Some advice?

[legroschat]

I'm struggling with an issue right now, and I'd kind of like some input on it.

 

I'm finishing my first year of MLIS. I have, essentially, hated it. All the courses were dull and full of tedious busy work done in a thoroughly exasperating group setting, I don't feel like I've really learned anything I couldn't have researched myself on the internet, and this is, of course, costing me thousands of dollars each semester in living expenses and tuition since I wasn't offered any funding or scholarships. I got a part time job at a library working the reference desk, and I'm volunteering at an archive organizing a series of records in addition to having worked for a provincial archive last summer. I have, for the most part, found these positions boring too. There has been a voice at the back of my mind all year telling me that I'm just not really that invested in a career in this profession. FRBR, MARC, record group vs. fonds--we discuss these topics all week, and the first thought at the forefront of my mind is usually "I care to the extent that I have to complete this assignment, but I don't really care". I also dislike computers and technology, and almost failed an introductory Javascript class last semester. If it's the tech-savvy people who get the good jobs in this field, I'm fairly certain I don't rank in that category.

I have recently been offered a year round position at a museum in my home city. It doesn't pay fantastically well, but it is in an area I'm passionate about (the local history of my province), offers full time hours, and would enable me to be close to my aging parents. However, if I drop out of library school, my other most significant qualification is an MA in English, and we all know the employment prospects of those! I can't bear the thought of paying another 20k to be bored out of my mind for another year, but there is a part of me that thinks the fall-back qualification of an MLIS would be useful in the years to come. Would it be narrow-minded and naive to withdraw from the program just because I'm bored and increasingly believe I'm not a good match for the profession? What is the after graduation job market like? What positions have you had? Have they been interesting? Please offer some details. Anything would help! Thanks.

Edited February 28, 2014 by legroschat

[mr.potato]

I am not a MLIS graduate (yet) so you should probably take what I have to say with a gain of salt. If the museum job is a permanent position and it is what you are passionate about, then go for it. I've spent the last two years in the museum field and full time jobs are hard to come by. Not only are museums cutting positions but no one ever retires (kind of like the library field). On top of that, a lot of the lower level positions are filled with volunteers or university students who have their salaries covered by the government/their university. Obliviously you'll have your foot in the door so that should help you get other museum jobs but make sure you network like crazy. It's not a very big field so everyone knows each other. If you work in collections, there probably isn't much room for advancement unless you have a PhD or a masters in that specific field, though you might be able to get away with not having one if you work in a smaller, local museum. In the other departments like advancement, marketing, and education, you'll find people with all kinds of degrees so your MA in English won't stick out very much. There's also quite a few people there with MLIS degrees who are not librarians or archivist.

 

From what I heard, the job market for MLIS graduates isn't that great either. Outside of libraries and archives, the only real use for the degree that I can think of is in the tech related industry where it would help to be tech-savvy. If you do not want to work with technology, I don't know how an MLIS will improve your job prospects. Before you do anything, you might want to talk to an adviser or at least look up something along the lines of 'non-traditional mlis careers'. One of the schools I applied to sent me this link, see if there's anything that might interest you. It would be a shame to throw away a year's work and all that tuition spent unless you are absolutely sure you want out.