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This is a great thread. I've always been impressed every time I read Riley's signature. My hunch is you're in for a great and successful ride, no matter the particular path. Brian Zelip --- MS Student, Graduate School of Library & Information Science Graduate Assistant, University Library's Scholarly Commons University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign zelip.me On Thu, May 29, 2014 at 8:58 AM, Karen Coombs <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Riley, > > I have an BA in Anthropology and Music from a small liberal arts school as > well as my MLS and MS in Information Management from Syracuse University > While I sometime wish I took the computer science path, there are just as > many other times when I'm super grateful for my cultural anthropology > background. IMHO, if you are going to build systems that work well you need > to understand your user's needs. How the system is going to be part of > their lives. Good troubleshooting can benefit from this thinking as well. > Studying and watching people in their lives is a big part of cultural > anthropology. Being able to know how to do ethnography and put on that hat > when building systems has been a godsend. I feel like the another virtue of > my liberal arts education was the fact I had to develop general critical > thinking and analytical skills which I find invaluable in my career. > > Whatever you degree you choose to get, get real world practical experience > as much as possible. Every internship I've had has been worth its weight in > gold. Through one I found out what I DIDN'T want to do which saved me > countless $$s and time. > > Best of luck, > > Karen > > > On Thu, May 29, 2014 at 8:46 AM, Maura Carbone <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > > > I'd echo what others have said and say either CS/CSE or MIS/IT. You might > > want to make that choice depending on the school you go to--my > undergrad's > > MIS program is fantastic but I know a lot of people weren't as happy with > > the CS department. I'd also like to +1 what Lisa said about what you want > > to do as a systems librarian. I worked as a systems librarian in a public > > library and I most definitely did not need a CS degree, but MIS or IT > would > > have been very useful. Look at job postings, see what sounds like what > you > > want to do, and then go from there. Also see what you like in terms of > > classes! You might find the CS theory stuff less interesting than more > > hands-on type IT work, or you might fall in love with Physics (you can > > always grab a minor in CS, since there's quite a bit of overlap for the > gen > > eds). > > > > I also wouldn't completely ignore the liberal arts--if you want to work > in > > libraries, being able to communicate with your co-workers and with > patrons > > is VERY important. While you might get a job that's just IT or > programming > > work all day, more than likely you will have to interact with non-tech > > people. Being able to coherently express yourself, and being able to > break > > things down for people, is crucial to having a good working relationship > > with your co-workers. At my public job, I was also the person who more > > often than not helped patrons with their tech questions, from computer > > trouble shooting to setting up an iTunes account, to even helping someone > > build a website once. > > > > For the record, I was a history undergrad who took a few CS courses, who > > then got an MLIS and took a few more CS/IT/Tech courses. I work at a > > university, which means I have the benefit of being able to take free > > classes (which I plan to take advantage of to take some MORE CS classes > > :-D). > > > > Good luck! > > > > -Maura > > > > > > On Thu, May 29, 2014 at 9:16 AM, Pikas, Christina K. < > > [log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > > > I highly recommend a Physics degree. 1) not as many required courses as > > > engineering so more electives, more opportunities to study the > important > > > Russian Literature you might need as a surgeon :) 2) heavy math, heavy > > > computer science but in a solve-a-problem sense, not in a > > maintain-a-server > > > sense which gets out of date quickly 3) fascinating stuff in class 4) > > > people who graduated with me went on to PhDs but others went on to do > > MDs, > > > law degrees, and some started work immediately as computer scientists > :) > > > > > > Christina, BS, MLS > > > Oh, and adding a BS after your name is fun, too! > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf > Of > > > Riley Childs > > > Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2014 11:17 PM > > > To: [log in to unmask] > > > Subject: [CODE4LIB] College Question! > > > > > > 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 > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Maura Carbone > > Digital Initiatives Librarian > > Brandeis University > > Library and Technology Services > > (781) 736-4659 > > 415 South Street, (MS 017/P.O. Box 549110) > > Waltham, MA 02454-9110 > > > > email: [log in to unmask] > > >