Future museum professionals: Time and time again, the Museum-L has served as a forum for students and recent graduates soliciting advice in selecting a course that will guarantee jobs in the museum field. Time and time again, these understandable (and perfectly acceptable) requests are followed by a plethora of responses, each one offering different ideas as to the "right" path to museum employment. In an attempt to bring some closure to this perplexing discussion, let me pose my answer to the question "What factor(s) determine who lands a museum position?" The answer, quite simply, is FORTUITY. Like life itself, museum employment is largely governed by forces beyond our sight and immediate control. For some jobs, a Masters degree in a traditional field like Art History or History may carry more weight than a degree in Museum Studies or Public History. For other jobs, however, the reverse may be true. In other instances, hands-on experience through internships is more important than even a Masters degree. In still other cases, museum jobs go to those who have neither museum education nor experience but possess a skill such as foreign language ability or teaching prowess. Those soliciting advice for their educational future also often overlook the critical importance of the job interview itself and networking connections in finding museum employment. On occasion, candidates are overlooked after the job interview simply because their personalities do not match that required for a posted position, regardless of their place of study or type of degree earned. Other times, museum jobs are had based on whom a job seeker has previously met and befriended at conferences and other professional events. The point that I am trying to make, perhaps longwindedly, is that there is no guaranteed route to success in the museum field. Choose a course of study, do good work, and hope that when the hunt begins, the dice land in your favor. Nicholas P. Ciotola Curator, Italian American Collection Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center 1212 Smallman Street Pittsburgh, PA 15217 ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj. ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ museum-l.html. 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).