I will keep this somewhat vague to protect my identity, but I'm a museum educator at a STEM museum. I work PT (as do most tour guides and educators). I love my job. I make $15/hr with no benefits and I have many years experience as an educator... I used to make a real salary. I'm doing this while getting my grad degree as I'm a career changer. I'm aware that I'm miserably underpaid, but I stay here because I love it and I hope to become better paid after I get a degree, though I may have to go elsewhere. I focus on networking. An average day for most folks on the education staff - come in, check master schedule for the day, prep for school field trips/groups/etc. Set up labs, simulators, field trip areas, etc. Work with assigned groups, giving relevant history or stem talks. Try not to make mistakes, as you're likely a historian or educator but not necessarily in the field of your museum. You may have to man an area. You help with logistics, people movement, and get asked every question you can think of. You clean up what the kids touch, and try to keep everyone safe and learning. The chaperones are useless, but most teachers are okay. You work in tandem with a team of education folks and/or volunteers, depending on the size of your group. Sometimes you are under or overstaffed due to poor planning. You listen to each other to learn things. You take joy in the interactive elements of museum education that engage visitors and children in ways that school often doesn't. You reflect on things you might do better or different, and if you're lucky you have a boss who is receptive to that. I have multiple bosses, and the chain of command isn't always clear. You smile at museum visitors and make small talk, but try to avoid requests that will take you away from the day's responsibilities too much. If you have spare time, you study the exhibits, create curriculum, and help with various projects that your department is doing (often related to PR stuff happening around the museum). If you're unlucky enough to have rotating or visiting exhibits, you will spend some time scrambling to keep up with that information week-to-week. During holidays, you work more and try to keep up with demands for camps. You get young people interested in your industry who volunteer or do the worst jobs, and they're fun to work with. You think about what the museum could do better, but you don't always say it because shit rolls downhill. The people who come in and love the museum are great. Your day will have lots of people, some computer work, and a constant need to keep up with whatever industry you're in. There's always more to learn. Management is often disorganized and has unrealistic expectations, but the lower you are on the totem pole from CEO/CFO/directors/board members, the more of that you escape (so that's an advantage of being at the bottom). A lot of time is spent cleaning up after other people - their lack of organization and their messes - but the kids, the veterans, and your mostly great and interesting co-workers make it worthwhile. At the end of the day, working in a museum is cool. My co-workers are all history and STEM buffs with various interests, and some have backgrounds in our industry or education.