*********Forwarded Message Follows ***************************************** I'd prefer not to spend a lot of time harping on this particular topic (I'm wondering how cash-strapped students who desperately need to cobble together the income producing minutes of their days are able to expend such copious amounts on time airing their injustices) BUT Why do you have to take off six months for a museum internship? Why to you have to do an internship at an institution that is not flexible enough to meet you half-way in determining a schedule? Yes, many larger institutions do not permit this flexibility but have you really "missed out on the opportunities" your friends had because you could only work during the evenings or weekends or a few hours a week spread over a longer period of time at a smaller institution that really valued your help and didn't have 200 applications to weed through per position? Are you limited by your cramped schedule or by the idea that you have to have that all-important institutional name on your resume? And while some of your classmates may be parentally supplimented, they'll have to face one lesson at graduation. This is the 501(C)3 sector. Welcome to the world of non-profit. Don't even THINK about getting a living wage after graduation and you might be pleasantly surprised. If you thought otherwise when you signed onto your MA program I suggest that you entered this profession unprepared. And yes, some people get all the good internships. And yes, they might make contacts that make looking a job easier than someone who has to do the Aviso mass-mail rountine. They might also be pigeon-holed onto one job, feel like a glorified secretary, or not really have any kind of real responsibility. They might also be smarter, prettier, and more successful than you. But who ever said life was fair...evaluate your situation and stop comparing yourself with others and you might find more material to work with than you thought. P.S. In many cases, if you work part-time or full-time for a university, you receive a significant tuition reduction in addition to a meager salary. A former GW Museum Studies student who worked 40 hours a week, took five classes a semester and held a 16 hour internship, and did not have a life to speak of. But who ever said I should have? Now gainfully employed and happy. *********End of Forwarded Message********************************************