In a message dated 96-04-07 20:54:53 EDT, [log in to unmask] (Tim and Amy
Marshall) writes:

>I know this is long, but has anyone heard of low-paid or unpaid internships
>leading to bigger and better things/ For example, a friend of mine suffered
>low wages for a summer internship on a battleship, and now he's a curator at
>a maritime museum in Maine. Aren't contacts part of the point of an
>internship?
>
>

Yes, it does happen, but I think you have to be a "go-getter." I worked for
the American Indian Program at NMNH (SI) for free for a year, got a
fellowship that paid very little and made myself invaluable in the meantime
so that I got a one year term contract. Now, it was fortuitous that the
position I got was vacated by a girl going back to grad school, but the long
and the short of it is that I ended up with 2 1/2 years of valuable SI
experience that has translated very well for me on the outside. Hired as an
assistant curator at the National Firearms Museum over a year ago, I've since
been promoted to the Project Manager for the building of a 10 million dollar
museum. Like a sweepstakes, it can happen. PS: I am still paying off the
federal and private loans I took out to afford being able to work for nothing
to get that experience that allowed me to end up where I am (this is the
house that Jack built...) and I don't think I'll ever get out of debt. But
I'm "working in my field (sort of)" and currently getting paid for it (sort
of) ;-).

- Adrienne