Best Careers 2007
The article package includes:
+ Sortable Table: 25 Professions

…growing demand as baby boomers age, the Internet becomes ubiquitous, and Americans seek richer, simpler lives.

No fooling, librarians* make the list. Metrics include: Median Pay (Salary Data), Job Market Outlook, Quality of Life, Attainability, Prestige, Typical Degree Required

+ Ten Most Overrated Careers

Attorney, Chef, and Chiropractor are three of the ten listed

+ Tips for Grads

* It’s sure exciting to see librarians on the list. What this says to us is that some people understand the importance that info pros can play in a schools, academic libraries, public, corporate/special libraries, and in non-traditional settings. The challenge is to convey that need and our skills — e.g., what we can do — not only to career counselors and writers, but to others who can use our services, in both traditional and non-traditional setting. We have a lot to offer but we often don’t have the time to demonstrate and explain (e.g., “sell it to the masses”).

In our opinion, one selling point that can potentially get you “in the door” and then have people listen to you is how we can save them time, effort, and aggravation. Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as our potential goes, but saving time and effort are things that both the 8th grader and the CEO can understand and appreciate. Once this basic point is made, then you may have the opportunity to train/chat/teach/discuss and select sources — present critical skills that everyone needs to know. Obviously, we are a bit prejudiced, but people not only need research help but they also need information seeking and information literacy skills. The abililty to teach these skills will grow increasingly important in the future.

Alternative careers for information professionals are also growing. Metadata is the buzz these days. Yet, metadata (very close to cataloging) and info organization have been a key parts of a library school education for a long time.

We think it was Howard Rheingold who discussed two types of digital divides. First, the common definition — e.g., whether someone has or doesn’t have access to information technology, the Internet, etc. The second definition, whether or not someone can use the technology to access accurate information in a timely manner and make determinations about the quality and reliability of what he or she has found. Every information provider must know that just tossing “stuff” out there doesn’t mean (especially in the web age) that people will find it and use it. Tom Mann’s Principle of Least Effort is probably more of an issue now than it was before the Internet became a key info resource.

So what does it come down to again? Getting out there and showing what we can do and how we can help. A little word-of-mouth advertising can go a long way. But it must come from each of us.

From the Librarian section:

Librarians these days must be high-tech information sleuths, helping researchers plumb the oceans of information available in books and digital records. It’s an underrated career.

The complete blurb about librarians can be accessed here. It was written in December 2006 and also includes a few paragraphs by James Billington, Librarian of Congress.

Yes, (again, we will admit to it being a bit prejudiced) but the author is correct. Librarianship is an underrated profession.

So, how do we change that? We would argue that one way (not the only way) is to get out there and start speaking (to anyone that will listen), and then showing and demonstrating what we can do — and how we can make a difference.

Do we use each and every tool and resource that we write about every day on ResourceShelf and DocuTicker? No.

However, the good info pro has a basic and constantly expanding knowledge of what is and is not available and where/how to find it, make judgments, etc. Again, easier said than done, but collection development and education in the Internet age (even if it’s your own bookmark list) is crucial. Good librarians have always “known” their collections and in many cases relied on resources that were similar in many ways, while still keeping in mind that each had its individual strengths and weakness. In other words, no resource, database or book is perfect all of the time. This is no different today. The only difference is that there is much more to choose from and make determinations about.

Easy? No, it’s not. But, no one said it would be easy. This shouldn’t be a deterrent.

Source: U.S. News & World Report

–

Shirl’s two cents:
Gary mentions the “digital divide” above. For several years now, I have been writing (and ranting) about the digital divide in our own profession. Some of us are blessed with time on the clock to explore new technologies, travel money to attend professional conferences, supportive administrations and access to critical IT skills. But way too many of us are not. It can be hard to learn about this stuff, to keep up with “the latest and greatest,” on your own. You may have family responsibilities or financial limitations. I know several librarians who are working second jobs to make ends meet.

OK, so nobody goes into library science because he or she is motivated by money. Still, the “median salary” of $49,708 mentioned in the U.S. News article is…well…overly optimistic based on what I see here in Florida, where housing grows increasingly more unaffordable with every passing day. But this is my home.

What am I really saying here? That, unlike Gary, I’m a bit skeptical of magazine stories that paint such a rosy picture of the library profession. What I’m also saying is that the best opportunities I’ve had in my career are the ones I’ve made for myself. I know exactly how valuable my skills and experience are. I’ve put a lot of time and effort into becoming the professional that I am today, and I work hard every single day. The library profession as a whole may be “underrated.” But I don’t think I am — not by the customers who know what I can do and who rely on me to do it.

All of that being said, we continue to do the very best we can here — and on DocuTicker, our sister site — to…as Gary says (again and again) save you “time, effort, and aggravation,” and deliver to you a steady stream of new resources and new ideas. We love what we do because we know we are making a difference. And that is why we cherish each and every complimentary e-mail from our readers. We think you’re awesome.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 13th, 2007 and is filed under Business and Economics, Libraries and Librarianship, Lists and Rankings, Resources for Educators, Source File. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.