Profile: Bryony Leventhall, Philosophy, Archivist

Nothing offered at the careers fairs appealed to me and I found a job doing customer service for an ethical company. It helped me gain useful skills and experience but was not something I anticipated doing long-term – I just could not decide what I should be doing instead. Whilst researching potential careers I discovered archiving. Whilst working full-time I volunteered at a local authority archive one day a week for nine months and in September 2009 started a one year graduate traineeship in the British Museum’s Central Archive, which houses the administrative records of the Museum itself from 1753 onwards, such as meeting minutes, staff records and photographs. My role involves helping the archivist to catalogue and preserve these records and responding to archival enquiries from members of the public and other departments. I will be starting an Archives and Records Management MA at UCL in September 2010 to qualify as an archivist myself.

Records, for any institution, are a valuable resource and I find being responsible for their maintenance extremely rewarding. My current job has the added bonus of preserving and providing access to the administrative history of one of the most respected museums in the world!

When you graduate it can feel impossible to get experience in areas that interest you without already having some relevant experience. The sooner you can get that all important foot in the door, the better. I had more time on my hands as a student for volunteering and trying different paths out and I wish I had followed it up then. Otherwise, I am happy with the way things have worked out for me.

Philosophy teaches you to think critically and be very thorough. This is incredibly important in archiving as the records need to be organised and described in a logical fashion. It also helps when carrying out research for other people and passing on my findings to them.