data science + libraries + education + research
January 5, 2020 10:28 PM Subscribe
I've been teaching data skills with a masters in and out of libraries. I ALSO see the appeal of pursuing a phd to go a more traditional faculty route. How would you compare instructional librarianship to faculty/professor roles?
I'm in my early 30s, and I've spent all of my career in either academic libraries or research centers. Most recently I've worked as a reference/instructional librarian (1.5 years) and a data science instructor in an applied STEM research center (just starting out).
I'm hearing a lot of positive encouragement from higher-ups about my early work, but I'm also getting the sense that my role isn't really imagined as a long-long-term thing. It's more building capacity now, with an eye towards helping develop my career up in this STEM research center world. Which is amazing! Except, I miss libraries and being part of education more directly. I don't love this corner of STEM for a variety of reasons, although it's a very solid gig in lots of key respects.
I am thinking long and hard about finding a way back to libraries, and maybe trying to parlay some of my recent experiences in a more applied setting into a more specialized and hopefully slightly better paying role than last time around, if I can manage it! I know these roles aren't like a dime a dozen by any means, but I know there are opportunities slowly emerging in libraries! That's one route.
However, when I take a step back and think about what I'd like the next 30-40 years of my working life to look like, I'm torn. I love to teach, to write, to mentor, and to be part of research. I am excited about exploring, articulating, and sharing a set of methodological approaches and ideas, and also supporting total newcomers as they find their way in this discipline. In that way, I could see myself really enjoying the spectrum of teaching and research responsibilities I would have in, say, a faculty position in a school of information. If that didn't work out, I think a librarian role or higher ed support role would also make me happy, perhaps combined with some degree of teaching if that wasn't explicitly part of the role.
I have spent enough time working with phd students and being exposed second-hand to that process to know that yes, it would suck and be difficult, but I think I have enough clarity in my research agenda and measured expectations to make that a net-positive for me. However, I'm still not convinced that it's necessary I pursue more years of study to accomplish my goals.
So my questions! I know several librarians with phds acquired before or during their work, but less about people who started out as librarians and then jumped full-time into phd study. I also don't know as much about long-term job prospects in this corner of academia (information science, data science, LIS, etc.) - how does it compare? Finally, if it's a tradeoff between being a librarian that wonders "hmm, what would getting that phd have been like?" and a post-phd human who thinks "hmm, that was an unnecessary detour", which would you (or have you) picked?
Thank you for any insight you can provide! Yay libraries and data and education and such :)
I'm in my early 30s, and I've spent all of my career in either academic libraries or research centers. Most recently I've worked as a reference/instructional librarian (1.5 years) and a data science instructor in an applied STEM research center (just starting out).
I'm hearing a lot of positive encouragement from higher-ups about my early work, but I'm also getting the sense that my role isn't really imagined as a long-long-term thing. It's more building capacity now, with an eye towards helping develop my career up in this STEM research center world. Which is amazing! Except, I miss libraries and being part of education more directly. I don't love this corner of STEM for a variety of reasons, although it's a very solid gig in lots of key respects.
I am thinking long and hard about finding a way back to libraries, and maybe trying to parlay some of my recent experiences in a more applied setting into a more specialized and hopefully slightly better paying role than last time around, if I can manage it! I know these roles aren't like a dime a dozen by any means, but I know there are opportunities slowly emerging in libraries! That's one route.
However, when I take a step back and think about what I'd like the next 30-40 years of my working life to look like, I'm torn. I love to teach, to write, to mentor, and to be part of research. I am excited about exploring, articulating, and sharing a set of methodological approaches and ideas, and also supporting total newcomers as they find their way in this discipline. In that way, I could see myself really enjoying the spectrum of teaching and research responsibilities I would have in, say, a faculty position in a school of information. If that didn't work out, I think a librarian role or higher ed support role would also make me happy, perhaps combined with some degree of teaching if that wasn't explicitly part of the role.
I have spent enough time working with phd students and being exposed second-hand to that process to know that yes, it would suck and be difficult, but I think I have enough clarity in my research agenda and measured expectations to make that a net-positive for me. However, I'm still not convinced that it's necessary I pursue more years of study to accomplish my goals.
