security guard

concierge

intern

curator

ambassador

Royal Ontario Museum

The Museum building is beautiful ...I wish I could say the same for management, HR and overall culture. In efforts to streamline cost a number of departments are combined and managed by ineffective leadership and angry support staff. ROM want to sell to the outside world that its seamless to host events and its anything but seamless, it is  so dysfunctional at times its ridiculous. Leadership berate staff in meetings for their own unorganized polices and crush morale of staff that have no power to make things better.  Top executives demand event and fundraising revenues yet place incredible road blocks to achieve those goals. HR basically don't want to hear any concerns and direct you back to the problem senior management- I saw great people let go and the problem negative staff stay .... Unless serious changes are made it will never get better....

I loved my job at the Museum. I am surrounded by dinosaurs and artifacts, and learning something new every day on the job. It's fun to work... When you have work. Work is sparce and the management does everything it can to avoid giving more work to part-timers than it has to. You may get job security if you're permanent, even if part time, but unless you're full time there's no benefits and little if any chance for advancement. Some of the internal culture is great, but has several people openly nasty and racist that can't be fired because of seniority and Union protections. The higher ups have no idea what they're doing. Management does not take any suggestions or reports seriously, so you it spirals you in place with no incentives to even grow your position or address the most toxic members of its the work culture. At least the work life balance was really good. 

I loved the job, but after a while, it felt like the job didn't love me.

The culture and atmosphere is mostly warm, welcoming and laidback. The job was nine to five unless there was an event or a media preview. During my time at the Museum, I felt very much like a part of a team. We all worked together to promote exhibitions and events. I felt extremely confident in my work and relationships with my colleagues. The communications department consists of four full-time employees: the head of communications, three publicists, and the communications coordinator. I worked closely and was supervised by the publicists and the communications coordinator on all projects. They were very kind and wiling to take the time to teach the interns the day-to-day tasks.

Fun atmosphere with nice learning/education programs for kids. The ROM also hosts events for older people so it's really an all-around type of job. Pretty strict on the rules to follow but it's all understandable, work environment is very friendly and open. You'd have to be pretty knowledgeable of where each gallery/exhibit is and where the washrooms are. Overall very rewarding experience and would have loved to continue but advancement was a bit slow and I had to move on.

The best part about working for the ROM is the people I work with. Everyone is friendly, professional and willing to help; they're used to having new employees every so often, so they make sure to train everyone well. The atmosphere is pretty relaxed except for when peak season arrives and during special events (e.g. Friday Night Live). Pay is great, but the only unsatisfactory thing is that the number of hours for part-time employees can be very low. Overall, it's an enjoyable place to work.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Great opportunity to go to the galleries

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Top heavy institution. Too many senior leaders.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Can be fun and exciting. Can be exhausting work but most people find it rewarding.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Ugg seriously? Arrive at 9am leave at 5pm. Lunch at 12noon. Sit at your desk. Go to the galleries if needed or if you want a break.

Though the hours for my seasonal positions at the Royal Ontario Museum were long, I learned to communicate effectively with large groups of people, and people of all demographics. I worked with young children of different abilities, as well as older citizens who enjoyed learning. The most enjoyable part for me is seeing the wonder and awe in someone's eyes when they see and/or learn something new for the first time, and knowing that I was a catalyst for this experience.

I only volunteered there so I never had a paid job, officially, but if I had continued with it and went into it as a profession, I definitely would had enjoyed every second of it. Love the Royal Ontario Museum and always enojoyed visiting there, so being able to share that with youths is amazing.

I enjoyed volunteering at the ROM. I loved interacting with people whether they were young or old. I have learned so many valuable skills that I could take on to the workplace and it allowed me to see what my interests were. The hardest part of the job was constantly being on your feet and the long hours. The most enjoyable part of the job was constantly interacting with people and educating them.

You never know what is coming - did you know we lost (and then found) a dinosaur in our collection rooms?

Most of the staff love what they are doing and are very good to work with.



Top Job Titles	Average salary
Security guard 1 salary reported	$26.56 per hour
Concierge 4 salaries reported	$25.43 per hour
Intern 6 salaries reported	$17.93 per hour
Curator 5 salaries reported	$105,797 per year
Ambassador 8 salaries reported	$29.65 per hour

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