Having a job that you love is a dream come true, but you also have the bills to pay. We, like the teaching profession, lose so many talented people because of the lack of pay and respect. I believe that the museum is viewed as being something more frivolous, not really really needed, and that reflects on the lack money put into the museums to truly pay their employees the salary that they deserve, which should be higher than just a living wage. Preserving history and culture, teaching these things, and reaching out to our communities with this information is very important in society, therefore we deserve more respect for what we are doing, which, in this world, means more money.
Money isn't everything, but when society wants you to keep doing what you are doing, they give the money for you to keep your operation going. Until we make society see that it is very important that museums keep doing what they are doing, then we will not see more salaries that make any kind of sense.
My answer to this serious lack of money, even including people with years of museum service, is to find a more noticeable demand related to the museum profession which will provide more money. I work at the credit union to pay the bills and receive good benefits, but I am also beginning to write articles for newspapers and magazines related to the different events going on in the local areas. I figure that everyone needs to go out and have a good time anyhow, why not provide them what they want to know before they go try to hunt down an event to go to.
Well, just my two cents. Unfortunately, money is such a crucial factor in this society. It doesn't mean that some of us are not committed to the museum profession, it just says that we know that we have our responsibilities that take money to uphold. We also know that we deserve better. The teaching profession is doing a little more to attract talented people to their field. We should do more to maintain our talent and attract new ones. We are not asking for a whole bunch of money, just a strong salary that will provide us with what we need and some things of what we want.
Sincerely,
Christi
M erri C .Pemberton
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