I just have to weigh in here: in the Deep South of my acquaintance (Mississippi and Louisiana), beginning teachers start around $20,000, if they are lucky. Of course, I know plenty of curatorial salary scales that begin around $20k as well - and this is in places like New Orleans, where the cost of living is pretty high. So those of you feeling sorry for teachers who only "top out at $35k", well, remember us here in the poor part of the world. Neither profession is likely to pay well, and anybody looking for a large salary in either profession is going to have to move to wherever the need is high enough that employers *have to* pay well to attract employees. I have noticed that school districts across the country are cutting staff and increasing class size, so neither job is very secure in a tough economy. And it looks to me like state budget cuts smack education and the arts first, unfortunately. In the end, it's probably a wash as far as earning potential in musuems vs. teaching. Jill R. Chancey, Curator Lauren Rogers Museum of Art Laurel, MS (phone) 601-649-6374 (fax) 601-649-6379 ========================================================= 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).