Mac West suggested:
Perhaps the analysis should not be of who is either not being hired or
having difficulty being hired but rather of who IS being hired -

I think that Mac has made a useful proposal.  I think we can all agree
that it is tough, tough, tough out there.  And Julia's point about the
empty chairs at the top certainly points to the problem from the other
end.  Museums do not have enough resources [time, money, and staff] to
do everything that we want to do, or that the public expects from us [we
think].  Perhaps we are overreaching?

The question is this:  what, exactly, does it take to land a job in a
U.S. museum today (or for that matter, in New Zealand, South
Africa--Patrick told us what it takes in Italy--active help from
Providence!).  How do recent graduates prepare for the intense
competition for these jobs?  And what do museums need to do
institutionally, to ensure that the best and the brightest do not simply
burn out and evaporate in a puff of smoke and ash?  In other words, how
do we make this a more humane field?

For starters, I love the idea that jobs in Aviso could not be advertised
unless they offered a living wage.  Any members of the AAM board out
there?

Because I have so little to do in my own job[!], I would love to collect
some stories about how people have broken into the biz, and look for
some patterns that I could then report back to the list.

Bear in mind folks, I hold no illusions that we would solve anything,
but perhaps some help and hope for the recent grads out there would not
be out of line.  All of us started somewhere, and few of us were handed
dream jobs right out of the gate.

Reply to me personally, and I will report back what I learn.

Claudia Nicholson
Curator
Museum Collections Department
Minnesota Historical Society
345 Kellogg Blvd. W.
St. Paul, MN  55102-1906
      Tel: 612-297-7442
      FAX: 612-297-2967
      e-mail:  [log in to unmask]

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