California Historical Society Job Application
The California Historical Society works as the United States’ state of California’s historical society. The location of the society can be found in San Francisco. At present, the Society is a privately funded, non-profit organization. It also operates the North Baker Research Library. This library contains an enormous collection of pamphlets, books, printed ephemera, posters, maps, and manuscripts. Many marvelous works by Ansel Adams and Eadweard Muybridge are also featured by this library. An academic journal, by the name of California History, is also published by the Society.
Organization Details
Working Hours – The museum is open from Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm; while the timings for Saturday and Sunday are from 12:00noon to 4:30pm.
Age Eligibility – Eighteen years
Career Opportunities
There are some positions that you can opt to apply for and get employed in the museum. These are listed below:
- Museum Curator
- Maintenance Technician
- Groundskeeper
- Ticket Sales Associate
- Sales Associate
History
There was a group of people who assembled at the 323 California Street and marked the first attempt of beginning the California Historical Society or CHS, in short. Founded in the year 1871, there were four attempts before the museum came into position in the year 1922, by C. Templeton Crocker, (who was the grandson of Charles Crocker). The California Historical Society purchased the previous home of the San Francisco Builders Exchange, along with E.M. Hundley hardware store. The financial generosity of Crocker supported the museum until the organization was enabled by the dues collected and in March 1923, it hired the first staff member. The first exhibition by the group was held at Bohemian Club of San Francisco, in the year 1924.
Initially, the purpose of CHS was to publish a quarterly journal. It has been produced from the year 1922. After twenty, years, Crocker gave away his collection and in CHS, the collection still forms the base of North Baker Research Library, as well as the Fine Arts Collection, at present times. The headquarters of CHS was shared with the Society of California Pioneers. In the year 1956, the home of the Society was established, in Whittier Mansion, San Francisco.
The North Baker Research Library found a dwelling, which was as necessary and worthy, as the open and free growing collection of the California Historical Society itself.
In the year 2012, a meaningful and modest interior remodel initiated the opening of the Mission Street facing regions, which further brought the Heyday books, which were award-winning, into the community gathering and book store space.
Presently finding state wide locations, the Society is a non-profit organization and is funded privately.
Presence
In California, the ‘CHS’, or the California Historical Society has many museum locations under operation. Apart from providing the vital information, as far as the history of California is concerned, the museum also presents exceptional customer service and that too at an exceptionally reasonable cost.
Job Descriptions & Remuneration
Museum Curator – The museum curator carries the responsibility of taking care of the entire collection in the museum. All across the museum, the layout regarding the historic pieces is determined by him. He also coordinates all festive exhibitions, management of collection, and arrangement of research. Benefactors are contacted, and grant proposals are written so as to enhance the museum’s funding. All additions pertaining to collections are recommended by him, and the inventory of the objects present in the museum is always kept up to date by this individual. Also, the Curator must be having a bachelor’s degree with the area of specialization plus four to five years of experience with respect to the field or similar area. He should be pretty familiar, as far as the field’s procedures, practices, and the various concepts are concerned. Accurate judgment and an extensive experience for planning and accomplishing the goals set are also wanted, before one can become a curator here. The Museum Curator gets an average annual salary of $48,450.
Maintenance Technician – The museum technician is responsible for preparing the documents in addition to safety of the objects used in the exhibits, in the museum. They perform their duties in close company of curator. Whenever a new item is received by the museum, some necessary documentation is necessarily required to be maintained by the technician. These documents describe the condition and appearance as shown by the item. The Museum Technician even works in the company of archivists and help in the organization of items received by the museum. In the case of damaged items, the maintenance technician would be working with the conservator, who provides help to restore the damaged items. The salaries for the museum technicians vary as per the location, experience, industry, the benefits provided, and the company. All across the nation the museum technician gets an annual salary between $29,700 and $50,700, i.e., around $14.27 to $24.37 per hour.
Advantages of working @ California Historical Society
The California Historical Society offers a lot of employee benefits. Competitive salary scales along with perks are offered to all eligible workers. Many additional benefits such as paid time off, insurance for healthcare, and 401 (k) retirement plans are also offered by the Society to all eligible candidates. With reference to the museum industry, competitive pay options are offered to the workers.
California Historical Society Job
Job Interview Questions @ California Historical Society
- How can you elaborate the duties to be performed here if selected?
- What is the role of museums in a common man’s life?
- How do you define the role of history as a teacher to mankind?
- What is the importance of the museum with regards to the history of America?
- Why did you choose to follow a career in museums and history?
- What can you do to spread awareness regarding the presence of the museum?
- How will you bring about a development in your life after working here?
- What inspires you to work as a museum curator or a maintenance technician here?
- Take us through an ideal day of your last job?
- Do you possess any leadership style?