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Specialties that open doors

• Collections management software

  PastPerfect and the other collection databases. Every museum runs one and somebody has to actually know it.

• Digital collections and imaging

  Photographing, scanning and publishing a collection online. Federal grant money goes here.

• Conservation

  A separate graduate track in chemistry and materials, and a genuinely scarce skill.

• Grant writing

  The Institute of Museum and Library Services and state humanities councils fund a lot of museum work, and the person who writes the grant is valuable.