I worked (commuted an hour and a half) three days a week while in grad
school full-time. I worked because I loved what I did and the people I
worked with. I turned down grading papers and leading group discussions for
some prof for real world experience. My mother taught for 38 years - I
helped her grade papers and taught in her classroom from time to time. Not
a challenge.

The challenge was staying in school and completing my degree while working
full-time. I could not afford to pay for it so I took loans. My husband has
loans (he teaches high school English) and between us, we could buy a small
house in his home town in Virginia. :) But if you want to have the golden
PhD, you must have a master's degree. We'll be paying off our student loans
when our children are in college. Our house will be paid off before those
loans. But I am grateful they were available.

You cannot always choose a program that is economically viable. I could
have been a teacher or pursued medicine or decided to dabble with
computers. None of those professions sparked my interest more than museums.
My mother took me to Vizcaya (in Miami) as a child and I loved it. It was
my first museum. Over the years, I've been to the Smithsonian and the
Exploratorium as well as the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society and the
small Cleveland Indians Baseball Museum located at the Jake. I could not
imagine doing anything else.

Museum professionals often have an ecletic background. I'm not sure whether
they chose the profession or it chose them. You can't measure personal and
professional happiness in dollar amounts. In a world where people often
take a trade because the money is good, museum folks know better. There
must be more incentives involved! These young folks needing information
about master's programs, seeking internships and entry-level positions -
they must like what they do and are willing to make a go at the profession!
An education is the investment in the self so the self can perhaps help
others. There is no dollar amount for that. Okay..off the soapbox...thanks
for enduring. Cheers!


Jennifer L. Williams
Independent Museum-type Person (IMP)
Boone, NC


       "That wouldn't be a home run in a phone booth!"