Nancy,

It might be worth your while getting a Certificate of Museum Studies, or
some similar kind or certification, if not going for your Masters. If you
look through Aviso you'll see that most, if not all, postings call for an
advanced degree of some kind which can be disconcerting.

There are many certificate programs around the country, and I think for an
administrative position, (as opposed to a curatorial) you'll be able to
find a job in the field. Some of the courses are one or two years long.  It
seems like the CMS is like taking half of a Masters course, and gives you
experience in the administrative side of Museum Studies. A masters in Art
History or something like that mostly require you to take a foreign
language as well as core art history classes. Basically you can cut that
course in half and concentrate on courses designed to train you in Museum
work. Plus they usually entail an internship thus giving you the Museum
experience you need.  Plus you'll find your gallery experience will give
you greater insight into many areas. I bet you'll also be shocked at the
kind of lax care that goes on with art handling and the
conservation/preservation (or lack there of) of art works in galleries.

There is such a course at Harvard and is offered at night through the
Division of Continuing Education. A friend of mine ended up getting an
internship at the Smithsonian and landed a good job in her field as an arts
administrator for a Native American arts organisation.

There's tons of information on the internet. I hope this was helpful.

Louise Kennedy