Wow! Who knew my inquiry would kick off so interesting a discussion!

I'll try be short, but I see both sides of the issue. To address whether
or not professors work a full week, it will always depend on the person.
This argument is neither here nor there. We can all probably come up
with examples that support or contradict this claim.

As for the academic vs. museum world decision, the reason I initially
asked the question is because I finish up in a year and am looking to
get a museum position rather than an academic position. Why? Because I
want to work in the museum world to get a feel for both museum and
academic jobs and make an informed decision on which would be a better
fit for me. I'd hate to pick one or the other then realize my calling
lies on the other side of the fence. I don't necessarily agree that
academics look down on the applied part of their field (e.g. working in
a museum) - most areas have people who do heavily applied research. It's
just a matter of which one finds more interesting.

In terms of the Ph.D., in the museum field I agree that one must work
hard to get the necessary museum experience. If one is in a doctoral
program, this is often in addition to all of the other responsibilities.
Personally, teaching 400 students a semester, taking seminars, and
putting together a 3-institution dissertation can be a bit much, but I
thoroughly enjoy the museum part of what I'm doing and wouldn't change
what I'm doing even if I could. Any doctoral or master's program is
simply what you make of it.

The crossover between academics and the museum world is one that I think
is essential. For academics, it's important to apply a lot of the
theory, whether the museum is a place to collect data, collaborate with,
or to ultimately work. For museums, academics can offer lots of ideas
and theories to try, and an influx of new ideas (this works both ways).

To be honest, I've never quite understood the us vs. them of these two
camps, but I'm beginning to get an idea.

Steve Yalowitz

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