Is there a better career out there for me?
March 12, 2016 5:20 PM Subscribe
I generally like my current job as a school librarian, but I don't think I'm in it for the long haul. I'm having a tough time thinking of other fields/careers that I could branch out into. Are there any other career that careers would suit me?
I have a BA (I majored in history, minored in anthropology), I decided to study what I loved... which I'm kind of kicking myself for. After a dismal job search I went back to school for a Library Tech. diploma and graduated in 2014.
I've been working as an elementary school librarian since last January. I enjoy it, but the pay is just shit. In 5 years I'll top out at making $35K... for the rest of my career there. I don't really hate the job itself, earning that little for the rest of my life scares the SHIT out of me. There's no upward mobility, either, so this is it for the rest of my "career"!
I really do enjoy most of my job, such as collection development, cataloging, and surprisingly, I am having a really fun time working with kids. I love and hate the fact that I get to do so much in my role, I like that I have autonomy... but at the same time everything rests on me. I've definitely learned a lot about what I like and dislike in this position. The only career experience I have is library/retail based, so I don't feel like I'm suited towards other work.
I've taken a bunch of online career assessments and accounting always comes up as the top suggestion. I think that might be because I love organization, following procedures, etc.
I've briefly considered going back for a degree in education to become a teacher, but I've ruled that out after seeing how difficult it is for teachers to go from graduation to getting their first permanent contract. In my province it takes new teachers about 7 years to get their first permanent contract. I've also considered getting an MLIS, but I have my doubts about the way the field is going. While I love working in my own school library, I'm not that interested in the "library" field in general anymore. I'd like to enter a less saturated field, if possible.
I'm not really sure what else is out there, or what else I would like to do. I think that I've sold myself short in a lot of ways and now I can't stop worrying about how the future will turn out.
I have a BA (I majored in history, minored in anthropology), I decided to study what I loved... which I'm kind of kicking myself for. After a dismal job search I went back to school for a Library Tech. diploma and graduated in 2014.
I've been working as an elementary school librarian since last January. I enjoy it, but the pay is just shit. In 5 years I'll top out at making $35K... for the rest of my career there. I don't really hate the job itself, earning that little for the rest of my life scares the SHIT out of me. There's no upward mobility, either, so this is it for the rest of my "career"!
I really do enjoy most of my job, such as collection development, cataloging, and surprisingly, I am having a really fun time working with kids. I love and hate the fact that I get to do so much in my role, I like that I have autonomy... but at the same time everything rests on me. I've definitely learned a lot about what I like and dislike in this position. The only career experience I have is library/retail based, so I don't feel like I'm suited towards other work.
I've taken a bunch of online career assessments and accounting always comes up as the top suggestion. I think that might be because I love organization, following procedures, etc.
I've briefly considered going back for a degree in education to become a teacher, but I've ruled that out after seeing how difficult it is for teachers to go from graduation to getting their first permanent contract. In my province it takes new teachers about 7 years to get their first permanent contract. I've also considered getting an MLIS, but I have my doubts about the way the field is going. While I love working in my own school library, I'm not that interested in the "library" field in general anymore. I'd like to enter a less saturated field, if possible.
I'm not really sure what else is out there, or what else I would like to do. I think that I've sold myself short in a lot of ways and now I can't stop worrying about how the future will turn out.
Are you interested in moving? Schools vary greatly in what they can offer and also in what hoops they require for tenure.
posted by aetg at 5:41 PM on March 12, 2016
posted by aetg at 5:41 PM on March 12, 2016
Response by poster: I'm in Canada and from what I gather, there's not much of a difference in the pay school library technicians make across the country.
posted by modesty.blaise at 5:53 PM on March 12, 2016
posted by modesty.blaise at 5:53 PM on March 12, 2016
Are you a tech or do you have a teacher credential? Teacher-Librarians can make much more. If you like what you do, maybe do more of it?
posted by blnkfrnk at 5:59 PM on March 12, 2016
posted by blnkfrnk at 5:59 PM on March 12, 2016
Response by poster: I'm a library tech, I don't have a teacher credential. There aren't many teacher librarians in my district (I can't speak for other areas), I think most of them have been replaced by other techs. Honestly, it seems so tough to become a teacher in my province that I'm really not interested in the idea.
(Sorry for being so negative, guys!)
posted by modesty.blaise at 6:03 PM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
(Sorry for being so negative, guys!)
posted by modesty.blaise at 6:03 PM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yeah, with the OP being from Canada, becoming a teacher in most provinces isn't quite as straightforward as it is in some parts of the US. If the OP is in Ontario, for instance, becoming a teacher will soon require a 2-year post-bacc degree if you weren't in a concurrent education program for your first degree. That, and there's an unprecedented teacher oversupply in most parts of Canada, so it's typically not the best option for someone who wants to quickly enter a stable career. Don't apologize - you're not being negative so much as you're being pragmatic.
