Looking for tips on having Genealogy as a career

[Tom Langley]

Great advice thank you! My printer is rather dodgy to be honest. Good start 

[clairec666]

I've wondered for a while about making a career out of genealogy, so it's very interesting to read everyone's comments.

I think the problem is that researching your family is a) easier now more records are online, and b) fun. It takes a long time to research someone's family thoroughly, and to make enough money from this, you'll have to find people who are willing to pay that much, rather than research themselves.

Researching whole families may be a dead-end, but if you become a specialist in a niche area, records which aren't available online, you might find people willing to pay for your research.

[KGarrad]

I have had similar thoughts

So, I have my name down with the Isle of Man Museum Library as a researcher.
I have been listed for nearly 18 months.

Total leads/enquiries so far - nil!

Some 2 years ago, I needed a Professional researcher - Guinness World Records insist on a qualified professional - and their costs were £22 per hour.
And that's even though I had done all the work myself!

(It was for an entry in "Most consecutive generations of twins", for which my family are now joint holders)

[AntonyMMM]

You may want to take a look  at joining AGRA, as an associate to start with (http://www.agra.org.uk/join) - that will give you some idea of what is involved, and put you in touch with like minded people. You are in a part of the country that doesn't have too many qualified researchers, so that will help.

There are very few researchers out there who make a living solely from genealogical research, although there are a few. In those cases they tend to be quite specialist and also tend to write/teach/lecture quite a bit. Most people offering research services come to it as a second career after retirement or redundancy, and have another source of income, or a very supportive partner.

You will need to be very comfortable researching with original documents in your local archives, not just on-line sources, which also means having some knowledge of paleography.

There are a lot of researchers who start out, having done their own trees and a few for friends, and think that translates into a business model - most don't last very long - it is a very different way of working.

The SoG run some courses aimed at aspiring professionals - there is one on the 22nd October

http://www.sog.org.uk/books-courses/events-courses/careers-in-genealogy-the-road-to-agra-running-a-genealogical-practi-3

There is also a good introductory course offered by Pharos -

http://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=941

[Kaybron]

I live in Australia and have used researchers on and off over the last 8 years.  I have generally used them to search at records offices for various documents or particular information as I am not able to go there myself and conduct searches. If say for example I require information from a Sussex records office I do a general internet search for researchers in that area and read their profile and background in genealogy.  I make enquiries and ask about charges and go from there.  Most have been fantastic and charges are not over the top.  There are a couple that I keep going back to and they fit my work in the next time they are visiting the relevant records office. Coming up with a website, showcasing what you have done might be a good start and then building on this to do paid work for others.

Regards Kaybron

[Andrew Tarr]

The SoG run some courses aimed at aspiring professionals - there is one on the 22nd October

I'm not quite sure what defines a 'professional' genealogist - other than someone who aims to make a living at it.  I can't help feeling that one may be a bit like a 'professional' economist.  Those all seem to have divergent opinions (I have two in the family).  The difference may be that many seem to do all right at it - smoke and mirrors perhaps.

[Mowsehowse]

Adding 2 hours travelling time for work at an RO would bump up the bill drastically, but you would need to charge for 2 hours out of your working day. 

Some years ago I answered an advert from an agency to undertake sporadic work at the RO in walking distance from my home.  I did get a few commissions while I lived there, but that certainly would not have paid the rent.

But, I imagine as a sideline, it would definitely be worth advertising your services for research at your nearest RO, (for starters,) to see how that works out.  Good luck. 

[Mowsehowse]

I have had similar thoughts

So, I have my name down with the Isle of Man Museum Library as a researcher.
I have been listed for nearly 18 months.

Total leads/enquiries so far - nil!     [/i] 

KGarrad:  If you are offering, I have made repeated enquiries to Isle of Man regarding information about internees during WWll.

Never had a reply to any overtures.

 

[Hazel17]

Have you thought about branching out to more historical career paths as opposed to just genealogical? For example working in an archive, being a museum curator, writing local history books etc. I'm not sure what level of qualification you need to get into these areas but if you are going back to university can you take up a historical subject? I all depends whether your foundation degree will only gain you entrance to a full degree in a related subject field.

Offering look ups at specific archives as opposed to researching other people's trees would be more likely to generate custom I would have thought.

As an aside, I once thought of seriously quitting teaching to become a genealogist but realised it would never pay the bills or be a fulltime job however changing schools has given me a whole new lease of life for my career.