Puzzle Me This: This Museum Will Pay You to Put Together Jigsaw Puzzles
“Yo, dawg, we heard you like puzzles, so we put a puzzle within a puzzle and turned it into a job.” — The Strong National Museum of Play, probably. (All right so not really.)
But seriously, The Strong National Museum of Play, located in Rochester, New York, is looking for a full-time puzzle cataloger to put together more than 7,500 jigsaw puzzles in its extensive collection.
OK, don’t book your flight to Rochester just yet. I mean, sure, doing puzzles all day sounds like a breeze, right? But there’s a catch.
For this job, it’s not enough to just be a professional puzzler — you also have to be a history buff, because you’ll need to be able to identify and catalog puzzles from countries around the world, all dating back as far as the 1700s.
No Easy Task
Here’s the deal: whoever lands the job will have six months to assemble and catalog 7,500 jigsaw puzzles.
If you’re doing the math in your head right now (or on a calculator, I won’t judge), you’re probably wondering how in the world someone is supposed to complete close to eight puzzles per hour.
Well, they’re not. And that’s where the second “puzzle” comes in.
Obviously, the chosen puzzler won’t have time to fully piece together all 7,500 jigsaw puzzles. Instead, they’ll have to assemble just enough pieces to make out the image in the puzzle, so they can date it, log it and store it properly.
How to Become a Museum Puzzler
But while you should be quick with assembling jigsaw puzzles, you don’t necessarily need to be an expert puzzler.
The museum is actually looking for someone who has a strong understanding of history and can identify key historical figures and periods with little provided information (such as an incomplete jigsaw image).
The ideal candidate will have a bachelor’s degree in museum studies, history, library science, humanities or a related field. You should also have experience with scanning equipment and software and with a museum collections database such as Argus or PastPerfect.
This is a six-month position that may have the potential to turn into long-term work, according to Christopher Bensch, vice president for Collections at The Strong.
As for pay, you’ll make a comfortable sum (more than minimum wage — but nothing too crazy — according to Bensch).
The job comes with benefits, however, and you’ll be eligible to receive paid time off, holiday pay and medical coverage after 90 days.
If you think you’re ready to take on this puzzling position, you can apply here.
You’ll need to include a resume and cover letter. According to Time, a video showcasing your puzzle-solving abilities could help, too.
Grace Schweizer is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. If you need her, she’ll be under a pile of blankets taking 6 months to do one puzzle — not 7,500.
