Genealogy Chat

Hi, the courses are quite expensive (depending on how much money you hve to spend) and of course you need to actually complete and pass them, to qualify, otherwise its a waste of money. Then theres advertising your service. Saying that, if you can do it, it pays well. And you get to do something you love!

i go to my local studies library every week, and the TV programe caused a minor Blip first series and since then virtuly nothing, now this series is in full swing, the library ? deader than ever, once people realised what was entailed, eg trawling micro fisce etc, they soon disapeared.

Again, thanks for all your detailed replies. I think that experiance is essential when looking into local archives etc. Since when i leave college i'll have plenty of time on my hands, i can afford to visit record office around where i live (Surrey). I've already been searching through London, and in fact i went with my mum on a 'Ripper' tour yestarday, and encorporated on it the streets in which my Jewish father and his family lived on. Learning about the history of streets and areas is fascinating! So, watch out for any offers i make about the record offices etc i'll be visiting, since they'll probably take me places where none of my relatives came from!

hello liz i am self employed and mary and mark have just answerd your question thers allways sombody cheaper gypsie

I think you have the right idea. Although the 'hobby' is now booming due to the TV programmes mainly, the business has always been there long before the BBC made it 'fashioonable'. If you go to the FRC in London you will see there are many people there researching for others, not only in the BDM sections but also Censuses etc., and the same applies in the LMA and Nat Archives at Kew. One thing that you should bear in mind is that you learn enough to see a project through and that may mean travelling to archives all over then place. I am a Londoner and not a Professional but I have travelled to Dorset, Cornwall, Anglesey, Cumbria and N East to find some answers in the local archives. Whenever you get started be sure that you have belief that you can see it through, BUT firstly be sure that you get payments upfront and dont start without it. A very good income can be achieved, but you can see that much depends on where you are based. You can advertise locally OR get involved with some of the genea chatlines in the States, Canada and Australia where you can pick up people looking for help. I also add that the 'job'is not just a matter of looking in BDMs and Censuses, you should also have some idea of the history of an area or country so that you can understand why people moved to the States, for example, and when, what they hoped to achieve in their professions, local studies show why the |Mersey Tunnel was built and when and by who, similarily the railways ... then you may be able to follow the priogress of a family moving from London northward establishing homes en route. I wish you luck Joe.

might be a good idea to try transcribing first, i done it for a while for bmd and believe me it`s hard, what looked obvious to me did not to others, i would try that first you don`t get paid for it but it will get you used to reading thing from long ago good luck if you do take this proffession be sure to advertise on this site to boost your skills, lol sharon

Hi Liz I'd say the same to you as I do to my son: GO FOR IT. If you don't give it a try you'll never know, and you can always change your mind and do something else if it doesn't work out! Best of luck to you Mary p.s. I'm only a book keeper, so I won't charge as much as Mark LOL

There are companies that do this sort of thing and make very good money from it. My brother's partner got no where on her own search and paid these people to do it for her. There will always be lazy people who want to know about their family history but don't want to do the hard work, there will also be people who don't know how to go about the search. I think there is money to be made at it. Perhaps see about having a summer work placement with your local records office, I think you could pick up a lot there. I met a woman yesterday who works in the office at the local cemetry and she loves doing the record searches. Research the job of genealogist and all the specialist areas with in, there must be many. Archivists, records offices, local history groups. Talk to people already in the jobs... find out what they did and what they would have done differently to get to where they are more easily. Also look at college and university courses, talk to people doing the courses and email the Course Tutors to find out employment statistics of people completing them. As I said, I think there is always room for something like this, especially if you live in a fairly urban area where people are busy and not able to invest the time. This is especially so if you can travel the country and search parish records. If you can't already drive, I would say that learning would be essential. Good luck, this is something that I considered, but while I'm enjoying my own family I think if I had someone elses then I'd get too frustrated. Liz

I can't remember which issue, I'll look it out and PM you if I can find it, but in one of the genealogy magazines, there is a whole article on courses etc. It was only a couple of months ago.

I know one lady who did the SoG course, now she runs courses herself, at all levels from the basics of how to get started on your tree, right up to courses for experienced tree builders. I think she is self employed, she runs the courses in libraries , hiring out rooms there on an hourly basis. that might be a possibility for you to consider!!!

well done liz let us know how you get on lorraine ps and when you've got your posh office i'll do the flowers for you!

Thanks for your replies. Some responses quite different from others! Lorraine, i appreciate your support, i think since im young, i won't lose out on much even IF it didn't work out. There are so many avenues opening up in genealogy, so i would just like to take advantage of doing something i really enjoy, and so i'll go for it!

Annie's idea is a good one - by working as an Archivist, you will develop specialist knowledge, which you could put to good use. I didn't realise your age - as you are young, you have plenty of time to train. Why not investigate the SoG courses? these lead to a professional qualification, although it would be a shame to do this and then find yourself trawling through BMDs for other people lol.(At a very good hourly rate, mind) OC

hi liz if your only 17 then go for it find out about courses in your area or join local history club or society im sure you would make contact with people who would help you i didnt change my job (local government officer) until i was 39 now training to be a florist and loving it . good luck lorraine

Liz, I had a friend who trained as an archivist after umiversity - A one year post graduate course. She now works part-time as an archivist to pay the bills and writes a family history column for the local paper as well as doing some private research for people. Anne

yes liz the boom is because of the bbc program who do you think you are once it has finished the boom will die away again plus look at my thread on here what would you do ??? its a hard 1 to solve steve

Thanks for the offer! I'll keep you in mind! Im only 17, and im thinking of something i could do when i leave College. It's quite an unusual job choice for someone my age, but you've got to take advantage of this sudden boom in interest in genealogy.

but if you were to go forward with it, i could do your accounts and your tax return, im an accountant!

lol Mark, that's true. I was thinking it might be better to specialise in an aspect of genealogy, and become expert in that. Obviously you need something which you can be specialist in so people would pay you, for something that they might spend ages researching.

Hi Liz i thought about this also, but then realised that: 1) people on here are too nice and do free lookups for people. 2) there are too many people that help others as a hobby. 3) i cant see it generating enough money - equivalent as a f/t job.