New career idea: Librarian

@Izzie,

Thanks, Izzie! I actually don't know too much about what classes I would take. Probably things that have to do with writing and literature and such to start with. That link is actually the same link I looked at when I first started checking into this.

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@boomerang,

boomerang wrote:

If I recall, eBeth knows quite a bit about this. I remember her saying that it is hard to find jobs as a librarian......

Yoohoo! EhBeth? What say ye? I'd like to hear about how hard it is to find work, if you have any info.

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Yeah, me too. I would rather be in Gaza right now than at this desk.

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@kickycan,

It's hard to find work in Manhattan, but if you are willing to move to East Jesus, Nebraska you can probably find a position. Our local public librarian makes $22,000 a year. I assume corporate or university librarians do better.

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Heh, I'm working on my MLS right now. I don't have much insight (except that so far the classes are a total snore), but I recently read a discussion between male librarians that might be of interest to you...It basically amounted to this:

Library Dude A: the ratio of women to men in librarianship is 10 to 2! Smile

Library Dude B: but those 10 women look like librarians Crying or Very sad

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@cyphercat,

Ha!

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@kickycan,

A friend is a head librarian at a cool city library. Unfortunately, we haven't talked much recently so I can't just write her about this question. I'll try to visualize her answers..

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There's a number of Australian librarians here - Mr Stillwater, hingehead, occasionally Ms Olga (who is a teacher sometimes working in a school library), and even me.

I'm not sure if any of us are actively working in librarianship right now.

I think the days of sitting surrounded by books and looking intelligent are long gone.

Most of the reference librarian side of things is related to computers and information finding now - and lots of people believe they can do it for themselves. However, I had a discussion with the friend of a friend last week, a psychiatrist in a big teaching hospital, and he couldn't find anything he wanted. There is more to information finding than Google.

I don't know what the work situation is like in the US or Oz. Mr Stillwater has been working in libraries more recently than I have - and I'm not too sure just what hinghead is doing in Cairns (apart from cataloguing his music collection!)

If we had pm's - we could ask them to chime in....

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The CIA's looking for librarians right now.

CIA

Quote:

Minimum requirements include a Master s degree in Library orInformation Science, excellent communications skills, strong criticalthinking/analytic skills, and well-developed research skills. Candidates withreading and research ability in critical foreign languages are strongly desired.

All applicants must successfully complete a thorough medical and psychological exam, a polygraph interview and an extensive background investigation. US citizenship is required.

To be considered suitable for Agency employment, applicants must generally not have used illegal drugs within the last twelve months. The issue of illegal drug use prior to twelve months ago is carefully evaluated during the medical and security processing.

Quote:

Salary:$46,460 $90,968 Location:Washington, DC metropolitan area

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@ehBeth,

Quote:

The CIA's looking for librarians right now.

...and you don't want to know what happens if your book is overdue...

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this is from several years ago

Quote:

Michele Cloonan, dean of the Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences, sees fewer jobs in the short term, but good prospects in the long-run - and for anyone willing to relocate to jobs nationwide.

"Our applications continue to rise," she says. "Some [people] are being laid off, but others are retiring and not all sectors get hit at the same time. Public libraries and schools may get hit, but not necessarily academic and specialty libraries."

Many who signed up for graduate studies in the 1990s were aiming for jobs in high-tech corporate America as digital archivists for companies like Dreamworks SKG, a Hollywood studio that recognized the need to better organize and retrieve corporate information, says Ms. Cloonan.

Since then, however, many have lost their jobs, including some with dot.coms that went bust.

Still, applications among school- librarian hopefuls have remained steady and even grown slightly, despite low salaries that average $35,000 a year for a beginning librarian.

"Not everyone cares about the money," Cloonan says. "They just want to work with kids."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0408/p16s01-lepr.html

~~~

but it's much the same now

http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobtrends/trend/q-Librarian

Quote:

Since May 2007, the following has occurred:

* Librarian jobs decreased 17%

~~~

I think there's an advantage to being a man in a MLS program if you're willing to work in an elementary school setting and willing to relocate.

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You've looked at the ALA site. I'd focus on this page that it links to ...

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes254021.htm

Most librarians work in elementary and secondary schools (like hugely MOST) with a mean wage of $54,660.

How'd you like to work in Dayton, Ohio?

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@ehBeth,

mmm, elementary school setting.

Reminds me of one of my cousin's kids. Both parents were brilliant in math. My girl cousin flunked latin but got 800 on the math part of the SAT then. She married a smart math guy. Of their children, one brother grew up to manuever through cal tech. Another had trouble in math in fourth grade. He's now a high school principle, or maybe moving up from there re administration - but best in the classroom. He understands not getting stuff. He straightens me out on latin american lit.

To me what he is doing is crucial. I believe in him like I believe in libraries.
Everything can be online, but humans connecting matter.

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@ehBeth,

I've lived in Dayton twice (1942-1946, part of 1954). I can visualize it, admittedly not lately. Fat part of my early life. Is it so sure Kicky would hate it?

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@ehBeth,

ehBeth wrote:

Most librarians work in elementary and secondary schools (like hugely MOST) with a mean wage of $54,660.

How'd you like to work in Dayton, Ohio?

Yeah, but in Dayton, Ohio, $54,660 is the equivalent of a billion dollars. You could live in a diamond mansion and own slaves.

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I'm not sure about Dayton, Ohio. Although yeah, that kind of money, adjusted for cost of living, blows away what I make in NYC right now.

I would be willing to move anywhere where it doesn't snow.

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@kickycan,

kickycan wrote:

I'm not sure about Dayton, Ohio.

I would be willing to move anywhere where it doesn't snow.

Don't move to Dayton.

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Frankly, I think Kicky is in a midlife crisis. Are you 40 yet, Kicky?

Why don't you move to New Orleans, open a bar there and enjoy the "Big Easy"
and its lifestyle.

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@CalamityJane,

he passed that milestone a few years back ... gosh, it seems we've known him since he was just a kid

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No, no ehbeth, it only seems that way, as he still behaves like a kid.

1 Reply

New career idea: Librarian

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