Librarian With MLIS
Career review from a person working in the job
How I Got The Job
My Education: BA in East Asian Studies, Oberlin College; MA in Library and Information Science (MLIS), University of Pittsburgh
My Prior Experience: I am currently unemployed but have worked in libraries during my undergraduate and graduate studies.
My Job Profile
My Company: I am currently unemployed and looking for work.
Job/Career Overview: A librarian can work in a library or can be someone who does research outside of a library; there are many opportunities for someone who likes organizing and finding information.
Within libraries, one can work with the public or behind the scenes. Working with the public can be very rewarding yet challenging as well; customer service is very important in this situation. If you are someone who enjoys working alone, cataloging is something you could look into. There are many places that need people to catalog their books, CDs, or other items in their collection.
It is exciting to think of the change libraries are going through and how I can be a part of helping lead the way in the future of information. I hope this has inspired you to think about pursuing a library degree.
Love It? Hate It?
I rate this career 2 out of 10.
What I Love or Hate
The best part of my career is being surrounded by information and enthusiastic coworkers who enjoy being in a library as much as I do. I love learning new pieces of information every day, or how to use a new search engine.
It is also fun to see what the newest books coming out are. Being a librarian means always being on top of the latest information trends, especially Internet and social networking-related ones. Because reference services now include helping patrons in-person, online (IM), on the phone and through text messages, there is a lot to learn! I am hoping there will still be people who will use print resources in the future, but I love having many databases available online as well.
The difficult part of my job is finding one! I have been searching for work for over two years and am still trying to break into the field. I am interested in working in a library, museum or doing research. Once I get my foot in the door, I will be happy wherever I end up.
My Career Tips
1. If you are interested in pursuing a MLIS, work in a library as a student or volunteer some time before deciding, and learn as much as you can. Decide on a general direction in which to go and pick a two-year Master's program so you have time to take part in an internship or making other important job connections in the summer between school years.
2. Network while you are in school. This is valid for your future and finding a job will depend on it. Although the online world is great, there are many advantages to talking to people in-person. For one thing, they may remember your face later on, and you may end up getting a recommendation for a job sooner.
3. Explore a part of libraries you think you would not like to work in while in school. It may turn out that you like it, and you would never know if you had not signed up for the class or internship.
