Eric...I usually quite enjoy your insightful (sometimes sarcastic)
remarks, but you have really missed the boat on your response to the
"non-professional" request for information. First, the term indoctrination
is an unfortunate one to use for any profession. A sense of professionalism
with fine basic skills and academic background is hardly indoctrination.
 
There are MANY professional museum training programs, perhaps with
varying degrees of quality. But there are a good number of them with
very high standards established by the Museum Studies Committee of
the AAM. While there is no formal accreditation process for museum
training (the AAM Council has never approved one), standards and
criteria have been formulated and published by the Museum Studies
Committee, now a standing committee of the AAM called the Committee
for Museum Professional Development. Most training programs abide
by these, and use the curriculum suggested, with some variations.
 
The unified perspective that has been evolving in the museum field is
one of a sense of professionalism, standards without standardization.
 
Your "in-house" humor about courses to take is amusing for the veterans
among us, but not much help for the interested students out there. Ed
Pershey has some very good suggestions, Joy Davis too, and I would add
that courses in communications skills (verbal and writing) should be
required. Both financial and human resources management are at the top
e must not forget about keeping a sense of humor...not taught in the MBA
programs that I know of.  Keep them laughing, Eric, but get the facts, please.
Jane