I’m a 25-year old college graduate (BA) living in a major metropolitan area in the United States. I’ve been told I’m bright if not necessarily hyper-ambitious. I currently work as an assistant at a research library, and have worked in some capacity at different libraries since I was 17. I like libraries and I like library work, but at my current position the pay is low (<25k a year) and there’s no real room for advancement beyond my current position at this library (nor any libraries, as far as I know) without a Masters in Library and Information Science or some other advanced degree in information sciences.
With the recent studies showing the increasing importance of an advanced degree, I realize I should go back to school, but with the public library as an institution seemingly on the way out, I’m wondering if getting an MLIS would be worth the paper it’s printed on in 5 years. I’m also worried because it seems like there are more and more unemployed English majors deciding to get their library degrees and not that many positions in the field out there (though this could just be selective bias on my part based on what kind of people I tend to gravitate towards).
tl;dr: Will there be decent jobs for librarians in the future or should I jump a sinking ship before it’s too late and just try to marry rich?
(Sorry for the ‘Dear Abby’ nature of this question, but from what I’ve seen you all are the smartest Dopes on the internet and I welcome your thoughts).
Reported for possible forum change since I think this is largely an opinion question
I’m an academic librarian (and I manage a group of faculty librarians), so my answers will come from that point of view.
I don’t think that libraries, academic in particular, are dying. I think they are changing and I think that those that don’t change will die. But I also think that academia in general has entered a major phase of change, and I don’t think the pace of change will be slowing down.
So, should you get your MLS? Well, what do you want from it? Do you want the traditional librarian work - instruction, collection development, outreach? Honestly, IMO those jobs are the ones that are becoming much less common. If you’re flexible in your definition of librarian, you’ll be much better served. For example, things I’ve been looking for with recent hires are things like quantitative data analysis skills, digital humanities skills, project management skills, and scholarly communication knowledge/skills.
Know that the job market for new librarians is tight and it can be hard to find work - but not impossible if you do things like consider the classes you take in relation to the jobs postings you see. For example, I know San Jose State is offering a Data Services Librarianship class this fall - that’s one that I’d suggest any student in that program looking to go into academic libraries take. Also, take a look at things like INALJ to see what people are doing with their degrees and consider reading through the libraries subreddit - this question comes up there fairly often. Finally think about what it will cost you to go back to school. If you have the option to do it through your work for cheap/free? Great. Otherwise, should you decide to do it, go with the best school you can go to for the lowest cost.
I don’t regret the MLS at all - it was a career change for me when I went back to school in 2002 and I love the work I do. But the work I do is very different from what I thought about doing as a librarian.
Forbes has Masters holders in LIS with an average MID-CAREER salary of only $57k, and lists the degree as the single worst masters degree to have right now. Unless there is something extremely gratifying to yourself about the work, I wouldn’t waste the money or time to get that degree.
Heck, you’d be better off working at McDonald’s and working towards a GM position - you’d have better salary and career prospects. Personally, I view the MLIS degree with about the same level of prestige as a degree in underwater basketweaving.
I’ve worked in libraries on and off my entire adult life, and I finally got my MLIS last year - I personally don’t regret it. Working as a paraprofessional is extremely limiting regarding job positions and pay-scales.
As far as libraries going away - I think that’s a bit overblown. Sure, as automation and online/e-book/streaming reading becomes more popular and easily available, the para jobs (maintaining physical stacks, shelving, front-line services) are going to go away - they’re already starting to. However, the professional positions (content selection, working with vendors, lobbying at local and state and federal levels) are still going to be necessary, and corporations and agencies are always going to need specialized librarians just like they need specialized lawyers.
Now, if what you LIKE about the library are the para jobs - being a customer service person, working with patrons, doing programming, doing readers’ advisory - then it will be tougher for you, because those are what’s getting pared away (or folded into professional job descriptions) because of tight budgets. Even so, there are always going to be smaller library systems or even smaller branches or departments in larger systems that still provide those services. But you might have to move somewhere that isn’t very exiting (small towns, middle-sized uninteresting cities) and you’ll not be getting paid very well.
But that’s all generalized info for everyone. For you specifically, you have to look at the following and do the research:
What do you like doing in the library?
Are those types of jobs going to be around for the course of your whole career?
Can you afford to work in a career that is not very well-paid?
Are you willing to relocate to where the jobs are?
Will you be able to work long enough to make the expense of the MLIS worthwhile for you?
I also got my MLIS in 2008 right around the beginning of the recession. My first employment was at a small university outside of New York City as a periodicals librarian - but what they really wanted was someone who knew technology, was enthusiastic, and had a bit of experience teaching. The periodicals part could mostly be managed by a staff member under me. I lucked out because I did a) was confident in the job interview b) had experience for my last semester teaching one shot workshops for English seminars. If you are going into the academic field, get experience teaching while you study!
Afterwards I voluntarily crossed the pond for love. When I was ready to enter the job market (through a temp agency) I was asked where I wanted to work. I had previously seen a job advertisement from an educational non-profit organization that had recently had a job posting for an E-librarian. As it was more about metadata (of which I did not have experience) I did not apply. But when I was asked what one company I would like to work for, I named them.
