OK, my turn to rant on the whole MA/job search thread.

I didn't find the MA program at Texas Tech to be lightweight
intellectually, and I learned a lot that you can't get from just reading
a book.  And it also got me an underpaid job which (1) is exactly what I
wanted to be doing and (2) is providing a huge tuition discount for yet
another Masters (Public Administration) and my wife's Bachelors.  I did
end up washing dishes for six months while I waited for a reply from any
of the 90 resumes that I sent out, but it was worth it.  Perhaps what I
got out of my degree program is a reflection of what I put into it and
what I expected to find.  I did lots of low paid work-study jobs in
museums, I volunteered when I could, and I asked lots of questions.  I
knew the salary levels for museum jobs before I started at TTU, and no
one there ever said anything to lead me to believe that working for a
museum would make you rich.  I believe that my MA was exactly the right
preparation for my career, and I'm glad I did it.

James H Tichgelaar
Registrar
Arkansas State University Museum
[log in to unmask]

"All we ever wanted was everything.  All we ever got was cold."

Heather Stein wrote:
>
> I happen to think that the museum studies program I just graduated from
> was extremely lightweight intellectually.  I was not stimulated to think
> on my own nor was I taught anything I couldn't have read for myself.  Even
> though we were required to take oral exams, defend a thesis, and complete
> an internship I don't feel any more prepared to work in the museum field
> than I did 2 years ago.  The only difference being I have a degree to my
> name.  Compared to the discipline of my BS degree, the museum studies
> programs was less than stimulating.
>
> Heather