Michael MacDonald said:

> Getting your foot in the door is a very important first step.  Small museums
> do not have the prestige or glamour as the nationally known museums, but they
> offer valuable job training and experience might help you move up to a better
> position.
>
> I found that the museum world is kind of like professional baseball; you have
> to spend some time in the minor leagues before you get to play in the majors.

Was I the only person on this list that found Mr. MacDonald's  comments
offensive and insulting? (Although he is not the only to make these biased
claims, he did so most directly)

Where do I begin?

First of all, working in a large museum is not "better" than working in a
large one. (nationally known or not) There are plusses and minuses in both
types of institutions.  While larger museums may be better funded and their
names better known, they can also burden staff with piles of bureaucracy in
terms of hiring and exhibit & program development among other areas, trap
people in narrow and rigid job descriptions and duties, and offer limited
advancement, not to mention the already discussed competition for the
openings.

Small museums are less well funded and your name tag may impress less people
at AAM meetings, but a small shop can give a museum staffer more
professional flexibility, a less formal and friendlier work environment, a
more prominent place in the local community, and endless opportunities for
new experiences and accomplishments.

As far as his inaccurate comparison of museum work to pro baseball, there
could not be a more misleading simile. Baseball is baseball and the skills
learned in little league are basically the same as those used in the World
Series although the skills are practiced at a higher degree of complexity
and competitiveness.  A ball is thrown, a ball is hit, and a ball is caught.
The standards by which you judge success are as objective as human beings
can get.  You hit the ball or you don't.  You catch the ball or you don't.
You win or you don't. As Mr. MacDonald correctly points out the path to
professional success tends to be an upward climb through ever more
challenging players, teams, leagues, and games, culminating in the MLB World
Series.

Museum work is nothing like this.  Skills learned at smaller museums (minor
league in Mr. MacDonald's size-ist parlance) are not always transferable to
larger institutions. It is certainly not the case that a position at a small
museum will inherently train you for a position at a large one as he states.
Nor are skills and experiences learned at larger institutions always
portable to smaller museums. (I have seen too many people make this move and
quit in frustration to believe this is remotely true.) It is certainly NOT
the case that a museum professional exercises the same skills and aptitudes
at a larger museum as they do at a smaller museum but with more
professionalism, experience, and skill which is what his baseball simile
implies.

The standards by which you judge a successful professional are also much
more subjective.  We can all agree what makes a good educator, registrar,
curator, or exhibit fabricator, (then again we may not) but  intangibles of
the job such as focus, flexibility, ability to work on a team, ability to
work independently, creativity, etc. are harder to define and different
institutions do not require the same mix of these abilities.  No one cares
if a baseball player works well with others, has an even temper, or is
creative. All that matters is do they catch the ball, do they hit the ball,
or do they strike out the batters. We do care if our curator is a whiny,
territorial person no matter how much they know about the subject.  Can you
imagine a registrar spitting in a donor's face and only getting a two day
suspension? Or how about a bench clearing brawl between Hagley and
Wintertuhr [You know you want to see it ; )] and no one getting punished?
The point is that different sizes and types of museums require different
subjective skills they don't teach in museum schools and that happiness and
success at one does not translate into happiness and success at another.

The two types of institutions require fairly distinct and/or slightly
modified skills, aptitudes, temperaments, and experiences. I have seen many
people who were successful in one venue make the jump to a different size
institution and fail miserably.  To imply that a job at a bigger institution
is "better" and playing in the "big leagues"  (and thus a small museum
"worse" and "minor league") depicts an inaccurate hierarchy of professional
accomplishment within the museum world and is offensive to those who choose
to work, specialize, and flourish in smaller institutions.

Why does this matter on this particular thread?  Because when the topic of
professional training arises (as it does every 3 months or so) most people
tend to speak in absolutes, i.e. "you must get an MA as soon as possible",
"get lots of experience first", "intern at a large institution," or "work at
a small institution, it will give you better experience."  What we should be
telling young professionals (and career changing or retired individuals from
other professions, an excellent source of competent staff) is that no two
museum professionals are alike and that no two museums are alike. (The
dichotomy expressed between small and large and the characteristics of each
is a gross generalization that I reluctantly adopt to reply to the thread
already started)  You will be happiest and most productive at the position
that best suits your skills, temperament, experience, education, career
stage, and professional goals.  For Mr. MacDonald (and perhaps Robin, I
didn't read her original post) a position at a large, well-known institution
may be "better," but it may not be better for others. And it may be better
NOW for a person, but not in ten years.  New museum professionals should be
encouraged to find what's best for them and to continue to foster their
professional growth in WHATEVER direction it takes them until the day after
they retire, if then.  They will be happier, more productive, and contribute
more to the museum world and the community in which they work.

I'm done.

Thank you.


--
Matthew White
Director of Museums
The Mount Washington Observatory
North Conway, New Hampshire

=========================================================
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).