No, no, no, you make very good arguments for your position. I think that
as museology advances as a bona fide field of study, we will all find
ourselves either getting higher degrees or self-educating ourselves;
witness the number of volumes you can now purchase through the AAM's
bookstore catalog.
I do feel that if an institution is going to require a PhD then they'd
better pay the bucks. An MA is still a good reason to be well
compensated. I don't have a problem hiring people with BA's, or MAs,
especially if they have had experience in the field they are in
(depending on whom you are trying to hire, designer or registrar or
other). I think experience does count for something, and should always
be considered. However, I was always told by teachers, especially art
teachers, that if you went on with your education and received a masters
it showed committment to your profession, and thus you were considered a
"serious person" in your field. Don't know why I put the quotes on
that.
Anyhoo, institutions' hiring practices and the salaries offered are
varied, and probably they ought to be depending on the museum's scale and
region. I don't see how you can hire someone as a registrar if all
he/she has is design background. By the same token, why would you hire a
museum educator that only has registration background? This is why
internships, fellowships, volunteer positions abound, to get that
experience.
But the crux of the matter is that even with that higher degree, you are
always fighting for better pay because all they want to give out there is
peanuts. Our institutions teach us how to handle fine art objects, how
to hang a Van Gogh, or build a pedestal for a 4th Century BC classical
sculpture, or how to demolish the field with a lofty essay or critique,
but they don't teach us how to negotiate for better pay.
O
Olivia S. Anastasiadis, Curator
Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace
18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard
Yorba Linda, CA 92886
(714) 993-5075 ext. 224; fax (714) 528-0544; e-mail: [log in to unmask]
On Thu, 12 Nov 1998 17:34:25 -0500 "Brennan.Sheila"
<[log in to unmask]> writes:
>Well, I will add a few cents to this discussion. I can only speak from
my experience in the museum world of Washington, DC, and what I've
heard from other museum professionals. From what I have heard, it was
much easier to get museum jobs 15 years ago, and you did not need an MA
or PhD for most positions. However,
>as I looked for entry-level jobs in 1996 after graduating with an MA,
most museums required at least a Master's in addition to different levels
of experience. After relocating to DC to intern at the Smithsonian, I
found many underemployed museum professionals, administrative assistants
and museum techs with Masters, for example, trying to get museum
experience. However, these jobs don't guarantee that you will climb the
ladder in an institution.
>
>Because so many people return to graduate school within 2 years of
undergraduate studies, museums can demand graduate degrees in curatorial,
conservation, collections management, and education fields.
>What is unreasonable is when a PhD is required for a curator and the
salary is $22,000.
>
>I have an MA in American Studies and currently work as a museum
educator. I believe that teachers should receive a degree in the subject
matter they plan to teach, because the education skills can come later.
I realize this is a huge philosophical debate in museum education and in
the teaching field. I believe the background is much more difficult to
pick up later. I've seen this in interns we have had. If you plan to be
a responsible educator in history museums, you need skills as an
historian first.
>
>I know this will be picked apart, but that is why we have this list, to
foster debate and discussion.
>
>Sheila Brennan
>
>
DEB STARTED IT!
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