With this week being Heritage Careers Week, the Scottish heritage sector’s annual careers week led by employers and aimed at raising awareness of the wide range of careers in the historic environment, we sat down with Kirsty Bond, Caroline Noble and Helena Fox from the Our Heritage, Our Future team to discuss their heritage career journey and what they've learned during their time in the sector.
How did you find yourself working in heritage?
Kirsty: I started out as a biologist and ended up in heritage by going down the education pathway. After graduating with a biology degree I went on to study museum education – I was the only person on that course with a science degree! I worked in exhibits for a while and really enjoyed the co-curation elements of that work, which led me here to join the Our Heritage, Our Future team.
Caroline: Although I have degrees relating to heritage, including archaeology and a master’s in heritage, I haven’t always worked in the sector. After graduating from my master’s programme in 2021, I took a job as a community development worker for a local community council. It was here that I realised how much communities engage with their heritage without necessarily recognising it as such – it’s woven into everyday life.
I always knew that I wanted to return to my heritage roots, so when I saw the role with Keep Scotland Beautiful, I jumped at the opportunity to apply.
Helena: I did an undergraduate degree in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic (really) and loved it. This involved lots of manuscript studies and interaction with traditional heritage and research spaces. I graduated straight into Covid in 2020 and was applying for lots of opportunities across arts and heritage. I eventually landed a part-time job administrating within the Development department of a local art gallery/museum.
My academic background, the facilitation experience I had been building as a freelancer since I was 18 (delivering LGBT+ discussion and drag workshops to secondary school pupils) and the knowledge I had gained of the heritage sector working in the museum helped me to get this role, I think, which feels like a satisfying amalgamation of my skills and experience so far.
Was this always your plan or did you have something else in mind? If so, what was it?
Kirsty: Initially I wanted to work as an education officer, but I graduated in the midst of the pandemic when museums were all closed and not hiring face-to-face roles. I sort of fell into exhibits as much of the development work could be done remotely, but I always missed interacting with other people in person.
Caroline: I always knew that I didn’t necessarily follow my degree path and become an archaeologist in the traditional sense. However, after completing my master’s, I knew that I wanted to work with communities. My role as a community development worker helped to fulfil that ambition, but I always felt like there was something missing. I think that something was the heritage side of things.
This role brings together community work and heritage in such a natural way, so it really feels like a dream role for me.
Helena: I’d been interested in museums as a teen and did some work experience in a couple of museums after my A Levels, so it was definitely on my radar. I’ve always liked having lots of different things on the go, and that hasn’t stopped! I work for Keep Scotland Beautiful four days a week and fit approximately three other jobs into the rest of the week, across heritage, facilitation, writing and performing, mostly as a drag king.
What’s your favourite thing about working in this sector?
Kirsty: The diversity of people, places, and topics I get to engage with. There’s no one background specialism needed to work in the sector – we all have a variety of knowledge and experience we can draw on.
Caroline: Being able to engage with communities from all walks of life. I love gaining new perspectives on what people see as their heritage and understanding how they connect with the environment around them.
I also really value learning from communities just as much as we are there to facilitate learning. Every community has its own stories, experiences and connections, and I think it’s so rewarding to be able to learn from those.
And, of course, I love being able to share the idea that heritage can be anything you want it to be!
Helena: I love interacting with archives and collections to do with social history, and being able to do that for work is amazing. Being able to share that love with the community, and to meet lots of other passionate people, never gets old. I particularly enjoy helping people to engage with heritage in ways they hadn’t realised were possible or thought weren’t ‘for them’.
If you had any helpful advice for someone looking to start working in heritage, what would it be?
Kirsty: Be prepared for a lifetime of ups and downs. The heritage sector doesn’t provide the same stability as other sectors might. You have to really love what you do and be willing to stick it out through the difficult bits. Getting started is the hardest part, but once you have a foot in the door, it becomes a lot easier to find opportunities. And don’t take rejections personally!
Caroline: Get involved in local heritage projects if you don’t already have a background in heritage. Connect with people who show your interests and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there – there will always be someone who has a passion about something similar to you!
It’s not always about what you know, but who you know – building connections and getting involved can open up opportunities you might not otherwise come across.
Helena: The clichés about getting your foot in the door and building your experience however you can have absolutely rung true for me. It’s often a case of building things up bit by bit and remembering there isn’t always a set or linear path to a particular destination in this sector. It can feel difficult, precarious and undervalued… and we’re all still doing it, because you meet the best people and get to learn and share brilliant things.
How have you benefitted from your career in heritage outside of work?
Kirsty: Working in heritage has definitely made me look at the world in a different way. It’s encouraged me to connect with my local community and learn about the place I live. I feel a stronger sense of belonging and my wellbeing has improved as a result.
Caroline: I’ve always been involved in my community, partly because of my research on Cumbernauld (where I live) for my master’s dissertation and my love of the “ugly” New Town Heritage, but also through my previous role as a community development worker, which opened up lots of opportunities to engage with my community.
This role, however, has given me a new lens through which to see the world. Hearing how people talk about what they value in their communities, and the spaces and places that are important to them, has really changed the way I think about heritage and community.
Hearing about – and working alongside – community projects centred around heritage has also benefited me in my other work as a community development worker (which I do one day a week alongside my role at Keep Scotland Beautiful). It has allowed me to approach community work with a fresh set of eyes and see the connections between heritage, place and community in a completely different way.
Helena: I notice so much more in my day-to-day life – and my friends and family get to hear me telling them new things I’ve learnt about a building technique or a UNESCO site. Everyone I come across in the sector is so knowledgeable, and I really like picking up information about the world around us and how it works. Heritage is an inextricable part of our identities and doing this role has helped me unpick that.
Our Heritage, Our Future is a programme to inspire action and support communities to care for their places and heritage through the lens of climate change.
The programme is made possible with Historic Environment Scotland and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery players.
We support the 