Thus, my emphasis on "certification."  It says more about knowledge and
skills in a particular area (if developed correctly) than a degree.  My
degrees are in history.  Did they prepare me to run a museum.  No, but
twenty years of developing and running non-profit organizations did.


------
Robert Handy
Brazoria County Historical Museum
museum_bob
[log in to unmask]
http://www.bchm.org

----------
From:   Belinda Nickles[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:   Thursday, July 30, 1998 11:16 AM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Re: The Value of an M.A. - $7.25/hr?

I agree with Robert.  It is not necessary to have a degree to do a good job
when working for a museum.  Unfortunately, directors and boards often seem
to think a degree reflects more prestige on a museum or instills the staff
member with a magic wand for solving all problems.

When an opening for an Assistant Curator opened at my museum, I recommended
someone from my curatorial staff who was very knowledgeable and perfectly
suited for the job.  I had often sought advice from this person when
situations arose for which I had no direct experience.  Unfortunately, the
Director turned this person down because she did not have that college
degree.  Six months later, she left the museum.

Salaries do need to be raised, but also museum studies programs should let
prospective museum professionals know that they most likely be underpaid.
 While it didn't make a difference to me, there are people out there trying
to support families who think of museums as businesses who pay business
salaries to people with that higher degree.