“It’s no secret that museum workers are historically underpaid. Spend any time in museum forums and you’ll encounter posts titled “Museum salaries are becoming unliveable”, What is your current position and salary? Is there any hope?,” or, more directly, “ Why don’t museums pay a living wage?” Many emerging professionals are reconsidering their career path. The risk of losing the best and brightest of the next generation is real.
The causes are well known: systemic under- and unstable funding, reliance on unpaid or underpaid labour, and the notion of museums as passion discount careers, where the vital heart and humanity that museum work involves is not reflected by compensation. Nobody goes into museum work to get rich—but should the necessary preparation, education, and temperament leave workers unable to make ends meet? Should these financial barriers to entry serve as a gauntlet for young people seeking to enter the profession? Has the gap between already-lowered expectations and the financial realities of cultural work become untenable?”
Read the full article by Gareth Hedges here: https://museums.ca/site/reportsandpublications/museonline/fall2025/ycw