If you’re like me, you’re here on this blog because you love books and love reading. And if you’re anything else like me, you’ve often wondered about what educational avenues to pursue to turn this love of reading into something of a career. It’s for that exact reason that I decided to get a Masters Degree in Library and Information Studies/Sciences! The beauty of this degree is that there are so many avenues it can take you. I’m going to list 8 of those opportunities in this post – I wonder if there are some you never even considered.
Librarian
This avenue is the most obvious. You can be a librarian without an MLIS degree, but to get to a level of librarian management, and to also be considered as more than a volunteer among the competition, this degree is the way to go. If working in a library sounds like a dream, imagine managing one!
Bookshop Owner
While it’s not necessary in most countries to have an MLIS degree in order to open up a bookshop, it’s actually highly respected and valued as a considering factor for places like Europe (especially France). In addition, an MLIS degree teaches you valuable recommendation techniques as well as display skills that would benefit the layout of your shop and how personable (and valuable) you become to customers!
Working in a Museum
An MLIS degree gives you the valuable curation and organization skills necessary to become a vital employee in a museum setting! MLIS degrees are not only about literature and documentation but also about qualifying and learning to effectively organize and describe media of any sort, especially historic items.
Archivist or Curation
If you’re one of those people who organize your bookshelves by colour or by genre, the role of an archivist or someone working in the curation department may appeal to you! You are responsible for picking and choosing, obtaining, and organizing items in ways that are accessible and just make (appealing) sense. For Archiving, you’re primarily working with antique documentation and you’re finding safe ways to store and share these items with the general public.
Publishing & Editing
The beauty of an MLIS degree is that you gain so many skills on being attentive to what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to literature and writing. You learn how to pick up on details that others may have missed, and you become familiar with numerous forms of content and how to excel at content creation. This is yet another way to work more intimately with books, and an MLIS degree is valuable in getting you there.
Researcher
Are you someone who enjoys learning? Are you someone who enjoys dedicating time to truly understanding something, and do you find joy in extensive documentation and papers dedicated to that understanding? Then Researcher is the avenue for you. The beauty of an MLIS degree is that it’s not limited to Humanities. Many people take the skills they’ve learned and apply it to the Health and Sciences world, as well. Mind you, research is not limited to Health and Sciences either. If learning is your favourite thing, this is the avenue to go.
Data Work
One important aspect of the MLIS program is the technology sector. Not only is it required that you familiarize yourself with metadata and the like, there are also pathways you can take within the program that are solely focused on working with data and creating data systems. These are systems that are used to quantify, organize, and study data that are used across numerous business sectors. If you enjoy data, but you also see the appeal of a Library Science degree because of the opportunities it opens up for you, working in data is a possible career path you can choose following your MLIS degree.
Writer
When you spend years studying how to organize, present, and curate content, you also learn how to write to appeal to the masses! Writer is an obvious potential career path for this degree.
Did I miss something? There are so many avenues that an MLIS degree can take you down, it’s hard to narrow it down to just 8. It’s also important to mention the multitude of “sub-categories” that exist within each field I’ve mentioned. The point is: a Masters in Library and Information studies opens up so many doors and opportunities for you, that you might even want to try them all.
If you need more information about my experience in this graduate program, don’t hesitate to reach out. And if you have another career path to mention, please drop it in the comments below!
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