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Pursuing a childhood dream: museum work
Not everyone in DC is obsessed with politics. Noelle, who works as a staff assistant at the National Gallery of Art, is fulfilling two lifelong passions: to work in museums and to live in Washington.

An MA program in Art History at George Washington University brought Noelle to DC in 1993. To support herself during her studies, she waitressed and worked as a part-time registrar for a traveling museum service. Her program also required her to complete a year-long unpaid internship at the National Museum of American Art. "It was the perfect marriage between education and what I wanted to do in the museum world," she recalls.

After she graduated, Noelle continued to work in restaurants while she job-hunted and worked a series of temporary jobs. Her Web savvy helped her land her current position. She found the job listing at www.fedworld.gov, and because the National Gallery was experimenting with online-only postings, the applicant pool was small.

"I'm working for basically nothing because the National Gallery is the most prestigious museum in the country," Noelle says. "I know there are about 400 people behind me who would scratch my eyes out for the job. When I stand in front of the marble columns of the West building, I feel very privileged."

Working the Web: new media positions
Samantha* is happy. At 25, after more than three years of struggling to support herself as a media assistant, she has just scored a job with a Web design company which encouraged her to define her duties, her title, and her salary.

"There's no way I can come home now and say that I'm not doing what I want to be doing, because they gave me the opportunity to describe my position. This is not what I expected. When I came here, I was interning for an environmental group that had a scientific membership. I really had no idea how large a role the Web was going to play in my career."

Samantha gained her Web skills in her previous job as an editorial assistant. She advises potential job hunters to learn as many skills as possible through temp jobs and to take an internship — but only one.

"The intern way of doing business in Washington takes advantage of young people just out of college," she observes. "They're so eager and they're willing to do anything you ask them to — at least I was. I didn't have much money. I didn't have benefits. I went into debt and I'm still in debt four years later."

Mary,* who is 24, is also surprised at how large a role the Web has played in her career. When she moved to DC in 1995 to study journalism, she planned to work as a political reporter. By the end of her studies, however, she had decided upon editing. Her paid internship with a magazine for government executives included electronic publishing duties. This experience led to her current position as a Webmaster for a site which provides breaking news to science reporters.

Mary has worked there for more than a year. Her duties include evaluating incoming submissions, page design, promoting the site, and initiating feature projects. "My job has changed significantly, partially because it's been a startup project." But she has begun to worry that her editing skills will become rusty, and would like to find a position which will allow her apply them.

"There are a lot of things I could do and be happy. I'm not the sort of person who will stay in one field for a long time. Not like our parents did — I'm too anxious."

This very syndrome is what makes some DC workers susceptible to perpetually toiling in internship after internship rather than committing to a career. Particularly since there are so many good internships in the city.

Indeed, Joel, at 28, is anxious about the multiple possibilities still open to him. "I'm persuaded by those who suggest that people our age are having trouble growing up," he says. "I believe this criticism applies to me. In some ways, too many opportunities for young people is our scourge. Choosing a way of life and saying no to other appealing ways of life takes courage, and if we fail to do it, we'll have little to show for our efforts." CONTINUE ->

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