I'm still in the thick of trying to move toward a different, more programming-oriented, field, but it's so personally challenging for me to be unemployed that I can't help but keep an eye on area openings. I sure would like to be able to stay involved in the museum field, like maybe through a part-time position. Have a little steady income, stay involved, you know, that sort of thing.
So hooray, when yesterday I got an automated notification of a posting for a museum position in Golden, about a 15-minute drive from my house. Rad! Part-time and nearby. Maybe I'll apply, I thought. Would still give me plenty of time to work on my programming, so that I could keep working toward that goal, too.
And then I saw:
Salary: $9.50 - $13.00 Hourly
Education and/or Experience: BA/BS in Museum Studies, Library Science, History, or related field. M.A. preferred. Minimum two years museum experience with prior collections management preferred.
(Full position description here, until April 22, 2016 when the position closes.)
And then, gentle reader: I GOT PISSED.
Because, you know, I am really good at what I do. I am a hard worker and a team player and I take great pride in my work. I have two Master's degrees (one technical, one subject-based) and about ten years of experience--such as it is, because museum work is contract and part time and temp work and internships and volunteer-based. And I've done all of it. The narrative was that, "Oh, if you get the qualifications and put in your time, eventually someone will notice and you'll get a REAL job."
But the economy has changed--it seems--and MAYBE I can get a job paying $9.50/hr.
The point, I guess, is that maybe I'm not crazy for changing fields. And also that people should be ashamed of telling idealistic and hardworking students that if they spend 7 years in school, post-K-12, they will get a job that pays more than your average fast-food job. Heck, factor in benefits and your local barista is making more than this--and I bet they get some coffee on the side! (Not that there is any shame in food service, just they don't ask you to get an, or multiple, Master's degrees for the honor of doing it.) And City of Golden in particular should be ashamed of themselves for asking someone who has pursued a Master's degree and chalked up at least SOME experience in the field to work for $9.50/hr.
And hey, maybe I'm crazy, right? Maybe my expectations are way the heck out of line. So I checked the official statistics:
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, people with Master's degrees earn an average of around $28/hr; those with high school diplomas only, it's an average of $14/hr. (both from 2013 numbers). So you want someone with a Master's degree for less than what, on average, you would pay someone with no post-K-12 education.
I wish people would laugh at this job posting, and not apply, because the pay is just too low, and you can't seriously expect to get a skilled professional if you're offering that level of compensation. But that won't happen. People are desperate. We were told that there would be a lot of openings in the cultural heritage fields as people retired; that hasn't happened, as people have retired and their positions not re-filled. There are lotsa folks with relevant graduate degrees; many of them also have student debt, and some of them even still have hope that this might lead to a "real" job.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the USA, curator-type positions (for want of a better grouping) are projected as having a mean hourly wage of $27.40, and a median hourly wage of $24.77. Specifically for local government institutions (which the above-referenced position is), the hourly mean wage is $26.58.
And honestly, for me, it's not even so much about the money as what it says about how my work is valued.
I, for one, will not be applying.
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