I have to chime in one more time. I am a proud gen-x er myself. I agree, I would not hire anyone for a job who simply felt they "deserved it" because they went to school, had x type of special internship, etc. Kudos to anyone who turned down a job becuase the salary was lower than what they thought they deserved. If that person ends up working in the corporate environment for more money, great. Hopefully they will be in a higher tax bracket, thereby contributing more money to the insitution they didn't want to work for. This is a professional field not a fraternity. We are, none of us, going to get anywhere if we want the new genration of museum professionals to accept less than what they deserve simply because "we had to do it." I feel like this is the old "I had to walk up uphill both ways in the snow to get to school" story. Two wrongs make another wrong, no one ever got ahead through revenge, yadda yadda yadda. Yes, the field is turning over, but those on their way to retirement will still be hiring those students fresh to the field who will become their replacements in a few years. It will take some time for professionals with a more equitable mindset to be the ones in charge, reform their boards, and start putting their idealistic (but still very intelligent) educations to use in a open and progressive environment. Still -- I offer good luck and the will to perservere to anyone thinking of entering the field. My advice to anyone thinking of working in the field: Get your foot in the door as soon as humanly possible and never take it out. You can volunteer, do contract work, take jobs that may not be your area of expertise. Learn other people's jobs so you can work with them more easily in the future. Understand the whole beast, not just your specialty. Knowing what your co-workers do (or what they should be doing) will make your life easier when you get there. I like resumes that have no gap in museum experience and show a concerted effort to stay on top of current scholarship. Conference attendance, professional membership, workshops offered by AASLH, AAM, anything that shows you are willing to continue to educate yourself and bring that education into your new work environment is a great asset to where your resume goes in the pile. Although a lot of this is subjective, I personally like some one who is a self-starter, someone who does not need to be "managed" and is confident in their abilities. Time and budget don't really allow any of us too much time for staff oversight. Know what you are doing, and do it. I was angered by the "I can't hire you because you don't have any experience" argument. My mental response to that was "Well, if someone doesn't hire me how can I get any experience?" What a catch-22. I volunteered, tried to make as many contacts as I could, worked at very small places and ensured that when I left I would get a good reccomendation from my supervisor. Internships are great too. I found it most helpful when my internship was more about learning than about doing. Having a specific project that you can design, modify and complete is a great way to show that you are a problem-solver and willing to take the initiative to get the job done and figure things out if they don't work exactly as you thought. Internship supervisors make great references. Erin. Erin Elizabeth Crissman Curator Historic Cherry Hill 523 1/2 South Pearl St. Albany, NY 12202 p.518.434.4791 f.518.434.4806 [log in to unmask] ========================================================= 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).