Pros
If you’re serious about a career in public history, this company is a great, entry-level opportunity. You’ll be exposed to a wide variety of historical work: litigation, exhibition design, interpretive planning, collections management, etc. Not every project will be so exciting, but you’ll always learn something new. There’s also a fair amount of travel required, so every now and then you get free food and time out of the office. Lastly, you’ll work with a wonderfully talented and immensely friendly group of historians and archivists.
Cons
This company seems to specialize in drafting policies that discourage (at worst destroy) any sense of professional development, morale, and fulfillment in its employees. The upper management is made of men better suited for a classroom than a board room. They’re fine historians but have little to no training on best business practices. As much as this company thrives on teamwork, the upper management relishes in keeping to their elite, misguided boys club. The pay is low. Really, really low. The company says that their salary is on par with the professional and regional average. But, the company says a lot of things. Like how standing will kill you, and that’s how the air should smell… In reality, the cost of living in the DC-area gets more expensive each year and the company refuses to catch up. They’ll ignore any reports on the rising costs of living as blatantly as they do health warnings about cigarettes and diet soda. Negotiating any sort of raise or promotion is almost a non-starter. Management is convinced that you’re trying to get something for nothing, so these conversations play out less like a conversation about your professional trajectory and company contributions and more like an interrogation of why you should even be there in the first place. I could go on, but there’s not much to say other than what I and other former employees have already written. The company has created high stress environment with very little pay off. Everyone, from the newest employee to the most seasoned historian, complains about the abuse they’ve endured--it’s a wonder how anyone stays.