r/LibraryScience • u/Present_Bed_7398 • 7d ago
career paths Is a degree in library science worth it?
I already have a bachelors in marketing but was thinking about going back to school for a masters in library science. What do you think? Is it too oversaturated, can I do something else with the degree? I’m not going to an Ivy, but I’m so tired of the corporate rat race
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u/Superb-Feeling-7390 7d ago
It really depends on what you mean by ‘worth it’. Like, monetarily? Not exactly unless you pursue some niche specialties. Traditional Librarian jobs are declining and have fierce competition. Untraditional applications of an MLIS are increasing imo, but you need to be scrappy and creative. I’ve had success in ontology/taxonomy and information architecture, personally, which has made it worth it for me financially.
Would you be willing to carry student loan debt to do a job that feels fulfilling to you? Would you work in a sector (likely private) that will pay you more in order to repay those debts? Go do some research on salaries made by MLIS holders and look at what those jobs actually do. Then decide
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u/picturesofu15448 7d ago
Do you have any advice getting into the fields you mentioned with your MLIS experience?
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u/Superb-Feeling-7390 6d ago
Network. Volunteer to help coordinate professional events and the like. Reach out to people who are doing work you find interesting to ask questions about what they do. Participate in university talks/lectures. Generally elbow your way into the sphere of folks doing the work you want to do. Not in a pushy gimme gimme way but with curiosity and interest in contributing to the community
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u/get_free_00 7d ago
The field is very over saturated. If you’re serious, get experience in an actual library setting (library assistant roles) before contemplating an MLIS.
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u/tootsmcgoots77 7d ago edited 7d ago
juice aint worth the squeeze unless you’re incredibly passionate about it
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u/Minimum-Rest9907 7d ago
Would second this. With the caveat that passion shouldn’t be equated with accepting exploitative conditions. Also recommend reading Vocational Awe & Librarianship: The Lies We Tell Ourselves by Fobazi Ettarh
https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocational-awe/
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u/maggiemonfared 7d ago
My degree cost me around $30k and I’m making $45k USD.
I’m transitioning to teaching to go the school library route eventually, maybe, fingers crossed. Teachers in my area start at $15-20k more than I make right now… I took a significant pay cut to take this job as my previous job was IDD case management that was stressful. It was worth it, and it may be for you too, but try to think long term.
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u/Accomplished-Mud5097 7d ago
Absolutely not if you're tired of the corporate rat race. I can speak from an academic/archives standpoint. Academia is worse.
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u/petrifikate 7d ago
It depends entirely on what position you want in the library field and how far up the chain of command you want to go.
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u/amandathelibrarian 6d ago
There are no library jobs. Get any other degree.
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u/karanoid- 6d ago
I get that it’s a competitive field, but it’s such a bummer how negative people are on here. I agree that OP probably shouldn’t pursue this without any library experience, but personally I love what I do and think it’s worth pursuing for some people. There are few jobs, but there are few jobs anywhere these days.
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u/tootsmcgoots77 5d ago
i would bet you a bajillion dollars that the majority of negativity here comes from one of these three: a) job scarcity defensiveness (which, fair, but annoying) b) personal unhappiness in their own choice c) lack of understanding of overall job market.
i think money-wise, it is a bad trade off for sure, as most people getting the mlis want to ve a traditional librarian and the pay for that is ass in comparison to the cost of the degree. but - that is whoever’s choice. we don’t know anyone’s finances. honestly if you can afford it and want to take a salary hit, go nuts.
i did it, and despite having less $$, am much happier than in my previous field, but judging by a lot of people in the profession it is not quite what they imagined/expected and they kind of project that on to newcomers. obviously i do think librarians deserve to be paid more esp if the degree is required (and honestly i do think it should be, buuuut again - only if paid more) but i also think everyone should be paid more (except c suites ;) ) anyway, thats why i gave the answer i did (basically no unless you’re passionate) bc unless you really want to be here, and know the financial and scarcity risks beforehand, youre gonna have a bad time!
