Thanks so much for your message, Erin. I don't think
there's a person among us who doesn't appreciate the
intangible rewards of our profession - that incredible
feeling when you look forward to going to work every
day and, as an historian, when you see that look of
recognition in a visitor's eyes and you realize that
you've helped bring the past alive for them for the
first time... 

We do make some incredible sacrifices, though. I'm a
Gen-Xer whose been employed full-time in the field for
5 years now who has had to do without some pretty
fundamental things because of my salary, i.e. dental
care and eye care. In 5 years, I've built several
thousand dollars worth of credit card debt that I
never had before. I have no retirement savings, no
equity in a home, and no savings for a home. I can't
afford to travel. I have very, very little money for
clothing, shoes, gifts... the daily stuff of life that
come so easily to my friends and family. Instead of a
husband supporting me in my career, my family has
filled in the gaps for me here and there. 

My intention is not to complain, but rather to make
the point that a salary in the high-teens/low-twenties
is next to impossible for a single person to count
upon to make a living. And yet it's still the going
rate for most full-time jobs for museum professionals
with less than 10 years of experience...

I strongly suspect that the only solution for this
problem - other than a sudden, dramatic drop in the
amount of people seeking jobs in museums - is
unionization. I know, there are all kinds of reasons
it's impractical... but there may have seemed just as
many reasons unionization seemed impractical in other
industries that have long since taken that step. If we
stand as a group in a body as large as the membership
of AAM, organize ourselves into occupational
categories, and certify ourselves, we can then demand
a genuine living wage. Does that mean many museums
will have to close and distribute their collections to
others? Sure does. Does that mean that museums will be
centralized with branches a little bit fewer and
farther between? Yep. Does that mean that museum-going
and program participation will no longer be free? Most
likely. But it also means that the museums left over -
the museums who adapt to survive and have the greatest
demand for their services - will be better prepared
financially to care for their collections and to pay a
real living wage to their staff. 

Just a few thoughts! 

Bethany Rutledge

.ORG> wrote:

> I am so glad you've all put this out there.  I am
> fairly new to the field. This is my first job out of
> graduate school and I've been here for four years. 
> (disclaimer: my job is great!  I love my
> environment, benefits and salary, the following has
> nothing to do with my current position)
> 
> I have, however, been working in the field since I
> was 15.  When I was in highschool and college I
> always had two jobs.  I affectionately called them
> my "museum job" and my "job for money."  The job for
> money was always waitressing or retail. 
> Surprisingly it wasn't until a year ago that I was
> able to give up my "job for money."  It is appalling
> to me as well that I read ads for musuem posistions,
> particularly at small places that are still paying
> in the low to mid 20s for "jack of all trades" jobs.
> That means this poor soul is making 12.50 an hour
> before taxes! An no benefits! I made more than that
> waitressing in college for crying out loud. For this
> $10 (after taxes) you know you will be there for
> every board function and event and are responsible
> for basically the entire operation.  (don't forget
> you will be transporting yourself in that car your
> parents helped you buy in college that really needs
> to be replaced but you can't aford it.)  
> 
> To old and new graduates alike:  This field is very
> small, the way government funding is going these
> days it isn't going to grow by leaps and bounds
> anytime soon. (and if you accept a position in the
> low 20s, you will likely be writing your own
> grants!)  There are far too many museums competing
> for the shrinking pool of grant monies.  Many boards
> I have encountered and heard about are composed of
> non-professional older "history buffs" who fell in
> love with  museums that were operated by women who
> moved in the social system of the fifties and
> sixties, made less money than men, and got home to
> make dinner for thier families.  This is obviously
> no longer a reality.  
> 
> Frankly, it is up to those who want to enter the
> field, and those of us changing jobs to simply
> refuse these "worse than retail" salaries. If we
> keep excepting them, they will keep offering them. 
> A lot of museums set their salaries based on
> regional surveys. Its a long row to hoe, but we are
> the ones who will change the pitiful pay rate.
> Boards will not wake up one day and say "boy, if we
> want someone to do this job right, we should pay
> them more." I have a feeling the message is more
> like "well, the last one we hired accepted that
> salaray, and never even asked for a raise .. why
> should we raise it now? .. besides I don't want to
> give up my board meeting snacks or the refreshments
> at our annual holiday party .."  Ok, that part was a
> little synical, but that is I suspect, what is
> really going on in their heads.
> 
> I think our salaries are the visible symptom of a
> lot of very irresponsible management.  Museums,
> particularly small historical societies, operate in
> buildings they cannot maintain, have poor
> collections policies and accept collections they can
> niether store properly or take care of (with staff
> time or adequate budget lines for supplies or
> conservation), operate poorly, or not-at-all
> researched, programming that serve homogeneous
> constituentcies and present one-sided interpretation
> that glorifies the past.  None of this is going to
> get them more funding, or the funding they receieve
> will be to remidate poor storage and infastructure.
> 
> I know there are some people out there who will have
> big problems with my message here, but I've heard it
> at every conference I've been to in the last four
> years and I know graduate school professors and
> directors will agree.  Please-I am not making a
> blanket statement about all museums. I know there
> are a lot of small places out there who are working
> very hard and believe in their message. But, is
> their message sustainable beyond their own
> enthusiasm for it right now, in their lifetimes? 
> Places that are operating responsibly don't often
> offer such small pay rates, because they understand
> that to stay afloat takes a lot more then just their
> own passion for the architecture of the late 19th
> century banker's house in their town, or their
> affitiy for shoe-makers in history, or the work of
> an artist who happened to be their grandfather.
> 
> So I guess the message is that if you are thinking
> about entering this field, keep in mind that you
> will probably be paying a lot for your education,
> and later, for your youthful idealism.  This is a
> great field with a lot of fantastic institutions and
> fantastic professionals. If you would like to work
> at, or be one of these people simply going to school
> isn't going to get you much more than an offer of
> $25/year and the opportunity to work in the "museum
> of the poorly mainted collection" featuring their
> new exhibit "irresponsible interpretation of boring
> objects" in Very Tiny Town, usa. If you you think
> working in a museum is what you want to do, don't go
> to the MET or your regional art or history museum.
> Go to your small town historical society and shadow
> their staff for a day, if they have one. Ask if you
> can sit in on a board meeting. This is the reality
> of what you are about to enter, you will learn more
> about the ideal at school, what you should be
> striving for, not what
>  the reality you are about to enter.
> 
> Sorry for the sad message. If you think this in
> unfair and you still want to enter the field, may
> your anger drive you to a three figure salary at an
> urban museum just to prove me wrong!
> 
> Good luck!
> Erin.
> 
> Erin Elizabeth Crissman
> Curator
> Historic Cherry Hill
> 523 1/2 South Pearl St
> Albany, NY 12202
> 518-434-4791
> [log in to unmask]
> 
>
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