I believe that is exactly Mr. Maurer's point--that those who do just
"accept" a low pay because that's "the way it is" are getting paid just
what they're telling their employers they are worth; hence, they are not
underpaid.  It's been said time and again on this list that museum work
is not the way to go if you're looking to make a lot of money (and to
help out, there have been some pretty good ramen noodle suggestions
offered in the past!).  The question for a newcomer in the field has to
be, is your interest in the job primarily financial, or will you accept
other benefits (ie., the chance to do a job you love) as part of the
overall compensation for the work you do?

I'm in a good place right now--I'm with a city union with decent pay
scales and benefits, and no, I'm not in security or maintenance (my work
is primarily collections management, with some exhibit work thrown in).
I would say I'm lucky, except I strongly believe we all make our own
luck--I'm where I am because I worked hard to get here.  I spent five
years working in museums where my pay was in the low 20s--and these are
Canadian dollars (think around $15,000 US, at best).  Before that, I
spent four years doing collections management for free as a volunteer,
and had to work another job on top of that to support my "museum habit."
 Oh, yeah--and let's not forget those four expensive years at university
before I could even be taken seriously as a volunteer, and entrusted
with collections management duties.

My rather long-winded point here is that I agree with Mr. Maurer, and
that everyone is entitled to what they settle for--no more.  But, for
everyone who turns down a museum job because the pay is too low, there
are going to be three more people like me who will make the financial
sacrifice, because they love the work.  Eventually, you are given
opportunities to show how much you're worth, and if one museum can't
afford to pay that much for you, you can shop around for another
position.  But, it's been by motto for years that "money is a lousy way
of keeping score."  Job satisfaction is a rare thing; it seems that
museum people have more of it than average--I think it's worth more than
gold.

Happy Holidays!





------------------------------------------------------------
Tim McShane, Assistant--Cultural History
Medicine Hat Museum and Art Gallery
1302 Bomford Crescent S.W.
Medicine Hat, AB   T1A 5E6
(403) 502-8587

>>> [log in to unmask] 12/23/02 07:31AM >>>
"There is no such thing as being underpaid."  -William Maurer,
Director,
Gomez Mill House.

I beg to differ.  Did anyone consider the fact that museum jobs
continue to
pay so little because so many simply "accept" it as "the way it is?"

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