Pros
The collection is world-class, and working at the V&A has been a long-term goal of mine. The staff are passionate about their work and the collections, and it is exciting to work alongside staff who are fired up and excited about what they do. It is a vibrant place of work, and there is always a new project around the corner.
Cons
The salary for my post is very low, at the bottom end of the Museums Association's salary advice for Assistant Curators in 2014. There is very little opportunity for progression and promotion. My job was advertised as part of a five-year "training programme" called the Assistant Curator Development Programme (ACDP). With the word "development", this implied opportunities for progression and promotion - however my experiences have generally not reflected this. My salary is very low. While HR said that this reflected the fact that this was a training position, myself and other ACs on the ACDP received very little on-the-job training and are expected to continue working with no pay progression. There is very little diversity amongst the curatorial staff in terms of background. As a person of colour I often feel that I do not fit in, and that there is very little understanding amongst my colleagues about issues I might face. Sadly this has changed very little over my seven years total at the institution. I have experienced racism whilst working here. Senior management are finally attempting to pay some lip-service to these issues, but I see very little happening in terms of action. There is very definitely a disconnect between senior management and the day to day realities of the majority of staff working at the museum. Staff who have worked weeks on an install - important professionals such as conservators and technicians, without whom exhibitions would never come to be - will receive little thanks or credit, and will not be invited to exhibition openings. Gallery Assistants - the lifeblood of the museum - are treated extremely poorly. The "perks" once offered by the V&A - e.g. free entry to exhibitions - are slowly being eroded away in order to cut costs.
