My reference was to the information provided in job opportunity advertising;
not to the paltry salaries available in the museum field.  One writer in
this thread suggested that by not posting salary levels, museums were out of
touch with the corporate world.

At the lower levels of staff, far too many well known companies are avoiding
the announcement of openings.  Instead, they work with the so-called "temp"
agencies to recruit someone with certain skills -- place the person in the
work environment via the agency, see if the person works out, and then make
an offer (or ask the agency for a new "temporary employee").  I know of two
very recent instances where college-educated people entered their current
posts with reputable corporations via this route, both at starting salaries
of $22,500, both now getting additional on-the-job training.  They both
follow "temps" who are working up the ladder at double their entry salaries.

I, for one, would like to see museums give more motivated "neophytes" the
chance to see what value they can add to a museum in a year's "interim"
appointment.  And we may need to do something like the universities have
done long ago:  have "tenure track" positions and "non-tenure track" posts.
A generation may pass before most museums can offer more attractive
compensation if all of their professional positions are treated as
semi-permanent, with periodic raises, etc. etc.  That's just my view.







-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel Robert <[log in to unmask]>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.museum-l
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, April 16, 1998 10:44 AM
Subject: Re: JOB OPPORTUNITY: Museum Director, Golden State Museum


>Do you know of an industry that regularly pays its professional staff
>peanuts in comparison to IBM, or the federal goverment?
>
>I agree with the others, its time we demanded better pay.  Obviously we
>are in museums because we love the work, its not for the money..
>--
>Daniel Robert
>Director/Curator
>Scugog Shores Historical Museum
>16210 Regional Rd. 7
>Port Perry, Ontario, Canada
>L9L 1B4
>(905) 985-3589
>[log in to unmask]
>http://www.durham.net/~ssh-chin
>
>Ross Weeks wrote:
>>
>> For what it's worth, have you ever seen IBM "advertise" for a CEO or VP
at a
>> salary range (negotiable based on KSAs) of between $1,250,000 and
>> $18,000,000 excluding options, bonuses and perquisities?
>>
>> Have you ever seen the White House advertise for ANY of its employees?
>>
>> Have you ever seen advertisements that specify a salary range for a
>> particular job (as required by policy, state regs, whatever) only to find
>> that the state, the museum, or someone has dictated that only the entry
>> salary can actually be offered?
>>
>> Do you know of people who have accepted positions not just for the
>> compensation, but because of the quality of the museum, its location, its
>> potential, etc.?
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Arlyn Danielson <[log in to unmask]>
>> Newsgroups: bit.listserv.museum-l
>>
>> >I for one have never enjoyed digging around for salary information that
is
>> >not posted or included in an ad.  Usually I find out what I am looking
for,
>> >but in some instances, it's like pulling teeth.  I don't like to waste
>> >anyone's time- mostly mine, if a position is not a good match.  Someone
>> >mentioned previously that if a museum doesn't mention a salary, or at
least
>> >a range, it almost seems like they have something to hide, or they are
>> >ashamed of what they offer.  In this case, shame is good! -- As hard
>> >working museum professionals, many of us wish for and deserve higher
>> >salaries.