Here is another comment to add to discussion.  As a graduate of a
museum studies  program that stressed that museum salaries were not the
highest in the world, I         started out making about $14K a year.  I
have slowly progress to say that I make a       livable wage in the present
position as head registrar LACMA, but it has taken quite a      few years to
get to that position.  During the growth years, I worked hard to make   ends
meet, but managed quite well. I eventually taught at the JFK museum studies
program where it is always communicated to the new or prospective students
at      open houses that the pay scales are not high, but the work is
rewarding in other      aspects.
        It is interesting that this topic has surfaced.  The RC-AAM did the
salary survey.  I       have recently used it along with some other
investigations to try to help my staff in       getting increases. We will
see if it works. But has this been addressed at AAM or  Regional meetings?
When we see a number of Registrars or other museum workers      leaving the
field for dot.com or private sector jobs, how does this look to people
entering the field?  Do they know or even care? All they want is a job in a
museum  that pays a decent salary and where they can contribute to create an
experience or   service for a worthy endeavor.
        Ted A. Greenberg,Head Registrar, LACMA

> ----------
> From:         Deb Fuller[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent:         Monday, June 19, 2000 7:01 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Wages - ENOUGH!!
>
> In a message dated 6/19/00 9:14:21 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> > John touched on something interesting, as did Deborah.  Museums require
> >  employees with certain educational backgrounds.  Yet they often seem
> >  unwilling to pay for it.  Perhaps the only way this will improve is if
> the
> >  people with those qualifications refuse to sell their services for less
> than
> >  an acceptable wage.  Just call me an idealist...
>
> Whinging about wages rears it's ugly head every now and then and every
> time I
> think "Maybe people will learn" but then again, just call me an
> idealist...
>
> In an ideal world, there would be jobs for anyone willing to go through
> the
> time and expense of getting a higher degree in any subject whatsoever. And
> your wages would be proportional to the amount that you put yourself in
> debt
> getting those degrees. Better yet, the State would be obligated to cover
> the
> cost of a degree as putting people's education would come far ahead of the
> overinflated national defence budget.
>
> But we don't live in an ideal world. People slave away for years getting
> letters past their name that amount to little more than minimum wage while
> high school flunkies that happen to be computer programming geniuses or
> get
> into a labor union make more than we could ever hope to imagine.
>
> It's a cruel, cruel world out there and talentless sods with one good idea
> are getting rich while those of us who paid our dues in academia eat our
> Ramen noodles until payday when we can splurge for McDonalds but all the
> while saying how much we love our jobs and wouldn't dare get caught
> selling
> out to a heartless corporate empire - even if it meant not having to
> refinance those loans yet again. Our grandchildren might be stuck paying
> off
> the last pennies to Uncle Sam but for now, we are content eating our Ramen
> noodles in our own little utopia of poverty.
>
> Ask anyone in the museum profession that has worked there for any length
> of
> time and they would say without hesistation that if museums could afford
> to
> pay people a living wage, they would. You want to know how much a simple
> display case exhibit costs? Try $50,000. For one, count them one exhibit
> and
> that's if you are getting it cheap and sing a sob story to the exhibit
> designers how your museum is still paying off construction debt and you
> need
> this exhibit to attract more people to squeeze money out of so that you
> can
> build more exhibits and start the vicious cycle all over again.
>
> Talk to the grants writer who is up at 11:52pm trying desperately to make
> one
> final edit in the grant proposal due by midnight that will allow the
> museum
> to pay their employees for another year of eating Ramen noodles instead of
> sending them out to the job world to fend for themselves.
>
> For every one person that gets paid enough to live on, there are 50 people
> eeking out an existance at museums who desperately want to pay them what
> they
> are worth but are more concerned about keeping the water flowing, the
> lights
> on and the doors open.
>
> Perhaps instead of going for the masters in ancient Chinese Pre-Celtic
> art,
> someone on this list will see this post and instead get an MBA in
> non-profit
> organizations or in arts management and find a way to save musem employees
> from the fate of Ramen noodles. Afterall, museums are just as good as what
> we
> put into them. If we complain about the menu and don't work to change it,
> we're still stuck with Ramen noodles.
>
> Cynically,
>
> Deb Fuller
>
> Disclaimer - This post is in no way meant to demean Ramen noodles, an
> excellent food source that has been found worthy enough by the Japanese
> people to errect an entire museum in it's honour.
>
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