Curate Your Career is a museum career podcast for museum pros entering the field, staying, leaving, and everything in between.
Hosted by Elin Filbey of Deaccessioned Career Coaching (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/deaccessionedcoacoaching) and Alli Schell of Your Museum Career Coach (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/yourmuseumcareercoach), we dig into the real, messy, hilarious, and hopeful parts of museum careers - from burnout and bad bosses to career pivots, salary jumps, and rediscovering what you actually want.
Alli helps you navigate museum jobs, strengthen your applications, and advocate for what you bring to the field. Elin helps you explore career alternatives beyond museums and translate your experience into your next chapter. Together, we offer practical advice and honest conversations about building a museum career that works for you.
Whether you've been in the museum field for years or you’re wondering how to work in a museum, applying for entry level museum jobs, weighing a museum studies degree, or figuring out your next move, you’re welcome here.
We talk everything from museum resumes and cover letters, interviews, museum salary negotiation, leadership, transferable skills, and life beyond the museum sector.
New episodes every Wednesday. Follow Curate Your Career on your favorite podcast app so you don’t miss a conversation.
Keep the conversation going:
Follow @curateyourcareerpodcast on Instagram (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/instagram)
Ask a museum career question for a future episode (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdjpgIOyHRIc-mIU91Mtv6vFWOJ3bofIzEPTAs49kDWvPArGg/viewform)
Thinking about life beyond museums?
Explore your next career move with Elin’s 1:1 coaching (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/workwithelin)
Translate your museum experience into a resume for your next chapter (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/resumecourse)
Ready for your next step within museums?
Get personalized museum job-search support with Alli (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/workwithalli)
Find practical tools for your museum career in Alli’s Resource Library (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/museumcareertoolkits)
45. "But I Have a Master's Degree" A Museum Career Therapy Session
"But I have a master's degree!" If you've ever muttered those words while scrolling job postings, opening another rejection email, or looking at your paycheck, this episode is for you.
You did everything you were supposed to do. You went to grad school, completed the internships, and earned that museum studies degree. So why isn't your museum career turning out the way you expected?
In this episode, we're hosting a much-needed museum master's degree funeral and therapy session. We're unpacking the grief, frustration, and occasional rage that come with realizing your museum studies degree doesn't automatically guarantee a job, a higher salary, or career advancement. We also explore why museums increasingly prioritize hands-on experience, even when they're still requiring advanced degrees.
We're not here to tell you your degree was a mistake. We're talking about how to recognize its value, identify the transferable skills you might be overlooking, and make peace with the investment you've already made. Because figuring out how to work in a museum shouldn't mean tying your entire identity or sense of success to a piece of paper.
In this episode, we cover:
Why the value of a museum studies degree has shifted and what that means for your museum career.
How to identify and communicate the transferable skills you gained through graduate school, even if your career takes an unexpected direction.
How to redefine success and move forward, whether you're figuring out how to work in a museum or considering a career beyond the field.
Your degree is part of your story, but it doesn't have to determine your future. Whether you're building a museum career or exploring other possibilities, your education, experiences, and transferable skills still have value.
Resources mentioned:
Episode 17: Museum Grad School Series. Part 1 of 3: Should You Go? (https://pod.link/1864799621/episode/MjNmODcyODgtYjUzNC00MGU1LTgxYjUtZjlhZDE2ZDMyZjll)
Episode 18: Museum Grad School Series. Part 2 of 3: How to Evaluate a Program (https://pod.link/1864799621/episode/NzJhYTIzN2YtNzRhYy00NzVhLTlkZTgtNWVlZDU0M2UxNDAz)
Episode 19: Museum Grad School Series (Part 3 of 3): Alternatives & What the Field Gets Wrong (https://pod.link/1864799621/episode/YzlhYmVhNzctNDNiNi00YzA5LTkyOTItZWQ5MjYwZmRiNjU0)
Keep the conversation going:
Follow @curateyourcareerpodcast on Instagram (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/instagram) and tell us: What's one thing you wish you'd known about getting a museum master's degree?
Have a museum career question you'd like us to talk through? Submit it for a future mailbag episode! (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdjpgIOyHRIc-mIU91Mtv6vFWOJ3bofIzEPTAs49kDWvPArGg/viewform)
Explore life beyond museums with Elin:
1:1 Coaching (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/workwithelin)
Resume Course (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/resumecourse)
Deaccessioned: A Network for Former and Aspiring Ex-Museum Pros (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/DeaccessionedFB)
LinkedIn (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/Elinslinkedin)
Email Elin at ElinFilbeyCoaching@gmail.com (mailto:ElinFilbeyCoaching@gmail.com)
Build your museum career with Alli:
1:1 Coaching (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/workwithalli)
Resource Library (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/museumcareertoolkits)
LinkedIn (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/allislinkedin)
Instagram (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/allisinstagram)
Email Alli at yourmuseumcareer@gmail.com (mailto:yourmuseumcareer@gmail.com)
28 Oct 2026
44. Cemeteries Are Outdoor Museums: Death Care Industry with Ashlynn Rickord Werner
What if one of the most natural career paths for museum professionals is a place most of us have never considered working: a cemetery?
In this spooky season episode, we're exploring cemetery careers and the surprising opportunities available in the death care industry. As our guest Ashlynn Rickord Werner puts it, cemeteries are outdoor museums.
After applying for more than 200 museum and public history jobs, Ashlynn took a chance on a cemetery director position. That unexpected move led her from managing four historic cemeteries to working in death care technology, customer success, and cemetery tourism.
We talk about how her museum experience helped her make those transitions, where to find jobs in death care, and why your next meaningful career move might be somewhere you never thought to look.
