Career Advice

I did (honestly) do research into my degree program before I started it and maybe I was blindly looking at the numbers, I don't know. But I'm halfway through my Master's Degree, and I decided to google "Job Prospects for Academic Librarians".

And now my eyes are open. In fact, I found one blog posting that referenced a Forbes article from last year listing Library and Information Science as the NUMBER ONE WORST Master's Degree for jobs.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/06/08/the-best-and-worst-masters-degrees-for-jobs-2/

Now I'm very discouraged. I don't know what to do. Finish my degree and put myself in $30K of debt to not get a job in the field?

Right now I'm taking an Internet Fundamentals class that's basically building a website (I'm using it to build my production company website) and I love it. It's very time consuming, but I love it.

I'm wondering if maybe I should quit my degree program and pursue web design.

I really don't know what to do anymore. I don't want to put myself in worse debt for a degree program that will likely not get me a job when I graduate.



This sucks. Any advice?

Should I plug along anyway knowing that at least I'll have a Master's Degree under my belt?

 

yeah i was going to say that as soon as i seen u mention library masters

the good thing is that..ud have a masters degree and that is truly an academic accomplishment

but the bad thing as u know, is that career wise the ROI isnt that great. median salary last i checked was like 59k-ish

ud make more as a RN with an associates tbh

but ur halfway through it and i guess if u were really looking for a career boon, ur kinda shit outta luck



u already know now, but u really have to research, research, research before going into any field. some people just like academics and dont really care if it leads to more money. others..well....

nothing is guaranteed tho...i thought about law school...truly...since a few of them in the area like temple and rutgers have part-time plans. but the consensus right now is that law isnt the best route to go, unless you go to a high powered tier 1 school like Penn (which only enrolls full time)

 

well my master's is in an IT discipline, Cyber Security to be exact...and I make in the $90s. I'm not why Forbes would say that.

 

the IT disciplines are specialized, and not a one-sized fits all major

library and information science does not equal software engineering, cyber security etc

some of the class requirements may be the same tho

i do agree that 'IT' is a pretty good area to be in at the moment tho

 

Well I did a speech in undergrad about the importance of certifications and professional memberships. Look into those in your field before giving up hope

 

i say stop the Masters and go for a degree in web design. Far more opportunities and consider this, as technology gets more advanced what need will there be for librarians?

 

pretty much

i know some degree programs in the area are leaning towards certification prep classes with lower level courses, in hopes that grads will have the degree+industry certs like A+, Network+, CCNA, etc

IT has so many ways to go it's ridiculous

cyber security is pretty important tho and if you truly like it, you lucked up

systems are as vulnerable as ever and talented watchdogs are in high demand

 

this is perhaps the most important part to grasp

the safe bet is to go where the jobs are..plain and simple

i periodically check my area to see which jobs are hiring to tailor what I do

 

Actually the last part is a common misconception. My main public library is the second largest public library in IL and it's busy ALL THE TIME. Also, even though it seems that most people have internet connections and smart phones, the reality is quite different.

There will always be a need for libraries, in some form or another. But, in terms of libraries with good financial prospects, that's not quite the case anymore and libraries (as well as other businesses) are making due with less workers.

And that's always been my problem. I hate the business world. But that's where the jobs are and the good-paying jobs.

Money has never been a motivating factor for me, as my undergrad is in Anthropology, and going into Library Science was never about the money.

However, my biggest motivation for getting this degree was to get the f*ck out of my current job and to leave the business world behind. But if I can't find a job (apparently they're graduating over 7,000 students in the field and less than 2,000 have gotten jobs each year), that makes my degree worthless and keeps me in this job where I have no place to advance and where I've gotten every last ounce out of the position that I can get without getting an Engineering degree, which I don't want to do.

UGH.

It appears that I have more career contemplation to do after all. Maybe taking the summer off and exploring my options is what I should be doing. Damn it all to Hell.

 

Check out this link:

https://ci.uky.edu/lis/content/professional-organizations-librarians-information-specialists

 

well yeah...taking some time off with no class pressure definitely helps put things into perspective

GO WHERE THE JOBS ARE BOOKWORM



keep looking at the different projections and align your major

and remember that a masters degree usually isnt necessary if you just want to change career paths

if you think just having a masters will put you infront of everyone else when the job requires a bachelors...thats not how it works

jobs that require a masters typically expect you to have relevant experience in the field too

 

I feel for you, Bookie. You must feel so disheartened. My son just graduated with a biology degree - what in the heck do you do with just that? But he's tired of school. Scared to rack up more debt by going to grad school. He opted to enroll in a trade school. But I fear for him even in that because he chose carpentry, which isn't a field you want to be in when the economy tanks.

I really hope some opportunities present themselves to you and the way will become clear.

 

there are still jobs that require a degree from any major

some just want the degree to be a bachelors of science or whatever

it's not a total loss unless he wants to go into IT for example, where companies look for IT-related majors that covered discrete math, programming, intrusion detection/prevention, networking etc etc..stuff you're likely to deal with and should have an established familiarity on

on the plus side..he could theoretically take the BS in biology and work towards a PhD..but like u said he's tired of school and afraid of debt

 

He could do nursing at a community college. They are desperate for male nurses

 

I had a whole response written to Petty's post and lost it. IT isn't really his thing, unfortunately.

He considered following his dad into medicine. And decided against it. Especially nursing. He wants to be the one giving the orders not taking them. Lol. He also realized that ortho injuries would freak him out too much. Oh, and I just found out that they laid off 60 nurses at our 2 local hospitals. And my nephew will be graduating nursing school within the next year.

He then considered forensics or the FBI. But the Feebs want candidates to have 2 years of experience in a professional job. How ya do that when no one will hire you? I suggested taking some civil service tests, but then you wait for a job opening. And he's worried that about the time he commits to school, they'd call him for THE job opening he really wants. Ugh.

Not a pleasant place to be, and I so feel for Bookie in her situation. I wish I'd had the opportunity to do something more, educationally. And now, I have debt and a mortgage and I'm too old to incur more debt to go back to school.

 

pretty much, although some facilities have recently raised the bar to BSN. They were giving grandfathered ASNs like 2 years to complete their BSN, but you can do the entire RN-BSN bridge online so it's not really a big deal now. Mind you, nursing pays very well and is constantly ranked in the top with engineering and IT as far as starting/median salaries.

but like she said, it's not his thing. It's not for everybody. Blood, guts, dealing with sick people, getting bitched at by doctor demigods

 

Are they closing the hospital? How the hell can a hospital function adequately with so few nurses

 

Tell me about it. Any time I have to hobnob with the ex, I have to exercise the patience of a saint. I have alot of virtues but patience isn't one of them.

 

Nope. Some of them are being laid off and some have been knocked down to part-time to trim costs.

 

dunno about cutting people down, but i DO know about the HIRING of part-timers or PRNs instead of hiring full-timers to save a buck

it yells job stability for the current full timers with the experience, but damn if you wish they'd give other people more hours to take slack off u