Friday, June 10, 2011

Yikes!

I GOT THE JOB!

Which is ... I think! I hope! ... a very good thing. The oddest part is that I wasn't even looking for paid work. Full time isn't an option - I know my limits, and combining full time work, studying and caring for a family is beyond them - and part time jobs for unqualified archivists are very, very few and far between, so I had assumed that I would just work through my course, carry on volunteering in an archive and then start job hunting once I had qualified. Then I stumbled across this opportunity and it looked too good not to apply. And now, gulp, it seems I have rather unexpectedly acquired a job.

So, this is the deal ... I will be working five mornings a week at a county record office (not the one I volunteer at now, but the next nearest), cataloguing 19th century court records. From the point of view of whatever future career I have in archives it is ideal, as many jobs for qualified archivists want applicants to have some experience of cataloguing. And it is an interesting project - the documents give a good insight into the social history of Victorian England, so will be intriguing to work with. I will be job sharing with another cataloguer, and working alongside volunteers who are cleaning, sorting and packaging the documents. (This is a big plus - I have looked at the equivalent records at my current archive, and they are a mess. Filthy dirty and hard to flatten out enough to read after a century or so rolled up.)  The project lasts for two years, which is perfect timing. The job will end in June/July 2013 and I am aiming to finish my course in April 2013, so will then be in a good position to look for a job as a qualified archivist with cataloguing experience.

The working arrangements are about as good as they can get, with 26 days holiday leave each year and flexible working hours which mean I can bank extra hours and trade them for days off. I will get home in time to collect Cherub from school every day, and will be able to be home quite a lot during school holidays. Tevye and Angel between them can mostly manage getting Cherub to school in the mornings, or I can drop her at the school breakfast club on my way to work if necessary. On the days I have to work during school holidays, Tevye or Angel will be at home with her. Overall the impact on her should be minimal. The pay isn't great, but is at least a lot better than nothing!

13 comments:

Victor S E Moubarak said...

Congratulations.

God bless.

Willa said...

Congratulations! That sounds so exciting.

Sarah said...

Wonderful news. It sounds so interesting, I'm jealous! :)

Mary G said...

Wonderful news, Kathryn! Prayers for a wonderful experience .... I think it sounds so cool (but then I'm a closet geek-historian!).

Hugs!

Pamela said...

Congratulations! Sounds like you got a great package with the flexible working hours and job sharing. Looking forward to hearing fascinating snippets about Victorian England.

elli said...

Wow, that is really wonderful! I am so glad for you, what luck to find something that fits so well with everything else! (family, your course, future career etc). so exciting :-)

Melanie Bettinelli said...

Congratulations! So exciting for you.

Theresa said...

So happy for you, K! It sounds ideal! Really!

Clare@ BattlementsOfRubies said...

Great news! Well done you!

Missus Wookie said...

Ah - now see I saw the two years and wondered if you were hoping for an extension or similar. How cool that the project funding and your degree are going to dovetail like that.

Congratulations again :) Good luck!

Jennifer said...

Congratulations! It sounds fascinating!

Lissa said...

How marvelous! Congratulations! It sounds like great fun.

PixieMum said...

So impressed, sounds super speaking as a cataloguer.

Have you considered joining CILIP? One of the special interest groups is Cataloguing and Indexing?

Subscription is based on salary, is tax deductable and membership includes two groups. I think there is one for local studies.

Best wishes and congratulations. You can knit on the train if you don't feel like studying.