>>         I don't know what Ross Weeks does, but I teach five courses per
>> year and that is a lot indeed.  "Two or three" courses on the semester
>> system would be about equivalent, but most people I know on the ss at most
>> (but not all) state universities teach five courses per semester to be
>> full-time.

I couldn't resist adding my two cents on this subject. I am currently trying
to make the transition from academia to museums, probably museum education
(although I haven't figured out what formal training to pursue yet), but I,
too, must respond to the assumption that professors don't do anything. I
have many friends still in academia who have no time for anything outside of
course preparation, keeping up with their fields (a vain hope), and
conducting the research demanded by tenure committees, not to mention all
the advising and administrative work they are asked to do. And unlike many
of the faculty I had in my graduate programs, they are actually interested
in proper advising.

That said, I think the majority of professors in PhD programs are woefully
out of touch with the current job market. If you are interested in getting a
job in academia, you are better off talking to current grad students in a
program to find out whether such and such big name professor actually does
anything to help his or her students (getting funding, networking, advising)
and whether that person has actually places anybody in an academic job than
you are relying on the recruiting material departments and universities
produce. An advisor prominent in the field is of no use if he refuses to do
anything for you and considers networking for students on the job market to
be a conflict of interest.

I don't know about academic snobbery toward museums, but there is certainly
snobbery about research vs. teaching, not to mention teaching at major
universities vs. small liberal arts colleges. Since I was always more
interested in teaching than in large scale research, I am hoping museum
education will be a better fit.

On the question of MAs vs. PhD, I can't speak to the relative merits if one
is just starting out and thinking about a career in museums. However, ANYONE
considering a PhD in the social sciences or humanities these days should
think very carefully about investing all the time and energy in a degree
that may turn out to be a hindrance to employment (You have a PhD? Oh,
you'll be bored here.). The academic job market is deplorable, with more and
more colleges and universities going the adjunct faculty route so they don't
have to pay decent salaries or benefits. And if you choose to get a PhD in
something that is off the beaten path, but your big interest (in my case,
Viking archaeology), be prepared for people to be fascinated by how
interesting your subject is, but unwilling to hire someone who does that. I
don't think I'm sorry I did it, but some better advice at the start would
have been useful!

On another thread, if anyone has got this far, one of the most memorable
museums I have visited is the Ringve music museum in Trondheim, Norway,
where there is a large collection of musical instruments and where the
guides actually play some of them for you (or did when I last visited).

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