Open Forum

Hi all,

I apologize for the sidebar from the OP's request, but I feel it necessary to call attention to something that has bothered me about a number of responses to both this posting and several recent posts along the same line. 

When we advise aspiring museum professionals to volunteer, take unpaid internships, maintain memberships with professional organizations, or attend expensive professional development opportunities such as conferences in order to "get their foot in the door" or be considered qualified for "entry level" work, we are perpetuating habits and mindsets that have already led to a severe lack of equity in our industry's hiring practices. If we believe in the principles that AAM just spent their conference espousing, we owe it to the futures of our organizations to internalize those lessons and stop repeating the same advice that was given to us.

The average student debt load is higher than before and higher levels of education are widespread in our field. There are many cities in which you cannot afford even the smallest apartment with the wages of a single part time job (or poorly paid full time job), and moving is itself an expensive enterprise, particularly when most museums don't have the resources to offer relocation assistance. The reasons above only scratch the surface of the issue – if our recent graduates and applicants have children, aging parents, other dependents, or personal medical issues, the difficulties multiply.

I'm a huge proponent of the power of networking, and I'm definitely not trying to hijack Marissa's very reasonable request for guidance. I recognize that as we strive toward a better, more ideal situation, we still have to operate in the present, and that these approaches are likely to be beneficial for those who can afford to use them. However, when I see so many of us giving advice like this, I worry that we are perpetuating these same unnecessary roadblocks at the expense of doing the real and necessary work at our organizations to remove them.

All the best,

Kate

Hi all,

I apologize for the sidebar from the OP's request, but I feel it necessary to call attention to something that has bothered me about a number of responses to both this posting and several recent posts along the same line. 

When we advise aspiring museum professionals to volunteer, take unpaid internships, maintain memberships with professional organizations, or attend expensive professional development opportunities such as conferences in order to "get their foot in the door" or be considered qualified for "entry level" work, we are perpetuating habits and mindsets that have already led to a severe lack of equity in our industry's hiring practices. If we believe in the principles that AAM just spent their conference espousing, we owe it to the futures of our organizations to internalize those lessons and stop repeating the same advice that was given to us.

The average student debt load is higher than before and higher levels of education are widespread in our field. There are many cities in which you cannot afford even the smallest apartment with the wages of a single part time job (or poorly paid full time job), and moving is itself an expensive enterprise, particularly when most museums don't have the resources to offer relocation assistance. The reasons above only scratch the surface of the issue – if our recent graduates and applicants have children, aging parents, other dependents, or personal medical issues, the difficulties multiply.

I'm a huge proponent of the power of networking, and I'm definitely not trying to hijack Marissa's very reasonable request for guidance. I recognize that as we strive toward a better, more ideal situation, we still have to operate in the present, and that these approaches are likely to be beneficial for those who can afford to use them. However, when I see so many of us giving advice like this, I worry that we are perpetuating these same unnecessary roadblocks at the expense of doing the real and necessary work at our organizations to remove them.

All the best,

Kate

Hi all,

I apologize for the sidebar from the OP's request, but I feel it necessary to call attention to something that has bothered me about a number of responses to both this posting and several recent posts along the same line. 

When we advise aspiring museum professionals to volunteer, take unpaid internships, maintain memberships with professional organizations, or attend expensive professional development opportunities such as conferences in order to "get their foot in the door" or be considered qualified for "entry level" work, we are perpetuating habits and mindsets that have already led to a severe lack of equity in our industry's hiring practices. If we believe in the principles that AAM just spent their conference espousing, we owe it to the futures of our organizations to internalize those lessons and stop repeating the same advice that was given to us.

The average student debt load is higher than before and higher levels of education are widespread in our field. There are many cities in which you cannot afford even the smallest apartment with the wages of a single part time job (or poorly paid full time job), and moving is itself an expensive enterprise, particularly when most museums don't have the resources to offer relocation assistance. The reasons above only scratch the surface of the issue – if our recent graduates and applicants have children, aging parents, other dependents, or personal medical issues, the difficulties multiply.

I'm a huge proponent of the power of networking, and I'm definitely not trying to hijack Marissa's very reasonable request for guidance. I recognize that as we strive toward a better, more ideal situation, we still have to operate in the present, and that these approaches are likely to be beneficial for those who can afford to use them. However, when I see so many of us giving advice like this, I worry that we are perpetuating these same unnecessary roadblocks at the expense of doing the real and necessary work at our organizations to remove them.

All the best,

Kate