Mr. Dill makes a good point about bureaucracy in government jobs and
required qualifications.  If I hadn't had an MA, I wouldn't have even
been considered for my current position.

In the U.S. Federal Government all of the same restrictions apply
that Mr. Dill lists below, but additionally, the Director and/or
Curator never even get to browse through the hundreds of applicants
who apply for a position to evaluate whom would be right for the
position.  The applications go to a Federal personnel office (in our
case St. Louis) and they choose the three "best" candidates whose
applications fit the description.  These three are then forwarded to
the museum and the staff chooses from them.

Because of the way the job descriptions are written in the U.S.
government, a Federal employee without a degree *cannot* advance
beyond a certain point.  I know there hard working souls out there
who do great work but are stuck at low pay levels because they don't
have college or graduate degrees--even though they have 20 years of
experience.

A few years ago, I actually argued with someone in personnel about
these practices and she told me that they really need these
restrictions to keep from being overwhelmed with applications from
unqualified people.  It would take too much time and too many work
hours to sort through all of them--and with the down-sizing of the
government I don't think it will ever change.  I think this is the
reality of a large bureaucracy.

>>> Dill, Christopher L <[log in to unmask]> - 1/8/97
3:53 AM >>>
In response to Mr. Shuman's comment, I wouldn't know about laws in
SOUTH Dakota - that's not where I'm from (sorry - hot button, that).
As regards Mr. Shuman's and Ms.
Wageman's responses, I must explain that the North Dakota law to
which I referred requires that state agencies (which we are) give a
preference in hiring to North Dakota citizens who are veterans of
certain conflicts and who meet the minimum qualifications.  That
means if I advertise a position as requiring a BA with a preference
for an MA, a vet with a BA and the proper service period can bump a
non-vet, or anyone from out of state, who has a graduate degree or
other, "better," qualifications.  We have a lot more vets in North
Dakota than museum workers or folks with graduate level
museum-related degrees.

We certainly DO require experience, and rate higher for it to the
extent which we can.  Writing job requirements and advertising is not
always a simple matter, at least for public sector, governmental
museums such as ours.  Perhaps private, nonprofit museums can hire
whomever they please, but I can't.

We ask for transcripts to provide the applicant has the degree
claimed, a writing sample done during the interview we do, references
which we DO check, and a variety of other things to help us make the
best possible choice when we hire.  We have made mistakes, and have
paid dearly for them over the years.  Seems to me that the
"self-learner" needs to prove to me that he/she is qualified.  Taking
the attitude that I'm at fault for requiring an advanced degree as a
simple, quick way for me to winnow through the 75+ applicants we
typically get for our curatorial positions is short sighted at best.

As I recall, I got embroiled in this by simply advising that a
graduate degree would be valuable.  While one can't advance here
without a degree, we do, have, and are supporting staff with both
time and dollars to pursue graduate degrees so they CAN advance.  I
don't know why our situation irritates Ms. Wageman so much, but my
advice stands as given - as my personal opinion, of course.

Chris Dill

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C. L. Dill, Museum Director
State Historical Society of North Dakota
612 East Boulevard
Bismarck  ND  58505-0830
P: (701)328-2666
F: (701)328-3710
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Visit our Web site at: http://www.state.nd.us/hist/
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