Like Andy I can't stand it anymore either.  It seems to me that whenever
the wage discussion rears it ugly head, and I do think that in certain
contexts it is a legitimate point of discussion, we tend
to go for each other's throats.  Yes, generally, the wages are bad
and this is a bad thing.  However, there are many, many reasons for this
and we should not be so quick to judge either the job or the people who
work the job.  There are GREAT jobs out there that make didly. They
are fulfilling, they may fit perfectly into someone's present life
situation, they are great experience, etc. I know, I have had some jobs
like this.  I have one now and I can't begin to tell you how much that
job means to me.  I worked clerical for a number of years so that I could
afford to keep that job and while that is not something that I would
encourage people to do (although it expanded my horizons in many ways) and
it is not something that everyone would want to do, or could do, it was
right for me and for my life.  And there are also horrible jobs out there
which make very tidy sums.  I have friends who have these jobs
and I have friends who have left these jobs.  And there are great jobs
that make great money.  There are great internships which pay nothing and great
interships that pay. I have had both.  Some people are grossly overpaid
for what they do (whether they make $45,000 or $10,000) and some people are
grossly underpaid (whether they make $45,000 or $10,000) for what they do,
well, find a field where this is not so. And while I truly believe in
doing everything we can for solidarity, and I don't believe in
the exploitation of professionals and professionals working for nothing,
unless it is truly volunteer work and the institution is aware that they are
getting pro bono work, not every institution is going to be
able to pay a "living wage".  That is the nature of some institutions.
It is especially common in the local history field.
Some are never going to be full-time or completely "professional"
organizations.  Some are never going to have the money. It could be that
often the institutions who are posting jobs to the list, the ones
with the very low salaries which send some of us into a flame tizy, truly
can not afford any more and it may be a choice of either a poorly
paid professional in the position or no professional in the position or
no position.  I know which I think is better.  There are, of course,
also institutions which can pay more and don't.  While I think
that we should do whatever we can as a profession to increase wages
and I truly can be as militant about this as just about anyone, and I do
have socialist tendencies, I think it would be good, and make for a
kinder gentler list, something I think we are in need of this summer, if we
could all remember that we all make different choices in life for
different reasons and while the rest of the world may
look down upon some of our work because the pay is bad, we, as a
group, should not and that is what we have been doing.  I could go on, but
I'll duck now while people threw things at me. Mary Mannix

                        ************

                        Mary K. Mannix
Library Director                        Reference Librarian
Howard County Historical Society        Lilienfeld Library
PO Box 109                              School of Hygiene and Public Health,
8324 Court Avenue                       Johns Hopkins University
Ellicott City, MD                       Baltimore, MD
                        410-955-3028
                410-750-0370 (Tues. pm & Saturday)
                        410-955-0200 (fax)
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                        Co-Moderator, H-Local