As an aside to your request for information. Knowing people in the industry is that the jobs are very popular especially with ex teachers and for this reason the wages are relatively low. But based on what people have said in the past they are on the whole looking for a PGCE, if for no other reason than they can then 'choose' who they want, however ask about in museums etc based on where you are. My wife became an education officer without one. She had an archaeology degree though so that helped in the museum in question so your history degree might be to your advantage. Just because you have a PGCE doesnt necessarily mean you can deal with pupils in a museum setting, so is it worth the PGCE or is it worth seeing if people will take you on without one. Just a thought.

depending on your term times could you get into a museum or two and volunteer? you will then get some experience in the setting, this would be on top of your work placement activities and you never know once you have got your foot in the door something may come up, Museums like schools are a small community and people know people who may be looking for someone.

Apologiwes for the ramblings, little one is giving us four hours sleep a night at best and two at worst... so if anyone is doing an experiment on sleep deprivation I am your man

Keep up with the volunteering it shows people you are able to do the job - even an assistant is able to show their true colours. When I was teaching full time, there were teaching assistants I could rely on to walk out the room and to be honest they should have been teachers and not assistants. You could politely come up with ideas of your own and let them know you are able to think on your feet and can plan. They will see you working with kids, the PGCE route as a means to an ends might look just like that especially if you dont actually go into a school and teach. And if you dont want to, is it worth putting yourself though it? Once you get into the new place have an informal chat with them and see what they think about what you need.

I decided I wanted to be an educational officer, I had all the qualifications for the Roman sites I wanted on Hadrians wall, plus I had my own Roman Kit - sad man that I am but in the end it was the cut in salary which stopped me.

From what I rmember Es was doing an MA in Museum studies after her Archaeology degree but she applied for the job.

I just phoned her up to check and she suggests go for a MA in heritage management and interpretation rather than the PGCE but make sure it is a one that covers education and teaching too. This is normally a one year course full time or two part time. She also says keep yup with the volunteering to get plenty of experience under your belt.

On the side of the PGCE you can always be a teacher if you cant get into a museum, but to be honest  if you really dont want to teach I wouldnt recommend going down that route just for your own sanity

hope it helps

5 hours sleep last night so feeling a bit more human today