•3/30/2010 11:11:00 PM
A lot of stuff has been happening to me lately career-wise. Namely, I've decided what direction I am heading in and the first few steps down that road. But for some reason, I haven't actually told that many people about it. So, it's about time I did because (1) I want to be accountable for what I've decided, and (2) I am just so darn excited about it.
SHORT VERSION (If you just want the facts):
LONGER VERSION (details/back story):
I have decided to go back to school and get a master's degree in library science and pursue a career as a librarian. Woot!
I was obsessed with books and libraries as a kid, I did a bit of volunteering in high school, and I worked at my university library for three years. I'm still obsessed with books. Yet somehow libraries as a career never occurred to me. In college I was so focused on journalism I didn't even consider this.
But then a year or two ago, a good friend implanted the idea in my head, whether she meant to or not. I couldn't stop thinking about it, and I haven't since really. It was a huge "duh" moment for me. Why had I never once thought about it before? It felt like such a perfect fit.
Once I moved back to Omaha, I applied for anything library related, and I got a job with the Omaha Public Library system back in November. The position was for a part-time library aide, which is the worst paid position in the whole system. But I didn't even care because I was working in a library again and it was a foot in the door, a first step.
Despite two cases of flooding over the winter, I have been loving it. I work with great people, and my obsessive attention to detail and AR tendencies are finally being appreciated. Yay!
Last week I interviewed for a part-time clerk position that had opened up at my same branch, and I found out today that I got the job. It is just over a 50% pay increase from what I make as an aide. And it's a completely different job description, so it's a chance to show them that I am good with people too, not just books.
After starting at the library, talking to the librarians there, talking to librarians I worked with in college and doing A TON OF THINKING, I finally hopped off the fence in February and committed to going back to school to get my master's degree. Yes, to get anywhere as a librarian you need a master's. Everyone I talk to seems to be stunned by that tidbit.
Luckily, I can stay in Omaha and do a really great program at a decently affordable price. I just have to get accepted! UNO partnered with University of Missouri-Columbia awhile back so that people in Nebraska wouldn't have to leave the state to get a library science degree. So I stay in Omaha, taking classes partially online partially on campus in some pretty innovative ways, but I pay "in-state" tuition to Missouri. And I wind up with a degree from University of Missouri-Columbia, not UNO.
I am taking the GRE in two weeks, which is my biggest hurdle, a sort of general SAT for grad school, and I have an appointment next week with the UNO liaison to learn even more about the program, courses and how it all works.
I really feel like this is the right direction for me, and I can't wait to get started. As nervous as I am about going back to school, I am also really looking forward to taking classes again and the things I'll be learning. And I already know so many great people (including many great librarian friends) who have been so supportive so far. I know you all will continue to be so once I'm in school and wondering what the hell I got myself into. Thank you!
P.S. I apologize for any mistakes in this post, but it's late and I'm tired and feeling much too lazy to go back and read through this now.
SHORT VERSION (If you just want the facts):
- I want to be a librarian when I grow up
- I am going back to school for my master's degree in library science
- Great program at University of Missouri-Columbia partnering with University of Nebraska at Omaha
- I want to start in the fall if possible, the spring if not
- I've been working for the Omaha Public Library system as an aide (lowest rung) since November
- Today I was promoted to a clerk (next rung), which is a different challenge pays a hell of a lot better.
- Yay!
LONGER VERSION (details/back story):
I have decided to go back to school and get a master's degree in library science and pursue a career as a librarian. Woot!
I was obsessed with books and libraries as a kid, I did a bit of volunteering in high school, and I worked at my university library for three years. I'm still obsessed with books. Yet somehow libraries as a career never occurred to me. In college I was so focused on journalism I didn't even consider this.
But then a year or two ago, a good friend implanted the idea in my head, whether she meant to or not. I couldn't stop thinking about it, and I haven't since really. It was a huge "duh" moment for me. Why had I never once thought about it before? It felt like such a perfect fit.
Once I moved back to Omaha, I applied for anything library related, and I got a job with the Omaha Public Library system back in November. The position was for a part-time library aide, which is the worst paid position in the whole system. But I didn't even care because I was working in a library again and it was a foot in the door, a first step.Despite two cases of flooding over the winter, I have been loving it. I work with great people, and my obsessive attention to detail and AR tendencies are finally being appreciated. Yay!
Last week I interviewed for a part-time clerk position that had opened up at my same branch, and I found out today that I got the job. It is just over a 50% pay increase from what I make as an aide. And it's a completely different job description, so it's a chance to show them that I am good with people too, not just books.
After starting at the library, talking to the librarians there, talking to librarians I worked with in college and doing A TON OF THINKING, I finally hopped off the fence in February and committed to going back to school to get my master's degree. Yes, to get anywhere as a librarian you need a master's. Everyone I talk to seems to be stunned by that tidbit.
Luckily, I can stay in Omaha and do a really great program at a decently affordable price. I just have to get accepted! UNO partnered with University of Missouri-Columbia awhile back so that people in Nebraska wouldn't have to leave the state to get a library science degree. So I stay in Omaha, taking classes partially online partially on campus in some pretty innovative ways, but I pay "in-state" tuition to Missouri. And I wind up with a degree from University of Missouri-Columbia, not UNO.
I am taking the GRE in two weeks, which is my biggest hurdle, a sort of general SAT for grad school, and I have an appointment next week with the UNO liaison to learn even more about the program, courses and how it all works.
I really feel like this is the right direction for me, and I can't wait to get started. As nervous as I am about going back to school, I am also really looking forward to taking classes again and the things I'll be learning. And I already know so many great people (including many great librarian friends) who have been so supportive so far. I know you all will continue to be so once I'm in school and wondering what the hell I got myself into. Thank you!
P.S. I apologize for any mistakes in this post, but it's late and I'm tired and feeling much too lazy to go back and read through this now.
