Full Careers
Librarians: is it a good career?
Hi everyone (long post, sorry): I'm considering going for a MLS. Before I waste some more tuition money (I have a BA fashion design which DID NOT pay off to do), I'd like to find out from current or former librarians if this is a wise career path. Basically I'm not qualified to do much more than fashion/jewelry jobs (can't even get a stinkin' clerical job!), and a MLS or law degree seems like the only masters which don't require specific bachelors majors. If you know of other Masters programs that don't want specific Bachelors majors I'm all ears (I don't want a MBA). I think I enjoy finding out info for people and researching (I do Yahoo Answers a lot and enjoy it), so librarianship sounds like a match. I also got high scores in Classification on a career test. My questions are: *How easy is it to find a librarian position after the MLS? (I plan on doing internships during school to increase my chances. That didn't seem to effect my fashion prospects for some reason, though. I just kept getting offered internships after graduation!) *Is it necessary to be geographically mobile to find and keep jobs? (one thing I hated about fashion was you must live in NYC or LA for work) *I hear the upcoming retirement of many librarians is going to open up a lot more jobs, do you think there's enough new grads already to fill these jobs? It seems MLS programs are popular now... *How stressful or inflexible are the job tasks/environment/co-workers? *Are you happy with the salary and career? *What skills are needed to be a good candidate? I'm interested in hearing from librarians of all sorts, but I'm mostly interested in school or academic librarianship right now (open to other ones too) many thanks all!
Public Comments
- librarians don't make any money. the only masters that is actually worth the cost is the MBA, and then, only if you go to a really good school. maybe you should consider going back to your college, and taking a semester's worth of classes to get a second bachelor's in a real major.
- It really depends the type of person. It seems that you are fit for the job but librarians require a lot of patience and other useful character traits. I'm not quite sure about the answers on the questions you ask but librarians doesn't seem to have a specific range of salary. You can always use a search engine and type "average salary of a librarian" to find more information. The salary of a librarian depends on the type of job you receive. A lot of searching skills, knowing your material, and other character traits (like mentioned earlier) will strongly help you on the job. Good luck!
- Masters degrees in many fields (especially liberal arts degrees) do not require Bachelor degrees in the same field. You simply need to be smart enough and flexible enough to get through the interviews w the advisors. Take a GRE (Graduate Records Exam) before you decide and that may help you decide as well as be a plus toward being admitted to a program. Many programs require them. I know you say you don't want an MBA, but what about an AA in business and/or marketing? If you decide to launch your own bookstore or interior design shop for example, you will need business knowledge. Some school librarians are required to also have a teaching credential. Librarians like music and art teachers are some of the first to be cut when there are economic hard times in schools. This is also true of city and county libraries when hard times hit. And of course, historical libraries become non-necessary work. If you want to be sure of a job into the future, get into the medical field somewhere. Hey, I know, design uniforms that are comfortable, flexible, full of non-saggy pockets, easy to clean, professional looking, attractive and cheap! Make sure you offer a line of large, extra large and even up to 6x large sizes for our "growing" population. Care givers have a penchant for being food addicts too.
