Dear Mr. Handley, you certainly bring up valid points. I am curious where the 7000 figure for the number of grad students enrolled in museum studies programs comes from. Perhaps I've missed a piece of information in this thread. Is that nationally (US) or internationally? The reason I ask is because 7000 seems a bit high, although I could be off. Regarding the issue of culling applicants nationally or locally, I think a museum could very well advertise nationally and locally. What's to stop local talent from applying for local positions? As we all know, many museums advertise locally only, while others advertise their position openings nationally or regionally in order to find the best possible candidate whether he/she lives 2 miles or 2000 miles away. Arlyn Danielson ---------- From: JHANDLEY[SMTP:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Friday, February 06, 1998 2:10 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Museum jobs. *sigh* You've stumbled onto one of the hard facts of the museum field today, and I don't believe it will ever change. There are so many young people coming into the field (is it true that there are some 7,000 students enrolled in museum grad programs?) who are willing to work for low wages or as interns to gain experience. It makes it very hard to enter the field (for that matter, it is hard for those already in the field who just want to move on to a new position). I was one of those interns once and worked for peanuts part-time so that I could gain experience. Here's another question that I struggle with. What I really don't understand is why, when museums are so concerned about building local community, do they immediately launch a national search for a position that could easily be filled by someone living locally? It is one of the great contradictions of the field. John Handley San Francisco ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________ ________ Subject: Museum jobs. *sigh* Author: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]> at internet Date: 2/6/98 6:36 AM Is it fair to say that most museum jobs (even entry-level) require 3+ years experience? How does one get museum experience without a museum job? I see a pattern of itinerant workers in the museum field: volunteer a few months here, work on a project a few months there, etc. Stay at the same location at most a year. It doesn't sound a very stable lifestyle for a married/family person breaking into the field. I'm not a total newcomer to the ideosyncrasies of museum studies. Undergrad degrees in anthropology and history, with some graduate work in archaeology and museum studies -- I really wanted to pursue (and still think about) the field(s). But it seemed too harsh. I ended up going back for an undergrad in the computer sciences. Jobs abound, salary is good, but they're dull. My dream job would be a database analyst/researcher for a huge paleontological or archaeological collection. Full benefits package, didn't require 10+ years in a museum (2 years as a database administrator, and a triple-major in anthro/history/computer science should be adequate). If only such a job were there. Would some kind soul e-mail me if it exists? -Paul Bramscher Information Technology Specialist [log in to unmask] http://www.freenet.msp.mn.us/people/bramschp/resume.html