Hello all!
        I just subscribed to this list serve recently and have enjoyed reading
all of your comments!  As the subject header says, I need some
advice... I will try to keep this as short as possible.

        I am a 24 year old, B.A. degree holding, finanical aid counselor at a
private university in San Francisco.  I have a passion for art history
(specifically early Meso American art, i.e. Mayan, Aztec, Incan,
Toltec, etc.) which is what I would truly want to pursue.  My degree
was in art, but I took every single art history class that was offered
by the small private univ. in Sothern California I attended.  I had a
terrific mentor and professor who encouraged me in art history.  I
never interned at a museum, but instead was selected as the Art
Department Assistant for three semesters, which was a wonderful
experience.  I found that I loved to help coordinate and manage
exhibits and events for the Art Dept.

        I graduated in December 1996 and began working right away to support
myself and my fiance.  Financial Aid was one of the only things I had
practical experience in, so I have been in that field ever since.  It
is a field I tolerate, but don't care for.  It pays the bills, so to
speak.

        My dilemma is this...  I desperately want to get into museum work.
And I realize I have two ideal ways to go about it.  Look for an entry
level job at any museum that will hire me, and take a very large cut in
pay (which, in San Francisco, can be a big problem- right now I pay
over $1,000/month for a dinky one bedroom apartment); or I could go
back to school and get a Master's degree and some intern experience.  I
realize that the second option would benefit me more (and I would
probably enjoy it more), but I think I would need to narrow my focus a
bit.  The university I work at now has an Arts Administration program
for an M.A. which is supposed to be good, but this is not in art
history or museum work.  From what I understand the program is a broad
approach to administration careers in the arts.  I think I might enjoy
actual hands-on research and museum studies more.

        Before I graduated I did some research, and narrowed down some choices
for graduate Art History programs (in Meso American art).  The three
that I thought I would apply to were: University of New
Mexico-Albuquerque, University of Maryland-College Park, and Cornell
University (this one was actually their archaeology/anthropology
program).  These could still be an option for me, in the next couple
years....

        So, what am I asking??  Any advice on the best way to go about finding
the perfect museum career for me?(research vs. administration)  And any
knowledge of the programs at the universities mentioned above?  Any
help would be so greatly appreciated.  Right now I feel like I have no
specific goals, I am just floating.  I need to get back into what I
enjoy and makes my brain work harder!!

        Thank you,

        Barbara Hawkins
        Financial Aid Counselor
        Golden Gate University