I'm a lot disappointed on that one. We had some VERY talented, very eager young people and less experienced, more-candled people in the mentoring program here. Some did make matches, and we did have some successes. That part was very heartwarming. But there were several who were not contacted. That's a travesty. Some part of what I learned about this list is that, like many things in life, people look at it as a WIIFM (What's In It For Me?). They're happy to take, but not as many as should be are eager to give. It's really a shame because there are some very talented and brilliant people here with a wealth of knowledge. I am of the express mindset that knowledge is to be shared. That, in some measure, is why I personally love museums so much--there's much you can learn if you open your eyes and your mind. I've read a couple of notes on the PhD and other degrees that ran with this thread. Experience is important, but it's still an elitist enough society that a PhD is going to be valued in this profession over an MA and a volume of experience. Here's the fine line on that, though. It's been my perception from my tenure here that, though they are more likely to take the PhD, they are less apt to pay for the PhD (commensurate pay) when salary time comes. Some of that ties to the fact that there is often not enough money. Some of it ties to the job market in the museum field in general. Because people WILL work for less, museums will pay less. I don't know if that sorry condition can be changed because the public, at large, does not seem to value its cultural institutions as much as we might hope (ergo more contributions to fund programs and salaries), and that becomes even tougher still in a very tight economy (we're in a recession, hoping not to be in a depression). With the tanking of the stock market in recent months, funding has dropped off dramatically, and programs--and, accordingly, salaries--are affected. This morning on MuseJobs http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MuseJobs I posted an article about the tougher time PhDs, in general, are having in today's employment market. Subscribers who missed the article can find it in our Messages archive: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MuseJobs/messages In the same archives, you will find the link to the 2002 Nonprofit Salary Survey I posted. Further, in MuseFunding http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MuseFunding you can find an article about Senator Grasseley's preliminary investigations concerning United Way. My development experience has shown that, when there is a backlash against a major entity such as United Way, charitable giving goes down markedly, which ultimately could affect jobs. Subscribers to MuseFunding can find that article in the archives here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MuseFunding/messages Subscriptions on Yahoogroups, as you know, are free. Deb Fuller Wrote: > I'm a little disappointed that Indy's mentoring > program fizzled. That to me is > one of the best ways of finding out about the museum > world. And I think we also > need people from related industries who can help new > museum grads get > experience they need to compete for the museum jobs. ===== Indigo Nights [log in to unmask] Looking for a Job? Try Got Links?, Your One-Stop Portal http://victorian.fortunecity.com/stanmer/414 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs http://www.hotjobs.com ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).