In this episode, we cover:
How Ashlynn went from struggling to find a full-time museum job to directing four city cemeteries, and what made her museum experience an asset in the death care industry
The surprising variety of cemetery careers, from historic preservation and public programming to fundraising, administration, and technology
Where to look for jobs in death care, including cemetery association job boards, individual cemetery websites, and industry vendors
How cemetery tourism brings history to life through tours, community events, education, and creative programming
Why the death care industry offers opportunities to use your museum skills in entirely new ways, including software implementation and customer success
Resources mentioned:
International Cemetery, Cremation & Funeral Association (ICCFA) (https://iccfa.com/)
New England Cemetery Association (https://www.newenglandcemetery.org/)
PlotBox (https://plotbox.com/)
Connect with Ashlynn Rickord Werner:
A Grave Affair (https://agraveaffair.rip/)
Ashlynn’s personal website (https://ashlynnrickord.com/)
Grave Dispatches (https://agraveaffair.rip/grave-dispatches)
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashlynnrickord/)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/grave_dispatches/)
Keep the conversation going:
Follow @curateyourcareerpodcast on Instagram (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/instagram) and tell us: Have you ever considered working in a cemetery, or is there another unexpected career path you'd love us to explore?
Have a museum career question you'd like us to talk through? Submit it for a future mailbag episode! (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdjpgIOyHRIc-mIU91Mtv6vFWOJ3bofIzEPTAs49kDWvPArGg/viewform)
Explore life beyond museums with Elin:
1:1 Coaching (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/workwithelin)
Resume Course (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/resumecourse)
Deaccessioned: A Network for Former and Aspiring Ex-Museum Pros (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/DeaccessionedFB)
LinkedIn (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/Elinslinkedin)
Email Elin at ElinFilbeyCoaching@gmail.com (mailto:ElinFilbeyCoaching@gmail.com)
Build your museum career with Alli:
1:1 Coaching (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/workwithalli)
Resource Library (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/museumcareertoolkits)
LinkedIn (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/allislinkedin)
Instagram (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/allisinstagram)
Email Alli at yourmuseumcareer@gmail.com (mailto:yourmuseumcareer@gmail.com)
21 Oct 2026
43. Staying Motivated During a Job Search (When You're Just Over It)
You know you need a new job. You might even REALLY want a new job. But opening another job board, rewriting another cover letter, or getting another rejection email? Absolutely not.
If you're frustrated with job hunting, we get it.
Whether you're deep into a museum job search, trying to leave the museum field, or pursuing something completely different, finding the motivation for job search tasks can feel like a full-time job itself.
In this episode, we're sharing the strategies we actually use (and recommend to our clients) to make job searching less overwhelming. Because when your job search motivation has disappeared, the answer isn't necessarily to push harder. Sometimes you need better systems, smaller steps, and permission to do things your own way.
In this episode, we cover:
Why you're feeling stuck and how to find your motivation for job search activities when you're already exhausted
Why applying to 10 jobs isn't necessarily better than applying to one that's a genuinely good fit, especially during a competitive museum job search
Our favorite job search motivation tools, including templates, timers, trackers, organized folders, and a separate job search email
How to measure progress beyond submitted applications, lean on your network, and take breaks without feeling guilty
If you're frustrated with job hunting because you're doing everything you think you're supposed to do and still not seeing results, this episode is for you.
Sometimes the best way to rebuild your job search motivation is to stop fighting yourself and start making the process easier.
Resources mentioned:
Re-Curate Your Career (https://yourmuseumcareer.com/stay-or-go)
The Daily Page by Thyme Is Honey (https://biz.thyme-is-honey.com/the-daily-page-digital-planner)
Episode 4: And Now We Wait... Tips for Surviving the Job Search Waiting Game (https://pod.link/1864799621/episode/YjZiMmEyMDAtNzMzMC00NTM1LWE0MjAtZDEyMWMzZjA4OTM0)
Episode 10: Stretch, Match, or Mismatch? Applying Strategically in a Tough Market (https://pod.link/1864799621/episode/YjZhYThkMmQtZDRiMy00ZDcyLTkyODUtYjk5OWNkNTBmYjM0)
Episode 21. Why Your Resume Isn’t Working (And What to Do About It) (https://pod.link/1864799621/episode/ZDAxZmEyYzQtZjNjMC00YTFjLWJmNzUtNjFkNDg2MTQxYTY3)
Episode 23. Why Your Cover Letter Isn't Working (And What to Do About It) (https://pod.link/1864799621/episode/MTZhZDI1YzItZjMyZi00MmQ1LWI5YzEtZGM3NzhhYzEzMWUz)
Keep the conversation going:
What's the part of your job search that makes you want to close your laptop and walk away? Follow Curate Your Career on Instagram (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/instagram) and tell us.
Have a career question? Submit it to our mailbag! (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdjpgIOyHRIc-mIU91Mtv6vFWOJ3bofIzEPTAs49kDWvPArGg/viewform)
Thinking about leaving museums? Work with Elin:
1:1 Career Coaching (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/workwithelin)
Resume Course (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/resumecourse)
Deaccessioned Community (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/DeaccessionedFB)
Email Elin at ElinFilbeyCoaching@gmail.com (mailto:ElinFilbeyCoaching@gmail.com)
Looking to enter or grow in museums? Work with Alli:
1:1 Museum Career Coaching (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/workwithalli)
Museum Career Resource Library (https://curateyourcareer.s.gy/museumcareertoolkits)
Email Alli at yourmuseumcareer@gmail.com (mailto:yourmuseumcareer@gmail.com)
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Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
15 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
16 ratings
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