Being a Gen-Xer myself, I have to take exception to lumping everyone
together and claiming my generation is arrogant. That is just as
illogical as generalizing that all baby boomers are going to retire just
as soon as they turn 65, which isn't the case.
I wouldn't say that my generation is arrogant. I would say that we are
focused and determined to aim high and do well, using education as a
tool. That is precisely why so many of us Gen-xers in this field are
getting graduate degrees. We take our education seriously and aim to be
professional. Obviously, in all fields, reality is different than the
ideals we are trained in. But without ideals to strive for (and being
trained in these ideals), we are doomed to accept mediocrity or the
status quo and to live a cynical life with the feeling that it will
always be the way it is now.
I also get the feeling that some folks who have been in the field and
learned from the field are threatened that there are students who have
been trained in professional standards, whether general or specific,
such as museum education, or some other more focused topic. But at least
we're starting off with the basics learned instead having to start from
scratch. These people seem to feel that just because they might not have
had those opportunities and had to learn from scratch, that future
generations must start at 0, too. We are fortunate that there are
programs to train new people in the basics and learn from what is
already known, and their knowledge will grow with real experience.
There wasn't the variety and focus of graduate programs 20-30 years ago,
so we're lucky to have this, not the opposite. I'm sure no one would
quibble with the training conservators receive, so why are we upset that
there's training for other museum careers?
As far as jobs for new grads, those who have limited experience have to
get a job in order to get that experience. Give them a break. Please
remember when you first entered the field and tried to find a job with
limited experience. There may be a lot of new grads, but don't knock all
of us, please. Getting directors jobs might be the ultimate goal for
some, not the immediate. I doubt that most want to go directly into a
director's job with no other experience but school. But who's to say
that their drive and energy might not be a good thing? It might bring in
some new, out of the box ideas to invigorate museums. Look how many
directors are now hired with no museum experience at all - they come
from the business world (completely different). At least a grad. student
knows museums to some extent.
Let's be positive about the future of museums and those who care about
it enough to pursue a career in them. It's a good thing that history,
the humanities, and the arts are desirable to so many people. If no one
cared about them, then there wouldn't be museum jobs for anyone at all,
even those who've been around for awhile.
Sabrina Henneman
-----Original Message-----
From: Deborah Barlow Smedstad [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2005 10:59 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Glut of graduates
"In addition to lower than expected salaries, I've also known graduate
students who didn't think they had to have any experience to get a job.
In
fact, they expected upon graduation to walk right into a director's job
because they have a master's degree in museum studies. And the few that
did
"luck into" such a job ended up leaving the field within a year, because
reality didn't match classroom teachings."
I've never responded to a post on this list, but this one caught my eye.
In my experience of the last ten years, I have come to the conclusion
that this is what I call "Gen X arrogance" is a generational thing. I
encountered the very same thing with several recent MLS graduates in
that age group. I had several 'interns' who thought they should be able
to step right into a museum or art library director position right out
of graduate school. Needless to say, this didn't sit too well with
those of us in the baby boomer generation who worked for paltry salaries
for 10 years or more before getting that coveted yet still low-paying
head position. I had one intern about ten years ago tell me that he
wasn't happy with his starting salary of $36,500 annually for a two-year
internship he was taking. The rest of us raised our eyebrows and
concluded that he was in for a rude awakening down the line.
I don't gripe that much about my salary since "I" am the only one
responsible for it. I didn't go into the field with blinders on. I
'did' choose to get my MLS after my MA and it was the best decision for
me. I figured out the 'reality' of the jobs in the museum field and
walked across the park to apply for that MLS.
I tell people interested in the art library field that the current
demographics are actually in their favor since many library directors
will retire in the next 5-10 years. There has in fact been turnover
that did not exist in 1985 when I was trying to get my foot in the door.
Debbie
Deborah Barlow Smedstad
Head Librarian
William Morris Hunt Memorial Library
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
[log in to unmask]
(617)369-3107
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