I'm a lot disappointed on that one. We had some VERY
talented, very eager young people and less
experienced, more-candled people in the mentoring
program here. Some did make matches, and we did have
some successes. That part was very heartwarming.
But there were several who were not contacted. That's
a travesty.
Some part of what I learned about this list is that,
like many things in life, people look at it as a WIIFM
(What's In It For Me?). They're happy to take, but
not as many as should be are eager to give. It's
really a shame because there are some very talented
and brilliant people here with a wealth of knowledge.
I am of the express mindset that knowledge is to be
shared. That, in some measure, is why I personally
love museums so much--there's much you can learn if
you open your eyes and your mind.
I've read a couple of notes on the PhD and other
degrees that ran with this thread. Experience is
important, but it's still an elitist enough society
that a PhD is going to be valued in this profession
over an MA and a volume of experience.
Here's the fine line on that, though. It's been my
perception from my tenure here that, though they are
more likely to take the PhD, they are less apt to pay
for the PhD (commensurate pay) when salary time comes.
Some of that ties to the fact that there is often not
enough money. Some of it ties to the job market in
the museum field in general. Because people WILL work
for less, museums will pay less.
I don't know if that sorry condition can be changed
because the public, at large, does not seem to value
its cultural institutions as much as we might hope
(ergo more contributions to fund programs and
salaries), and that becomes even tougher still in a
very tight economy (we're in a recession, hoping not
to be in a depression). With the tanking of the stock
market in recent months, funding has dropped off
dramatically, and programs--and, accordingly,
salaries--are affected.
This morning on MuseJobs
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MuseJobs I posted an
article about the tougher time PhDs, in general, are
having in today's employment market. Subscribers who
missed the article can find it in our Messages
archive:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MuseJobs/messages
In the same archives, you will find the link to the
2002 Nonprofit Salary Survey I posted.
Further, in MuseFunding
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MuseFunding you can find
an article about Senator Grasseley's preliminary
investigations concerning United Way. My development
experience has shown that, when there is a backlash
against a major entity such as United Way, charitable
giving goes down markedly, which ultimately could
affect jobs.
Subscribers to MuseFunding can find that article in
the archives here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MuseFunding/messages
Subscriptions on Yahoogroups, as you know, are free.
Deb Fuller Wrote:
> I'm a little disappointed that Indy's mentoring
> program fizzled. That to me is
> one of the best ways of finding out about the museum
> world. And I think we also
> need people from related industries who can help new
> museum grads get
> experience they need to compete for the museum jobs.
=====
Indigo Nights
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