Greetings, It depends completely on the position, museum size, and museum type. At a small town municipal museum where a "registrar" is paid barely above minimum wage? It would be easier to train a recent college intern to be a worker than it would be to teach a townie about artifact preservation. Employee training is an aspect of a supervisor or director's job, but compressing years of advanced education into a practical job training session is ridiculous. That is especially the case when I need to teach them about bloodborne pathogens and other basic safety classes as well. If I am not allocated salaries that can attract a candidate with a MA and 5+ years experience, I would rather go with the inexperienced but educated, to give them a stepping stone towards a better-paid museum job. At a larger museum, with adequate staffing and budget? I would rather hire someone with actual, practical experience in registration and collections management regardless of education over someone with an advanced degree but no relevant experience. I would want proven candidates. Thank you, Michael R. <[log in to unmask]> On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 9:41 AM Danielle Bronson < [log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hi Jenna & all, > > Jenna — thank you for asking this question! I've been visited with similar > fears; I'm also a recent graduate. This summer, I've been studying the GRE > and trying to quell the anxiety of the end goals of my education. > > My questions for the email list are in a similar manner: is there a > preference for degrees (MFA vs MA vs PhD) made in hiring decisions at art > museums? Or is it as Michelle and others have echoed, moreso a competitive > market for those with work experience? If so, what's the value in these > degrees if they do not necessarily advance careers? > > ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).