I just have to weigh in here:  in the Deep South of my acquaintance
(Mississippi and Louisiana), beginning teachers start around $20,000, if
they are lucky.  Of course, I know plenty of curatorial salary scales that
begin around $20k as well - and this is in places like New Orleans, where
the cost of living is pretty high.  So those of you feeling sorry for
teachers who only "top out at $35k", well, remember us here in the poor part
of the world.   Neither profession is likely to pay well, and anybody
looking for a large salary in either profession is going to have to move to
wherever the need is high enough that employers *have to* pay well to
attract employees.

I have noticed that school districts across the country are cutting staff
and increasing class size, so neither job is very secure in a tough economy.
And it looks to me like state budget cuts smack education and the arts
first, unfortunately.  In the end, it's probably a wash as far as earning
potential in musuems vs. teaching.

Jill R. Chancey, Curator
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art
Laurel, MS
(phone) 601-649-6374
(fax) 601-649-6379

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