So my questions! I know several librarians with phds acquired before or during their work, but less about people who started out as librarians and then jumped full-time into phd study. I also don't know as much about long-term job prospects in this corner of academia (information science, data science, LIS, etc.) - how does it compare? Finally, if it's a tradeoff between being a librarian that wonders "hmm, what would getting that phd have been like?" and a post-phd human who thinks "hmm, that was an unnecessary detour", which would you (or have you) picked?
Thank you for any insight you can provide! Yay libraries and data and education and such :)
I would keep two things in mind: A PhD is generally a poorly paid experience, which is one thing when you are a young new college graduate, but another if you are in your 30's. Another thing is that the faculty job market is extremely competitive and getting one of those jobs is a combination of luck and your background: are people looking for somebody with your specialized skill-set at the exact moment you are going on the job market, and did you have a 'good' PhD?
This also means that certain universities produce the vast majority of faculty. It's not impossible to become a professor from other universities, but it's much more difficult: you will be competing against people who went to Ivy League schools working on super cool well-funded projects.
Balancing this is that I am not a data scientist and my understanding it has been generally difficult for schools to find data science professors because the pay in industry is so comparatively high. (Which may be another thing to keep in mind; industry pay will be considerably higher than academic pay.) Contrary to popular depictions, academics are also generally expected to work long hours, though they're generally more flexible ("You can work which ever 60 hours a week you want to!" as the joke goes). This is particularly true as you attempt to get tenure.
Oh, also finding an academic job generally requires geographic flexibility; jobs don't open up so rarely that you can insist, for example, that you want to be a professor in Boston, unless you're a super-star. So you might end up in an area that is not geographically desirable.
posted by Comrade_robot at 2:52 AM on January 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
This also means that certain universities produce the vast majority of faculty. It's not impossible to become a professor from other universities, but it's much more difficult: you will be competing against people who went to Ivy League schools working on super cool well-funded projects.
Balancing this is that I am not a data scientist and my understanding it has been generally difficult for schools to find data science professors because the pay in industry is so comparatively high. (Which may be another thing to keep in mind; industry pay will be considerably higher than academic pay.) Contrary to popular depictions, academics are also generally expected to work long hours, though they're generally more flexible ("You can work which ever 60 hours a week you want to!" as the joke goes). This is particularly true as you attempt to get tenure.
Oh, also finding an academic job generally requires geographic flexibility; jobs don't open up so rarely that you can insist, for example, that you want to be a professor in Boston, unless you're a super-star. So you might end up in an area that is not geographically desirable.
posted by Comrade_robot at 2:52 AM on January 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm an academic librarian with a PhD as well as an MLIS. I'm retiring in a few weeks. My own experience is probably somewhat irrelevant to your situation.
Before you make any decisions look at PhD programs that interest you. Read articles by scholars at those universities. If you find their work exciting, stimulating, inspiring then consider applying.
How about the university where you currently work? Are there graduate courses there you could take? If so, try one.
Feel free to memail.
posted by mareli at 5:16 AM on January 6, 2020
Before you make any decisions look at PhD programs that interest you. Read articles by scholars at those universities. If you find their work exciting, stimulating, inspiring then consider applying.
How about the university where you currently work? Are there graduate courses there you could take? If so, try one.
Feel free to memail.
posted by mareli at 5:16 AM on January 6, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also, given your recent experience in STEM, you could certainly sell yourself as a STEM librarian.
Here are some advantages and disadvantages that I see to your options:
Typically folks with PhDs have a limited set of schools that might be interested in hiring them. There aren't that many IS programs these days, so your pool of potential employers is small. But every college and university has a library. As a librarian with data and STEM experience, you are uncommon and should have good employment opportunities.
Being on the regular teaching faculty pays more than being a librarian in higher ed. However, over a career, is it worth giving up 5-6 years of regular employment and pay? Also some librarians are part of the faculty and are required to do research and participate in a tenure process.
I think librarianship, especially with your credentials, gives you a lot more flexibility. Also, maybe consider getting a job at a large university and then looking at PhD options you could pursue while working?
posted by bluedaisy at 11:23 PM on January 5, 2020 [1 favorite]