Thirty ninth week-Learning to swim with the sharks

This week I learned a lot about the current state of historical preservation in a quest to see if there was anyway I could get a revenue stream from the work I've been doing for the past year and half with the book. I know that all the career advisers tell you that you need to do the research to find out if it's viable before jumping into the tank. I do believe that there is a definite need here to combine efforts to preserve local history. Going from point A to point B takes time and effort on the individual researcher. One of the skills you pick up is the ability to "swim with the sharks." This means in affect that you need to find out what the rules are for the industry that you are thinking of applying to get into and practice them.

This is not always an easy task. I've talked in earlier blogs about barriers. I didn't mention however the professional barrier that people put up as well. These are skill sets and prerequisites that you must meet in order to even be considered for the position. Some of these make sense.You wouldn't want a doctor who didn't know anything about your condition or had no skills to perform unnecessary surgery on you. Others don't make a whole lot of sense and discriminate those that would be perfectly qualified otherwise.

I am currently in the process of finding out what jobs are out there for historical research and preservation and what I need to do to qualify for them. I haven't given up on looking for administrative positions, but have branched out as the need to find suitable employment soon becomes more and more urgent.