Hi - I'm also an English undergrad. This was after miserably failing out of a Math/CS program (although I learned a lot). The English degree forced me to write a lot while in college - a time when one's mind needs some expanding lest it get caught in ruts. This helped my communication skills immensely. Despite what Giarlo says.
I also agree that a background in informatics is going to be really helpful in the years to come. We are awash in data, yet little of it has the semantics needed to automate the extraction of meaning. I think there are going to be many years of smart people plowing meaning back into the data sets that we're struggling to put away at the bit level now, and I think it sounds like fun work.
Another common thread I agree with, and one my kids have heard since they were in diapers, is GET A JOB! Especially in the area you think you're interested in. You'll learn more practical things there than in any class. You may suck at it at first, but hey, they're paying you anyway! If you like doing it, you'll get better, build your resume, and be better able to see if it's something you want to do long term.
Year later, after working in corporate IT for a while and getting sick of my profession being treated like an expendable commodity, I went back and got an MBA to better understand business - and learned that corporate IT is an expendable commodity... I wasn't really OK with that, so I came back to academia to do more meaningful work for far less money ;) With the MBA, I was able to come back at a director level and influence change, so that's kinda cool.
Good job getting ahead of this! You're a neat person and I appreciate what you do for the community!
Declan
-----Original Message-----
From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Henry, Laura
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 5:51 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] College Question!
My undergrad degree is in English, and it actually has come in handy at times. Good communication is important, regardless of what you end up doing. If I could do it again, I'd seriously consider informatics - but I didn't know it was a thing until I started library school. http://www.soic.indiana.edu/informatics/
As far as IT, I learned a lot from the tech-support job I had right out of college, and after that I'm self-taught. I imagine it's a steeper learning curve than if I had some sort of tech degree.
If you're going for an ML(I)S, major in whatever interests you. Librarians come from all kinds of backgrounds. In my class there were a ton of English and History degrees, but we also had people with degrees in astrophysics, soil science, and accounting.
Laura C. Henry, MLS
Assistant Systems Librarian
Beaufort County Library
311 Scott Street, Beaufort, SC 29902
Phone 843.255.6444 [log in to unmask]
www.beaufortcountylibrary.org
For Learning ♦ For Leisure ♦ For Life
-----Original Message-----
From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Amy Drayer
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 12:50 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] College Question!
Dear Riley et al:
I was thinking the same thing as Coral. I have a humanities undergrad degree; a computer science oriented degree would certainly have been beneficial, especially with an emphasis on network and server administration, or even web development depending on your interest (as a systems librarian I also managed the website and catalog). The library-oriented education can wait until grad school.
Honestly, I think we come from a variety of backgrounds. My liberal arts foundation works for me (I feel my education was well rounded in a way a science or IT degree may not have been), but I would definitely have wanted some more technical classes such as I mentioned above if I had known I would be in this field.
In peace,
Amy
In peace,
Amy M. Drayer, MLIS
Senior IT Specialist, Web Developer
[log in to unmask]
http://www.puzumaki.com
On Wed, May 28, 2014 at 11:24 PM, Coral Sheldon-Hess <[log in to unmask]
> wrote:
> Riley,
>
> Whatever you do, don't major in library science as an undergrad. Maybe
> minor in it, along with some other major, if you want, but it's not
> useful by itself as an undergraduate degree--most libraries want
> librarians to have the MLIS. And what if you change your mind after a
> few years and don't want to get the masters? Do something you could
> get a career in--or work in, part time, to afford the MLIS.
>
> If you want to be a systems librarian, why not get a degree in systems
> engineering or IT? (Seriously, there are degrees in
> IT<http://www.ccsu.edu/page.cfm?p=332>now, what a world!) Computer
> science wouldn't hurt, if you don't mind theory, and you can get some
> good foundational stuff that will help with the information science
> part of "libraries and information science."
>
> The school where I got my MLIS had an "Information Science" department
> that was mostly IT, too. So, that's a possibility.
>
> --
> Coral Sheldon-Hess
> http://sheldon-hess.org/coral
> @web_kunoichi
>
>
> On Wed, May 28, 2014 at 7:17 PM, Riley Childs
> <[log in to unmask]
> >wrote:
>
> > I was curious about the type of degrees people had. I am heading off
> > to college next year (class of 2015) and am trying to figure out
> > what to
> major
> > in. I want to be a systems librarian, but I can't tell what to major in!
> I
> > wanted to hear about what paths people took and how they ended up
> > where they are now.
> >
> > BTW Y'All at NC State need a better tour bus driver (not the c4l
> > tour,
> the
> > admissions tour) ;) the bus ride was like a rickety roller coaster...
> 🎢
> >
> > Also, if you know of any scholarships please let me know ;) you
> > would be my BFF :P
> >
> >
> > Riley Childs
> > Student
> > Asst. Head of IT Services
> > Charlotte United Christian Academy
> > (704) 497-2086
> > RileyChilds.net
> > Sent from my Windows Phone, please excuse mistakes
> >
>
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