Within a week I had a job interview. The job was outside of the librarianship field, and was more focused on research/problem solving/content management. I again did well in the interview, and was told the main reason they picked my resume out of the pile was because I had a library degree and that matched well with the research/content management aspect. I got the job.
Keep in mind that the job market will be very tough in the general area where the university is - some people have to move if they want to find work in their chosen field.
With that being said - I agree with Zsofia. They will lie through their teeth and tell you the job market is strong for librarians. Perhaps it is - at the upper level or if you are male. I view the degree as an expensive piece of paper - what was by far more important was the side jobs you took in libraries while doing your studies to get experience on your resume.
Also, I do agree with Lsura that you should look at job advertisements often to see what is hot at the moment. Perhaps talk with faculty at the university you are interested in before going. And go to a university which is known for incorporating technology into librarianship.
I think librarians are some of the greatest damned people on the planet. But two of my three librarian friends have told me they would never do the degree again. One works in a bookstore because she cannot find a job for love despite over three years of looking. I gave the degree serious thought. I decided against it on the grounds that the market was likely to suck and I couldn’t move as my husband’s job is tied to the NYC area. My understanding is that the expected job retirements never materialized. Or that those who did retire were never replaced.
The couple people I know of with MLIS degrees have not found jobs. One works in a bike shop, the other one said he was changing careers last time I saw him.
I couldn’t possibly speak for AdmiralQ but I think it was incredibly clear from his post that he was basing it on data he found from Forbes. I quickly used my online research skills to Google the article:
AdmiralQ is right. If you are currently working in the library industry, and want to advance where you are, a MLS is a must. Most professional and management jobs IN THE LIBRARY require it. So if you’re planning on staying there, go for it. There will definitely be libraries for the next 20 years, probably for the next 50. But they won’t involve books.
If you’re looking for a new career, don’t. Get your MBA.
/career librarian
//also delivers pizza
///hot and fresh!
No, don’t get your MBA. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry is getting their MBA. The biggest moron I’ve ever had to work with had an MBA. An MBA is getting to be darn near worthless.
What I can’t figure out is why the MLIS isn’t taking the L* and becoming a Masters of Information Science degree. I’m in data analysis and research right now and I can tell you, there are many jobs out there at really good salaries. Employers see “librarian” and think “old skills.” Employers see “information science” and think “big data…our CEO said something about doing something with that, let’s throw money at it.” And they are.
So if you absolutely have to do an MLIS, take as many courses as you can in statistical research, big-data analysis, and anything else that plays up “information science.” That’s where the jobs are these days.
This thread is very interesting to me because I am in a similarly shaped watercraft. I want to get my MLIS but have been very concerned about the future of the field. I believe it is changing, not disappearing, but I am grateful that so many librarians are weighing in on the topic. Thank you!
I used to have a girlfriend who has a masters degree in library science. She worked various part time and volunteer jobs and finally got her first full time librarian job 10 full years after graduating. She had to relocate 500 miles to get it. That was 12 years ago. My understanding is the market is tighter now.
My degree is actually an MS in IS - but I graduated in 2004, before the big data/analytics push really kicked in. If I was going back now for this degree, I’d absolutely push myself to classes offered in these areas. When I was in school, they weren’t offered, other than a basic Research Methods class that covered some stats. So I’m learning a lot of this on the fly, and I’m considering a second master’s - right now I’m looking between the Master’s in Analytics that the business school at MPOW has started offering or an MBA (the latter I can do through the tuition assistance program, the former I can’t - that’s part of what brings the MBA into the equation).
It is tighter if what’s wanted is the “traditional” librarian job - in academia, that being one where you spend time at the reference desk, teach some library classes, do collection development…and don’t consider pushing yourself beyond that. But then, I’ve been trying to hire for a position since January, have extended the search twice, and still have received less than 20 applications that met the minimum requirements. Granted, I expected it to be a small pool - just not necessarily THIS small.
I think it’s easier (not EASY, just less hard) for those who are flexible, who aren’t set on being a librarian but who who understand that how we access, analyze and use information is changing, much like what Cognoscant said.
There is a difference between a Harvard, Wharton or other top 10 MBA and other MBA’s. Reallly, if you can get into a top ten school the future is very very very bright; if not make sure someone else is paying for the degree.
I have nothing to do with libraries, but my impression is that it’s a bad idea. Its a popular degree among people who feel like they need an MA to advance, but have little career direction beyond “Hmnm. I like books. Libraries are nice places. I know, I’ll get a degree and become a librarian!” A lot of these people expect the degree to be the magic ticket to a professional job- the way an MD makes you a doctor- and of course it’s not. Hence all the unemployed librarians.
That said, if you are already on a career path and just need that degree to get the next step, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to start taking night classes. But I wouldn’t quit my job to get one or enter one cold as a career changer.
If you want to work in an academic library, it’ll be tough to get a job. It was tough enough when I graduated in 1991. I spent the first part of my career in Brooklyn, where public library pay was barely enough to get by on. If you’re interested in public libraries, I’d check websites of the big systems to get a feel of what the job market is like now. I’ve been in DC schools for quite a while now, and we’re always hiring. It’s a tough job, though.
What are the minimum requirements? Are you sure that you are setting reasonable requirements, or are you asking for 20 years experience in everything and no traffic tickets, ever?