I am sending this question to the three list I am on. I apologize for any duplications. I am considering taking the courses to become a certified genealogist. Does anyone one know if genealogist are able to make a career of this? I am no longer satisfied with my current position and would love to make a career move to something I love. Thank you for your time. Terri in Ohio -- WOW! Homepage (http://www.wowway.com)

Terri, I would suggest that your first step would be to join the Association of Professional Genealogists http://apgen.org Once you are a member of this organization, you will then be able to join the APG/Great Lakes Chapter. The Board for Certification of Genealogists http://www.bcgcertification.org/ offers certification in three research categories and two teaching categories. The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists http://www.icapgen.org/ is another program and offers accreditation. Both programs are quite intense and do require quite a bit of preparation before you are ready to take the plunge. Get involved with your local and state societies and volunteer to help out with a project or two. I would suggest that you attend some national conferences. They have great lectures and sometimes you learn the most just by networking with your colleagues at a luncheon or banquet. The NGS Conference was in Nashville last week. There were quite a number of lectures available in various tracks and the BCG had their own track. Many of them were recorded and are available through Repeat Performance. http://www.audiotapes.com The Federal of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Conference http://www.fgs.org/ will be held in Salt Lake City in Sep 2005. There will also be a APG Professional Management Conference for a whole day. There are also some national workshops held annually that will help further your education. The Samford Genealogy Institute in Birmingham, AL and the National Institute on Genealogical Research (Washington, D.C.) are the most well-known of the workshops. I also would suggest that you purchase the "BCG Genealogical Standards Manual," the "BCG Application Guide," "Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians," and "Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian." The few professional genealogists I know that are able to support themselves fully through genealogy are researchers, speakers, and authors that have been involved in the field for quite a number of years (10+) and are known nationally. Some of them have world-wide recognition. Most genealogists are able to supplement their income from their research (for example, pay for their trips to conferences). Yolanda Campbell Lifter Malabar, FL [email protected] member Association of Professional Genealogists Ohio Family Research http://ohiofamilyresearch.com Brown Co., OH GenWeb http://ohgenealogy.com/brownco ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2005 7:05 AM Subject: [OHLICKIN] Question about genealogist > > I am sending this question to the three list I am on. I apologize for any > duplications. > > I am considering taking the courses to become a certified genealogist. Does > anyone one know if genealogist are able to make a career of this? I am no > longer satisfied with my current position and would love to make a career > move to something I love. > > Thank you for your time. > > Terri in Ohio > -- > WOW! Homepage (http://www.wowway.com)