"In addition to lower than expected salaries, I've also known graduate 
students who didn't think they had to have any experience to get a job.
In 
fact, they expected upon graduation to walk right into a director's job 
because they have a master's degree in museum studies.  And the few that
did 
"luck into" such a job ended up leaving the field within a year, because

reality didn't match classroom teachings."


I've never responded to a post on this list, but this one caught my eye.

In my experience of the last ten years, I have come to the conclusion
that this is what I call "Gen X arrogance" is a generational thing.  I
encountered the very same thing with several recent MLS graduates in
that age group.  I had several 'interns' who thought they should be able
to step right into a museum or art library director position right out
of graduate school.  Needless to say, this didn't sit too well with
those of us in the baby boomer generation who worked for paltry salaries
for 10 years or more before getting that coveted yet still low-paying
head position.  I had one intern about ten years ago tell me that he
wasn't happy with his starting salary of $36,500 annually for a two-year
internship he was taking.  The rest of us raised our eyebrows and
concluded that he was in for a rude awakening down the line.

I don't gripe that much about my salary since "I" am the only one
responsible for it.  I didn't go into the field with blinders on.  I
'did' choose to get my MLS after my MA and it was the best decision for
me.  I figured out the 'reality' of the jobs in the museum field and
walked across the park to apply for that MLS.  

I tell people interested in the art library field that the current
demographics are actually in their favor since many library directors
will retire in the next 5-10 years.  There has in fact been turnover
that did not exist in 1985 when I was trying to get my foot in the door.


Debbie

Deborah Barlow Smedstad
Head Librarian
William Morris Hunt Memorial Library
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA  02115
[log in to unmask]
(617)369-3107

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).