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I wouldn't knock a liberal arts education, especially based only on high school experience. It's sort of the point of college: to be able to learn and understand about a wide range of fields and subjects. Otherwise you might as well go to trade school. College isn't just about getting a job when you graduate, but about learning how to think and understand different perspectives. And liberal arts includes the sciences, which I think people tend to forget. We think "oh, liberal arts are the arts and humanities" but they really encompass every school and department in a university. And as other people have mentioned, there are key skills you can learn from courses in English, anthropology, history, philosophy, sociology, etc. This is where you learn to write, to communicate effectively, to understand how people think (user experience, anyone?). These are all crucial skills that separate leaders and those who are more successful in their fields from those who are not. I'm not saying you can ONLY learn these skills in college, from a liberal arts education, but it sure helps. I also don't think there's anything wrong at all with going to a "trade school" or whatever we call them these days, and learning a skill set outside of the realm of a liberal arts education. It really depends on what you want to do and how fast you want to get to doing it. Laura [image: Laura Krier on about.me] Laura Krier about.me/laurakrier <http://about.me/laurakrier> On Wed, May 28, 2014 at 11:11 PM, Riley Childs <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > ________________________________________ > From: Code for Libraries [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Laura > Krier [[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 1:22 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] College Question! > > >>Hi Riley, > >>Congrats on starting college in the fall! If you like to learn, college > is pretty much the best place ever. > > College next fall, but almost there, pretty scary :) > > >>I second others in not necessarily recommending a bachelors in library/ > information science. I would actually suggest computer science if you're at > all skilled with math and logic. You'll probably have the best > post-graduate opportunities even if you change your mind about >>libraries. > >> > >>But make sure you get a well-rounded liberal arts education. Take > advantage of gen ed courses to study things outside of your major whenever > you can. All people are served well by having a broad base of knowledge, in > my opinion. And you'll need solid writing skills no matter >>what you do in > life so make sure you practice those every chance you get. :-) > > I am meh on liberal arts, my high school is Liberal Arts and I really > don't like it.... > > >>Basically, as long as you learn to be a lifelong learner, it doesn't > really matter what you major in I think. You'll always have to learn new > things anyway. > > >>Congratulations again! > > >>Laura > >>PS- To more directly answer your question, I majored in literature and > women's studies in college. Now I'm a web services librarian. I kind of > wish I had a more solid computer science background but I'm still able to > learn what I need to. > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On May 28, 2014, at 9:49 PM, Amy Drayer <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > > 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 > >> >