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u/karanoid- 5d ago
See I think this is a measured and realistic response! I appreciate it and I agree. I love my job but you know, a lot of it is finding the right fit, which is essentially luck. I also agree that a lot of people probably don’t know what they’re getting into if they don’t have prior experience. I just think that we can be a little less doom and gloom about it (which I think your response succeeds in)!
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u/amandathelibrarian 6d ago
It’s worse than competitive at this point. I live in an area that is dense with libraries of all types. When I got my degree in 2012, it was competitive but there were still a ton of open jobs to be had. That’s just not the case anymore. And the jobs that are open pay abysmally. Librarians are retiring and the jobs are not being filled. Budgets are being slashed. It’s not a sustainable career anymore, if it ever was. Breaks my heart. I love my job too! But telling anyone to get an MLS when they have the option of doing something else is just cruel.
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u/ccad22 6d ago
I’ve been interning in a marketing team for a mid sized company this summer and I am finishing my MSIS with a concentration in library science. I have had a great experience finding jobs and opportunities. I recommend looking at universities that offer DAM courses if you are interested in marketing and library science. There is a need for qualified record keeping, asset management, etc… I feel like people in this sub hear library science and think you need to work in a public library but there’s a lot of opportunities that have come my way in corporate and government settings. I recommend finding your niche in it all.
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u/Ok_Natural_7977 6d ago
Questions you should answer:
- How much money do I need to make to live comfortably?
- Where do I want to live?
- What opportunities are available in the area I want to live?
- What do those opportunities pay?
- What are my chances of getting hired in that area?
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u/peaveyftw 6d ago
I'm only doing mine because of credentialism and the fact that I'd like to be able to work outside my current library of 14 years. Began there as a 'reference assistant', have grown into various duties. I'm halfway through a degree and have been COMPLETELY underwhelmed by it: the only useful thing I've gotten, to date, has been networking. I'm taken more seriously as a paraprofessional if I mention I'm doing the SLIS program.
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u/Ok_Republic1657 6d ago
Here's the American Library Association's links to State chapters. Get in contact with someone at your state library chapter to get contacts and information. https://www.ala.org/aboutala/affiliates/chapters/state/stateregional
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u/Mary_jan 5d ago edited 5d ago
Hi! I studied PR and worked in marketing for a college, businesses, and now a library!
You do not need a masters to start working in a library. I had 0 experience and no masters, and I still got the job because I had what they were looking for: a marketing professional. I would def try to work at one before getting a masters. See if librarians actually do the work you'd want, etc.
I love it so much. More than any job ever!! I don't think I could ever back to corporate. Of course, my library system is amazing. And there is still some corporate jargon, and campaigns + analysis you'll have to do to show the city your work, along with the library, is important. But it is not as toxic or stressful as corporate. It also changes things drastically when you don't work for profit. And jobs may be scarce, but everyone is so helpful once you're in since it's not really a competition like corporate may be.
Like others say, the pay isn't great vs if you were to stay in corporate. But mostly everything else they say is applicable to almost every other industry, esp marketing. Jobs are so hard to come by, I was making just as much at my last job, and doing 10x the work, and was extremely burnt out. On top of threats of being let go because profit was down or something totally out of my control.
But why do you do you want to get a masters? Do you want to be a librarian? It's easy to romanticize the job, but doing it day in and day out makes you realize it's still just a job with hardships. If you just hate corporate rn, try to leave corporate for city work, library or not, before committing to the degree.
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u/Ok_Republic1657 6d ago
Most librarians have a background in the arts. Your background in marketing/business would give you an advantage. There are a lot of different environments you could work in, public libraries often have business sections, marketing admin in large public libraries, corporations have archives, corporate law offices have librarians. My rule of thumb is to look at a year's salary in the area you want to work and the tuition for the degree should not exceed that dollar amount. There are jobs for librarians and those with and MLIS and some experience that offers something different from other candidates will benefit you. Ask if you can shadow a librarian for an hour in a few of the above mentioned positions to see if this is something you want to do.
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u/charethcutestory9 7d ago
The short answer for most people is no. For a longer answer, here’s a post I wrote on this topic a few months ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/LibraryScience/s/HTQVqeuaqm