In a message dated 11/19/98 12:12:19 PM, [log in to unmask] wrote:

>Maybe I am ranting, ok so I am ranting, but its hard to swallow someone who
>has a good job, telling me to work harder and get another job just so i can
>do the job I love, in the first place.


Let me be clear. I am not telling anyone to "work harder." I merely suggested
moonlighting as ONE possible solution to a low-wage job. It is something that
has worked for me (see below). I moonlighted many times during my career,
hoping that the next job would be the big one. And it's not just the underpaid
who are pulling double duty: A lot of well-paid professionals have second
careers.

When I finished school, the first opening in a museum that I was qualified to
fill paid a salary of $12,000 annually. This was $4,000 less than I was making
at the time (working at a retail card store!); nevertheless I applied for the
position because I was prepared then to do whatever it would take to get the
experience I needed to start a career that used my art history degree.

Sadly, I didn't get that museum job. And as the years passed and I continued
working and making more money in another field, those entry-level museum jobs
and their ridiculously low salaries became less and less appealing. When I
moved to Washington, DC, I once again tried to "break in" to the museum field.
At one point I was simultaneously: (1) working in a museum gift shop (so I
could already be "in the door" for the next opening); (2) working for no pay
at an arts publication (for the experience, and it did help lead to a better
job outside the arts); and (3) working at night as a proofreader at a law firm
to pay the bills.

When I got tired of working so much, I figured out how much money I needed to
live and got a job in publishing that supplied it.

I know that the lack of jobs that pay a reasonable salary is frustrating, but
I don't understand some of the comments that I received because of my
suggestion to get a second job. Whether you like it or not, it IS an option.
Because of the experience I received in a NON-PAYING, moonlighting position, I
was able to move on to another field: publishing, where I gained other
valuable experience. Four years later, I was offered a job in publishing at an
arts musuem. The salary was $10,000 LESS than what I had been earning.

So I had a decision to make: follow my heart or follow the money. At this
point I had been out of school for ten years and had a higher standard of
living, so I stayed with the money. But before I made that decision, I looked
at my expenses and really, really tried to make it work. The only way I could
have made it work was to get a second job. By that time, I was past the age of
35 and just didn't have the heart to work 12- and 14-hour days.

So, that's what I meant when I said it's easier to moonlight when you are
young. I speak from much experience, and if I had it to do all over again, I
would work my ass off to get some low-level museum job that paid crap from the
get-go because all you need is that first one to get started. If that first
opportunity comes too late, it may be impossible financially to even consider
taking it.