One more thing about internships: most internship recruiters from colleges
and grad schools send out letters making sure that the organization is not
habitually using interns to replace regular, paid-at-level staff members.
The interns are there for educational purposes (theirs), not the museum's
cheap-semi-skilled-labor needs. Supervising an intern properly takes a
whole lot of work in order for the intern to benefit from the experience as
well. An internship position is not a replacement for a permanent staff
position and should never be treated as such. It does both the intern and
the museum a disservice.
Julia Muney Moore
Director of Exhibitions and Artist Services
Indianapolis Art Center
820 E. 67th St.
Indianapolis, IN 46220
(317) 255-2464 x233
FAX (317) 254-0486
email <[log in to unmask]>
website <http://www.indplsartcenter.org>
-----Original Message-----
From: Jay Heuman [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004 11:14 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Museum interships reality check (formerly "RE: experience for
entry level positions")
Hi Indigo et al.:
I agree with everything Deb and Indigo, and most others have written;
however, I feel the need to clarify the museum internship situation.
Museum internships come in two main "flavors."
The first, to which Indigo refers, are the the short-term (often max. of
12 months), full-time (40+ hours per week) variety. These often pay far
less than minimum wage, when you take into account moving costs, living
expenses and the insane hours expected. Most of these internships ought
to pay the same stipend/salary for half the number of hours . . . to:
(1) allow recent graduates to learn skills (whether or not they are
applied in the museum field or some other field); and, (2) allow them to
find a part-time job to supplement the lousy internship stipend/salary.
Sadly, museums are not going to pay the same for half the hours as they
can't afford to . . . it's not going to happen. So, recent graduates
must decide to seek work beyond the museum field, to accept a museum job
tangential to their long-term goals (like my three and a half years in
visitor services), to bounce from internship to internship until they
land a full-time museum job, etc.
The second are the short-term, part-time variety that students can
arrange while still in school -- to earn credit, to earn some dollars,
and to learn skills. Volunteering can often get a student credit and
skills, but not money . . . and money puts food on the table and pays
tuition, books, etc. for the graduate degrees necessary for museum work.
Museum Studies and Internships are not "false promise." Each individual
must make their decision regarding the pursuit of employment in the
museum field. Some will become discouraged, and will decide to pursue a
different line of work. Some will think: "There are some museum jobs
available. Someone will be hired for each of those jobs. I could apply
as I might be hired!" (This was my thinking, what kept me motivated.)
While museum employment is not guaranteed, it *is* a possibility for
those who take advantage of opportunities -- education, networking,
conferences, volunteering AND internships. It's not a matter of luck.
Instead, take my mother's advice: "Study and work hard to make your
luck!"
Best wishes, sincerely,
Jay Heuman, Curator of Education
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art
Utah State University
4020 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-4020
T 435.797.0165
F 435.797.3423
Education costs money, but then so does ignorance.
Sir Charles Moser, b. 1922
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museum discussion list
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Indigo Nights
> Sent: Monday, May 10, 2004 10:31 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: experience for entry level positions
>
> First, if you are a museum who cannot afford to hire
> individuals, stop taking in interns. Whoa! That may
> seem absurd on its face. But if you aren't going to
> have positions out there for these folks to get jobs
> in the long run, and all you're doing is stemming the
> drain in your institution by using free or dirt-cheap
> labor to avoid filling a position with someone who is
> paid a living wage, you're doing no one any favors.
>
> All you are doing is further perpetuating to these
> individuals the false sense of hope that there's a job
> for them at the end of the rainbow. They're working
> their backsides off getting education and
> proselytyzing those skills in the hope that someone
> out there is going to see how wonderful they are and
> hire them. But if you don't have the money to pay
> them and will only backfill with another intern, don't
> rationalize that you're doing greater good for the
> museum field and those wanting interns. You are
> creating a false sense of "job security."
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