Hello all--
        The issue of volunteering is an intriguing one.  As a recent graduate with
an MA in Art History and Museum Studies, I am caught situation of not
having enough experience to apply to many posted jobs, despite interning
during my time in the program.  However, while volunteering sounds like
(and is) a good way to get one's "foot in the door," other practical
considerations such as food, rent, and paying off student loans have to be
taken into account by a lot of us.  I suppose there's no way around the
situation, and you have to do what you can to successfully become employed,
but it is a struggle, and circumstances may prevent some new graduates, who
may otherwise be willing, from volunteering.  I have to say that I agree
with Bill Peterson that I think going on for an MA is an adequate sign of
committment to the profession!!

Just my thoughts ....
Have an enjoyable afternoon...

Karen Thompson

        At 13:58 30/06/99 -0400, you wrote:
>Just some thoughts on the recent postings.
>
>I have monitored the list for years (rarely posting) as a way to keep in
>touch with what people are talking about in my chosen profession.  At the
>moment I am looking for work in the profession but am
>geographically limited.  I have not felt it to be necessary to post a resume
>to the list.  Though it is a great place to search for openings.
>
>There are many job boards that deal with our profession.  MRB and MERC, are
>two active ones.  In addition many museums post openings on their web sites.
>The Chronicle of Higher Education has related openings as well as the
>Chronicle of Philanthropy available on line (a week old if your not a
>subscriber)
>
> In fact looking as I have been it is almost overwhelming as to where to
>start.  I have asked the administrator of the MRB if they had any feedback
>on statistics of people they have placed using the "electronic resume."   It
>seems that as of yet this isn't a widely available statistic.  Has anyone on
>the list hired from a resume first viewed electronically?  or gone to a list
>to look for an employee before posting a job?
>
>It seems to me that while this may be "banter", it apparently concerns some
>portion, at least judging by the number of postings, of our profession.
>Educating, training,  and  the placement of those new to the profession is
>part of a long list of related topics  that define a profession.  As such it
>is something all professionals should pay attention to,  employed or not.
>
> I think this whole discussion has raised greater issues.  I was intrigued
>by the post from the UK regarding the hiring of volunteers.  In my job
>search I have heard countless of respected friends and associates tell me to
>volunteer at some organization to get my "foot in the door."  I have been a
>member of both the AAM and the AASLH  for a number of years  and have a
>pretty good feel for the desired qualifications for most jobs available
>listed through these sources.
>
>I have been wondering if a young graduate has spent 4 years as an undergrad
>then got an MA, how feasible is volunteering someplace?  Even part time. I
>feel an MA shows a certain amount of commitment to the profession, moreso
>when accompanied by related experiences.  I guess the question I need to ask
>is why is this the only profession that seems to tell young, ambitious,
>bright, new people to go volunteer until that first job comes along.  Would
>an employed engineer tell a graduating engineer that.  And does this
>mentality damage the profession?
>
>Pay scales are low enough but if highly educated newcomers are volunteering
>for free what incentive is there for pay scales to increase?   In my opinion
>I think this is part of the reason that our profession demands (usually)
>such high levels of education but pays, in general, so little for it.  And
>does this situation make it more difficult
> to attract the best pool of young people interested in the joining the
>profession?
>
>    On the same line if a museum is getting the work done for free by a good
>volunteer why hire (create a position) a person to do the work?  And how
>often when a position does open up can you really find a qualified volunteer
>from among your ranks.  I recently had this discussion with someone in
>workforce development for a large mid west museum.  And I asked him, how
>often do you fill your professional positions (in this instance I was
>talking about a curator) from volunteers.  His answer was "never".  So I
>guess then it would pay for the job seeker to know what kinds of positions
>they are qualified for and judge each volunteer opportunity by what you hope
>to get out of it.  If the organization has many entry level professional
>positions that have a high turnover then maybe volunteering is the way to
>go.  I think this is relatively rare, but never underestimate the value of
>knowing the members of the search committee.
>
>Just my thoughts.
>
>
>Bill Peterson
>
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