seeking salaried work re: aviation history

[tom d. friedman]

hello friends, i hope all is well with all of you, & you are having a great summer despite the boiling hot weather!! you may have not noticed, but i've been mostly m.i.a. since spring up to now w/ health issues & searching for new employment. the health issues are pretty much in check now, however things are not so hot with my family business. firstly i'd like to ask a favor of scott & the mods of the site. could you please leave this post in the wix hangar where it will get the most exposure from other members?? i need all the advice, leads, & feedback from anybody in the group that can help. leaving it would be most appreciated. after 51 years of being in business as an equal owner in two retail stores w/ my 3 brothers & 1 sister, the time has come that we are going to fold very soon. my siblings can fall back on their retirement as they are all in their 60's. i'll be 51 in august & god willing have 15 years to 20 years of employable viability left. the internet, changing demographics, & the big box stores have more than taken it's toll on us. (fyi... my mom was pregnant w/ me when dad started the biz) i was a martini baby!! i'm burned out in retail management, & our business has to many facets to it to run on my own. i will only fall back on retail management else where if salaried aviation history work does not pan out. i am at the crossroads of my life, & it's now time to pursue my dream of being involved in some facet of aviation history in a professional career manner. alot of you know my credentials where i could contribute in a positive proactive way for any aviation history entity such as a museum curator, researcher, public relations / fund raising director, journalist, etc. my only weakness is that i am not handy & have zilch in technical expertise with tools & restoration work etc. i'm rolling the dice now as the saying goes. i know i can make a positive contribution in many other ways. my resume is available if you can help or steer me in some direction. the resume will give you a more indepth look at who i am. i will be most happy to email anyone a copy. i will not post it on this site as i feel it is not appropriate. many thanks for your time, & i look forward to catching up on the wix with all of you after such a long hiatus!!

yours in aviation history,

tom friedman

[hang the expense]

Good luck Tom.I hope you find something that you like.

[JDK]

Yes, good luck Tom. Getting a salaried gig in aviation history generally needs qualification and/or connections - and they're rare anyway.

There's plenty of work for writers in aviation history; too many photographers, but the keyboard's still too hard for many, making opportunities for those of us prepared to bash it. Trick is you have to pedal hard to get enough cash to eat out of it.

My situation's my own, but as a case study for you, I write regularly for three aviation magazines, and am a contributing editor on one, and sometimes freelance for others. I run a small aviation book publishing business, as one of a team of five. My partner has a steady job. I also freelance as a writer, proofreader and editor for academic texts, which is dull but pays better than the aviation stuff. We live well, but frugally, travel a lot, and have no financial complaints - but it's not a life for everyone. I couldn't do it if I were single either. All my aviation history stuff is a cost-benefit analysis, and often intangibles are crucial (e.g. the benefits of writing things on WIX I could sell to magazines for cash, with the payoff of the friends I've made and the help I've had.)

Hope that's of some help!

[SaxMan]

The College Park Aviation Museum in College Park, MD is looking for a new director. They are looking for someone with museum experience, but it may be worth a shot. Worst they can do is say "No".

[Enemy Ace]

Hi Tom
Best of luck with this, I know it's something you have been thinking about for a long time. Just a thought, the last 2 museums started in the state of georgia were both offshoots of county historical societies/ departments. if you can find an area close to you with a significant aviation heritage or manufacturer you could work from within to get an aviation museum going. The county has the land, get the 501c3 set up and then start badgering the NMUSAF and NAM to assign you airplanes...
You may want to talk to Mr. James Cook at the aviation wing of the marietta museum of history in Marietta, Ga to see how he got that museum going. Jim@ mariettahistory.org 770-365-9645
Best of luck, Robert Starnes

[oscardeuce]

Tom,

Did you contact MAPS, I know they have an excellent Director, but there may be something else for you.

[CoastieJohn]

Tom,

Good luck on this.

I have been researching and am involved with an ongoing WWII MIA case (and others) in Greenland. Aside from myself being in USCG aviation (now retired), I have been working with several govt agencies on the efforts. Been to NARA and LOC a few times researching. If you have any interest in MIA research work, an idea is to contact JPAC (Hawaii) and DPMO (Wash DC) and see if they could use your services or network you with someone else who could. DPMO has researchers whose spend ALOT of their life at NARA and other repositories researching MIA cases. Send me a PM if you have any questions.

John

[cooper9411]

Tom, have you tried the Liberty Aviation Museum at the Erie-Ottawa Co. airport in Port Clinton? Sandusky County airport was looking for an airport manager, when I was there looking at the possibility of opening a maintenance facility in the hangar the acting manager was the one who told me about them directors looking for a permanent manager. Don't know if they still are though. Just a couple of leads that may be of some help. Best of luck.

[tom d. friedman]

many thanks to those who sent replies of encouragement, leads, ideas, etc. i've got a heck of a path to find, but you guys have given me some much needed compass bearings. all the best, tom