I am certainly not defending low salaries, I think it is extraordinary the quality of people drawn to museum work despite the typical poor wages and, often, lousy working conditions. But $25,000 is probably an average wage give or take 20% in the Big Apple. And while institutions tend to get a good deal more than they pay for, at $25,000 they face both the advantages and disadvantages of rapid turnover. For a young professional, he/she gets exposure to some of the greatest museums in the World. Also some of the worst ones, but there is learning in that as well.