentially most museum jobs, Smithsonian and Library of Congress don’t do this as they are Legislative Branch) are now being asked to write a paragraph about their favorite Executive Order or how they will contribute to government efficiency, though many hiring managers aren’t taking these answers into account. 

Universities can encounter the same difficulties. For example, in the early months of 2020 during COVID, many universities started implementing campus wide hiring freezes. I had a job offer rescinded March 2020, as well as then losing my position in January 2021. I still don’t think the landscape has necessarily recovered from that, as positions that I used to see posed for full time permanent jobs before COVID, are now posted as term positions (i.e. a 3 year term). 

In general, federal and university museums can face many of the same workplace issues as normal museums, such as toxic workplaces or managers or a general lack of funding for supplies, though I argue any workplaces can have those issues. The upside is you’ll be making a living wage, in most places only be asked to work 40 hours a week, and have access to PTO and sick leave. For federal workers, you’ll also likely rarely be able to take your work home (unless you have access to telework or are issued a work phone), so the moment you leave work for the day, it becomes very hard to be asked to work after hours. 

I’d argue as well, more people should consider federal (or even state) and university museums jobs, purely to help the field in these organization move forward. While there are many highly trained and educated people in positions across the government, some position descriptions have not been updated since the 1960s. Many higher level museum jobs don’t have a degree requirement (not arguing they should, but in comparison an Archivist position does have a degree requirement). In addition, many people stay in these jobs for their entire career, not staying up to date on new developments in the field, so new blood is needed in these positions.