When I returned in Greece in 2004, I realised that it was easier for the IEK graduates to find a job in conservation than it was for the TEI graduates. I also found that it is quite hard for a university graduate to find a job in Greece, perhaps because in Greece there is no university for conservators. There is only one TEI, located in Athens, and approximately 40 students are enrolled annually, whereas there is a number of private and state IEKs. A personal estimation is that in an excavation field, 10 people are IEK graduates, 2-3 are TEI graduates and 1 or even none is a university graduate. I assume that this is because of budget restrains. An IEK graduate is less well paid than a TEI graduate, not to mention a university graduate. What makes it even harder for conservators to find a job in Greece is that most places require for applicants to have several months' professional experience.

Your friend's story reminds me of a similar case. A non-greek classmate of mine, who graduated with a 1st class degree from an English university, moved in Greece straight after graduating. She stayed in Athens for a couple of years, doing voluntary work in the conservation lab of a big paintings museum but never managed to get a job. She now has a job in Dubai!

OK, Greece is a nice country, the sun, the ancient civilisation, the sea etc, etc, but if I were a non-greek, I doubt if I would like to find a job here! Life is expensive (one of the most expensive-to-live countries in Europe) and salaries are low. My first salary as a conservator was around 850 euros.

I really don't know if the whole situation will eventually change but I really hope so. A few years ago people in Greece barely knew what conservation is about - at that point I would like to add that the conservation school in the TEI of Athens was founded in the 1980s... Today people have just started to talk about conservation. New conservation-related courses are being founded, articles are being written, documentaries for the public are being made. We as individuals are the ones to make a change, we are the ones who should be responsible for making people and the state familiar with conservation, if we would ever wish for things to be changed. It is a pleasure of mine to teach fossil conservation to teenagers who come in the Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest in order to attend our conservation-based educational programmes. When they step in, they see the fossils as 'worthless rocks', and 3 hours later, they end up loving both the fossils and the conservator's job, making lovely comments that make me say 'oh God, I really love this job'. Who knows? Maybe one day, these teenagers, after having grown up, may take the future of this country and its museums in their hands and say "hey, when I was a kid, there was a girl out there, in the island of Lesvos, who showed me that some things need special treatment so that future generations will be able to admire them the way I have. Now I have the power -political, economical, social or whatever- to do something about it myself. Yeah, let's do something for conservation!"

hello
iam amira from egypt. actually i dont know associations about restoration in egypt . i just worked for companies and
got training in egyptian museum . i hope any one knows please to inform me . it will be pleasure
thank you indeed
and sorry for my english