To answer your question, though: have you thought about doing library tech work at a university or college? Both hire library techs, and the pay is usually better than K-12. $35K as a career high sounds low. If you're someone who likes the procedural aspect of accounting, you might enjoy doing records/information management in a non-library setting, such as for a municipality. It would give you exposure to a non-library environment while allowing you to use your librarianship skills. Most of the people I know of who have these types of jobs do have an MLIS, but I think a fair number of these positions are open to library techs without a graduate degree.
posted by blerghamot at 7:07 PM on March 12, 2016
To answer your question, though: have you thought about doing library tech work at a university or college? Both hire library techs, and the pay is usually better than K-12. $35K as a career high sounds low. If you're someone who likes the procedural aspect of accounting, you might enjoy doing records/information management in a non-library setting, such as for a municipality. It would give you exposure to a non-library environment while allowing you to use your librarianship skills. Most of the people I know of who have these types of jobs do have an MLIS, but I think a fair number of these positions are open to library techs without a graduate degree.
posted by blerghamot at 7:07 PM on March 12, 2016
Response by poster: blerghamot, when I was in the library tech program, I was really fascinated by the field of records management! However, in my program they only had 2 courses on records management and IMO weren't very good. I know that my education does qualify me for positions, but I have no idea where or how to get the experience all the records management postings seem to ask for.
I would love to work at a university or college, but I haven't seen many postings for those positions in the past year. They seem very difficult to get into.
posted by modesty.blaise at 7:16 PM on March 12, 2016
I would love to work at a university or college, but I haven't seen many postings for those positions in the past year. They seem very difficult to get into.
posted by modesty.blaise at 7:16 PM on March 12, 2016
If you're considering an MLIS (and if there's a way to get your existing employer to fund/support that), it can lead to "knowledge management" work in banks, and legal/accounting/consulting firms. Not-for-profit and public sector organizations also employ KMs.
I work for one of the above, and often work closely with knowledge managers whose primary qualification is an MLIS.
If you look for knowledge manager positions on career sites, you'll get an idea of what that might entail.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:27 PM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
I work for one of the above, and often work closely with knowledge managers whose primary qualification is an MLIS.
If you look for knowledge manager positions on career sites, you'll get an idea of what that might entail.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:27 PM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
When I worked at Robarts Library at the University of Toronto (not as a librarian), library tech jobs were constantly being posted on the internal bulletin boards. These jobs now seem to get posted on the UofT jobs site. I have noticed that these jobs are very rarely aggregated and posted on general jobs sites.
So, I guess my advice is to make a long list of universities/colleges you are interested in and be sure to regularly check their sites directly rather than just running a search on big jobs sites.
posted by 256 at 8:59 PM on March 12, 2016
So, I guess my advice is to make a long list of universities/colleges you are interested in and be sure to regularly check their sites directly rather than just running a search on big jobs sites.
posted by 256 at 8:59 PM on March 12, 2016
Research librarian! I have a friend in it who says it pays quite well.
posted by corb at 9:46 PM on March 12, 2016
posted by corb at 9:46 PM on March 12, 2016
I warped my arts degree and library tech coursework into local government work - I'm basically a reference librarian for a city and I work really closely with the records & archives team. MeMail me for details! (I don't work with kids though; my cousin is a children's librarian at a public library in LA - but her credentials are impressive and I'm not sure what she makes. I also have a friend who's an academic librarian.)
posted by jrobin276 at 1:41 AM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by jrobin276 at 1:41 AM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
You can explore careers by outlook and skills on the Canadian Government's job site. This site will give you an idea of future outlooks for the careers you're interested in. Jobbank Outlook
posted by Coffeetyme at 5:46 AM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Coffeetyme at 5:46 AM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm studying archives and records management online here. They offer a huge variety of career paths for the MLIS degree as well as a master's in Archives and Record Administratin (MARA) and they also offer post-master's programs (that's what I'm doing, after 17 years as a librarian). I have several classmates who are Canadian, so geography isn't a barrier.
At any rate, an MLS doesn't have to pigeonhole you into one area for life! I started out as a YA librarian, then became an expert in reference, then decided I'd rather be a collection development specialist for a book vendor. All with my little MLS! If there are aspects of the job you really enjoy, don't sell it short. Employability can get you a job, but doing what you love - ah, that's a career...
posted by Otter_Handler at 3:50 PM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
At any rate, an MLS doesn't have to pigeonhole you into one area for life! I started out as a YA librarian, then became an expert in reference, then decided I'd rather be a collection development specialist for a book vendor. All with my little MLS! If there are aspects of the job you really enjoy, don't sell it short. Employability can get you a job, but doing what you love - ah, that's a career...
posted by Otter_Handler at 3:50 PM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
There are a TON of jobs in a variety of fields that library experience is a good fit for. I got my MLIS in Children's / School Librarianship of all things and my first job out was at a tech startup doing taxonomy & research work.
Currently I work at an investment company doing archiving for the multitude of financial "paperwork" (all electronic) that comes through the system. It requires a good sense of cataloging as well as good tech skills. It is not the kind of job that I ever even imagined working at but I've been here for well over a year and a half and it's perfect for me. Branch out from the library job search and there's a lot you can do! I've had many interviews where the recruiter has basically said "I saw your library experience and wanted to talk to you".
posted by amicamentis at 8:54 AM on March 14, 2016
Currently I work at an investment company doing archiving for the multitude of financial "paperwork" (all electronic) that comes through the system. It requires a good sense of cataloging as well as good tech skills. It is not the kind of job that I ever even imagined working at but I've been here for well over a year and a half and it's perfect for me. Branch out from the library job search and there's a lot you can do! I've had many interviews where the recruiter has basically said "I saw your library experience and wanted to talk to you".
posted by amicamentis at 8:54 AM on March 14, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
A. a textbook publishing company
B. a city/county historical society (my dad did this) or a historical site
posted by TheClonusHorror at 5:39 PM on March 12, 2016