As a very long time lurker of the list server I have been reading this
thread with much interest.  I am puzzled that no one has brought up one
important issue bears much weight on museum employment.  Market saturation.

A previous poster mentioned doctors receive far more pay for their years in
school.  Medical schools look very careful at current national employment
trends and accept only the number of students that they feel could be
gainfully employed in the field.

Do most graduate schools offering masters and doctorates museums related do
the same?  Of course not.  In the traditional graduate program no promises
are made in terms of securing any type of employment.  Should graduate
programs be a little more concerned about the employability of their
graduates?  Absolutely, but if you are thinking about going back to school,
it's your responsibility to be very critical about the programs you are
considering.

I know many programs frown upon prospective students asking non scholarly
questions such as: how many recent graduates are gainfully employed in the
field? But it is your duty to find these things out.  There are some very
good museum studies programs out there.  These are the ones that require
internships and have professors that are well connected in the field.

I have a master's degree in both biology and museum education. My biology
program taught me how to think like a scientist, which has been a very
useful skill to have when working in a science museum. My museum education
degree had taught me to create and implement appropriate learning
experiences for visitors. Both programs had very different goals, the first
was far more academically rigorous, but offered me no help in obtaining any
type of employment, the second was far more concerned with application of
theory, networking, and career advancement. I feel very fortunate to have
been able to experience two very different types of programs. But in
retrospect I realize I was pretty darn lucky to have found a museum employer
that was willing to first hire me with only a master's in biology and no
real museum experience.

Good luck to all,
Rita Mukherjee Hoffstadt




***************************
Rita Mukherjee Hoffstadt
Exhibit Developer
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111th Street
Queens, NY 11368
718-699-0005 ext. 373
***************************

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