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I'd like to second Jon's suggestions. I majored in political science and worked in the library because my dad suggested it (damn him), and after graduation I took a full time job there for two years. There I learned a lot about desktop management, HTML, some PHP, serials, systems, electronic resources, etc. That experience got me great internships at Duke when I went to library school; I did reference, expanded my knowledge of the web, learned more about electronic resources, and serials. And that led to a job at a software vendor where I again got to expand my knowledge about systems work, perl, ........well you see where this is going. I truly believe that my experience in undergrad put me on the path to where I am today. So I give ++++++ to getting a job in your university library. I'd also like to suggest that when you choose a college you let us all know, you never know, there may be someone on this list that would be happy to hire an ambitious freshman to work for them......... On Thu, May 29, 2014 at 5:44 AM, Jon Stroop <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Riley, > > First, I wonder if there's anyone on this list who doesn't wish they had > your foresight! You already have rare opportunity in that you're thinking > about this now and not in your mid-20s, so way to go! > > We spoke about this a little @ the c4l conference, but I'll say more. I > majored in music performance and even did a masters in it as well, which > means that practically speaking I have a high school education. :-) I don't > really mean that, but until you've had the experience it's difficult to > explain (or at least I find it difficult) how relevant a degree in the > arts/humanities can be to a job in technology--and there's no shortage of > people who have taken this exact path. > > I did do an MLS, but see above re: high school education. At the time (~13 > yrs ago) I felt like I needed to do it to get a job (I also didn't > necessarily expect to wind up in systems, but that's another story), but, > honestly, everything I know I learned on the job, or /a/ job, or the > overnight hours between going to said job, which leads me to my point: > Wherever you go to school, and regardless of your major, if you ultimately > want to wind up working in a library, you should start now. Any brick and > mortar university is going to have student jobs available (work study or > otherwise) at the library, and while it may just be as a desk clerk or > whatever, keep your ears open (we already know you're not shy): at some > point there's going to be some stats that need munging, some Access (or > even worse) database that needs migration, some web work to be done, or > whatever and, et voilà, you're off! > > The point is, professional degree != professional experience, > and--frankly--you probably don't want to be working at a place that > requires a "systems librarian" to have a MLIS anyway, and certainly not in > 4-5 years. Get as much experience as possible, do a CS degree, but also > learn how to write and communicate OR do an arts degree, but also learn how > to program (etc.), and you'll be fine. > > -Jon > > > On 05/28/2014 11:17 PM, Riley Childs 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 >> >