It seems it's time to infuse a little "current state
of the world" into the discussion.
Right now, a number of the brightest and the best
prospects for the museum world have had a very hard
time for a very long time trying to get a job in the
museum world. No matter how educated, no matter how
dedicated, no matter how talented, no matter how long
and hard they've tried, they've come up empty when
they cast their net into the sea of museum employment.
As has been discussed here time and time and time
again, there are more candidates for employment in the
museum world than there are jobs to fill. That
happens in the best of economic times, and right this
minute we're far from that. The job market in the
for-profit sector is less than good, and that cascades
down to the nonprofit level. All intelligence I've
read and offered to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/musejobs is that the
future is less than fuschia.
Now is the time to seriously look at two things:
1. What transferrable skills do you have that you
could market to another field given the education you
currently have such that you could get a job to pay
your today bills and the educational debt you've
already incurred?
2. While getting additional education is always
valuable from a pure-knowledge sense, is it really
economically sensible to get more education that puts
you into contention for a job that may just not be
there? At least for today?
I'm not trying to be the Grinch and suggesting that
you may never get the job of your dreams. I'm just
suggesting that you may wish to forestall it until the
picture looks rosier. With that said, this week's
economic intelligence is that unemployment claims fell
slightly.
There are a couple of ways to go on this:
1. Go ahead and work on that education because you
believe that eventually, by the time you have
finished, the situation will have reversed itself, but
go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website and see
what it is saying about your chosen field before you
do.
2. Put off getting that speciality education for now
and work in a job that allows you to incorporate the
skills you've learned in a transferrable way to pay
down your already incurred educational debt and
survive, and spend your free time volunteering or in
docentry or interning in an institution that will
allow you to build experience, skills, and job
knowledge for the time the world is better.
3. Ignore me and do whatever the heck you wanted to
do in the first place because I sound so pessimistic,
and it is, after all, your dream.
If you go for #2, you may wish to consider teaching
for now. This would be the time to really look in
earnest in that regard because school is ending, and
some teachers are reaching the end of the road in that
capacity.
Don't give up your dream. But please put some weights
in your shoes that will keep your toes touching
present-day reality while you continue to look.
If I've not completely discouraged you--which is not
my desire because I do want you to be successful--come
on over to MuseJobs and keep looking.
Now about the individual who commented about employers
being rude and not responding when you apply, search
the MuseJobs archives in the last week and a half. I
remember posting an article there about how glutted
the job market is, in general, when it comes to
electronic applications. There are far more
candidates for any given job than companies can handle
now that it's so much easier to apply (insert your
premade resume into your browser and poof, it's
gone--no stamps, no klunky old typewriter, no hunting
down the snail mail address or contact information.
Instant info does not necessarily guarantee an instant
reply and/or any reply.)
Finally, while you're busy ruing the state of today's
museum world, you can also remember that the job comes
with low wages. You can find all the predicates to
that in the archives (see Ramen as a keyword topic).
Now, however, your "brilliant" Congress has just
passed a tax cut that will probably exclude a good
chunk of the successful museum candidates. There's a
tax care credit of $400 per child, but you have to
make more than $26,625 to qualify. Those "nice
people" in Congress have basically decided that folks
on the other end of the economic spectrum don't need
the money--after all, they can't buy campaigns for
reelection.
Good lord, I sound like doom and gloom. Must go look
for the pixie dust and make it all better.
Good luck.
--- Ware Petznick <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Hello all
>
> Perhaps you should consider my story? I have
> considerable museum experience... and a PhD... and
> yet, since submitting my thesis in 1999 and applying
> to too many museums to count, I have yet to secure a
> permanent position! I don't know what to think about
> my failure to get a museum job. Rarely has my
> application reached the interview stage... and when
> it has, I have been told frequently that I am
> overqualified. Meanwhile, I am struggling with temp
> work.
>
> So, I do believe that education is certainly worth
> pursuing, but whether or not it is financially
> viable for you, is a question that you will have to
> consider for yourself. Either way, I wish you all
> the luck in the world!
>
> Sincerely,
> Ware Petznick
>
> www.geocities.com/staforlife/museumresume.html
=====
Indigo Nights
[log in to unmask]
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