Tapping into the network

[resonant]

Or: Who wants to help the Res decide what she wants to be when/if she grows up? (Not cutting because I want maximum input, but I'll try to keep it brief.)

I've been doing the exercises in What Color Is Your Parachute, and have ended up with a list of transferable skills and a list of interests.

Skills:

Analyze
Solve problems/see patterns
Evaluate
Imagine/invent
Classify/organize
Plan

Interests:

Social sciences
Design of spaces
Communication studies
Folklore
Speculative fiction
Libraries

The next step is to ask everyone I know: Do these suggest any job titles to you? Do they suggest any job fields to you?

The best job I ever had was one that I didn't know such a thing existed until I found myself interviewing for it, so I'm very open to unexpected suggestions from you brainy and extremely diverse people. (Please feel free to share this post; I'm very interested in advice from everyone, whether I know them or not.)

Comments

[jacquez.livejournal.com]

I just ordered a copy of that book, heh.

Based on that list of interests, I would look into *waves hands* something having to do with collaborative space design.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

I read it once before and didn't get a whole lot out of it, but at the time I thought I already knew what I wanted to do, so I was all focused on getting a job. (As a newspaper reporter! Talk about lack of self-knowledge.) This time it's been brilliantly helpful.

[anatsuno.livejournal.com]

very quickly because it's 6am and I am beat:
museography.
that job where you make up the design scheme for navigation through a space - linked to sign-making, like, but not - I forget the fancy word dammit!
information architect (websites and applications as virtual spaces)


might be back with more later... Gd'luck!

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Taking note -- interesting ideas. The trouble is, I have no idea what are the names of these jobs, or who might employ people to do them!

[wintercreek]

Not that you know me, but I can't help but jump in and say that, stating the obvious, "Librarian" does sound like a good job title for the interests and skills you mention. As libraries reinvent themselves for the "Digital Age" there's a lot more happening in the way of creative problem solving, interest in fields like Communication Studies and Folklore, new ways of classifying and finding things, and, of course, the need to size up what's going on and invent new ways of meeting user needs.

The whole field of Information Science might interest you, actually. It's one that seems to be requiring intellectually quick and adaptable people to synthesize all kinds of information, extrapolate from the past, and meet a variety of needs that no one ever foresaw. I say this as a second-year Masters student in Library and Information Services/Information Policy (double specialization) at UMich. If nothing else, the website and degree descriptions may give you some ideas.

Let me know if you have questions about any of this - I love procrastinating talking about my program.

[wintercreek]

Additional, amazingly cool applications of your interests (aka, Jobs I wish I had):

The Northern Illinois University Science Fiction Collection and its blog

Henry Jenkins' blog - he's a media and popular culture scholar at MIT

And the pop culture in libraries blog

[norah.livejournal.com]

Museum work, except that it tends to be ill-paid and hard to find.
Library work, natch
...

I don't know, I fell into my career and it more or less suits me, though I've used that book to fine tune it. Sorry not to be more help!

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

I've always wanted to be a librarian, but not the kind of librarian who has to work with the public.

I recently learned that around here even the hospitals have libraries and employ librarians, which fascinated me. (Hospitals really dominate the local economy -- we've got three of them.)

Want to say more about what you do?

[cat-latin.livejournal.com]

Some kind of researcher, running studies, analyzing statistics. For example, I have a friend who is a research psychologist who studies prejudice. One of the studies he ran was interviewing straight men on their levels of disgust when presented with images of other men, from "macho" to "flamboyant," and using statistics to analyze the results.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Wow, interesting! I don't have an advanced degree, but I'm betting he has other people who work with him on aspects of the work that don't require extensive education? Assistants and such?

Once I've done some research, would you be willing to ask him if he'd speak/e-mail with me briefly about his work?

[livrelibre.livejournal.com]

Just dropping in to say ditto on library and information science. As a librarian I have to analyze and evaluate services and user behavior; invent new solutions to problems and keep up with changes that I never expected; design new learning spaces and research tools; organize and collect resources; and learn subject areas so I can serve students and researchers in the field. There's always something new to learn and it's a field that can lend itself to a lot of things (a lot of the information architecture, wayfinding and museum studies suggestions above dovetail nicely with the information science/library degree as well). I'm also happy to talk about the field anytime.

The only other things I can think of might be game design or anthropology/communications/social informatics researchers--like the folks who do human computer interaction stuff or the kinds of researchers and designers they hire at IDEO (http://www.ideo.com/) or that go through the Stanford Design program (http://www.stanford.edu/group/dschool/) or maybe the MIT Comparative Media Studies program (http://cms.mit.edu/index.php). I know that doesn't help with job titles exactly but it's what comes to mind.

[julad.livejournal.com]

Absolutely seconding this! Res, your list of skills and interests sounds exactly like me and I do a combination of the two suggestions above. Both of those you are better off with some kind of qualification but the design side is more open to whatever you happen to have. Library careers don't go far if you're not a qualified librarian.

On the library side you're looking for keywords like library science, information science, information studies, information management. On the design research side, keywords you're looking for include user experience, user centred design, interaction design, usability, information architecture, ethnography, anthropology, user research, design research, participatory design, industrial design, human factors, human computer interaction, computer-supported cooperative work... it's a big and complicated field but that's probably enough to get you started. ;)

[morebliss.livejournal.com]

Librarian. Come join us! Very varied work as you can extend it out to be an 'information officer' or 'knowledge point consultant' for private companies. That's where the big bucks are.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm getting that a lot, and it sounds wonderful. Once I've done some research, can I e-mail you and ask about what you do and what you like about it?

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

Well, just to give you some unusual suggestions, I would want someone with that skill set to work on the following aspects of my job:

Conference organization and design (everything from organizing the poster presentation and board organization to ordering catering to communicating with the speakers to creating the abstract booklet).

There was a man who worked in the library at my graduate university who was the administrative go-to guy for getting your dissertation thesis bound and sent to the right departments/copies placed properly in the library. I always thought that would be a nice job description since all those students would be so damn happy to be talking to you.

A lab manager. Now, you didn't list my kind of basic science as an interest, so I don't know how much this would apply, but the psych program is also constantly running studies that require room and equipment set-up, so. We would have a lab manager doing a lot of the prep work for experiments, organizing specific frozen samples, doing a lot of the paperwork involved in ordering and receiving, and trying to stay a step ahead of the researcher's needs. I would imagine that a social studies experiment would involve signing up and organizing the participants. In my current university, there is a web-based sign-up system, but we all get reminders and study participation eligibility emails. I've usually known lab managers to have a master's in the field, but I'm in a very specialized field.

The administrative departments in general usually have a front man for lecture room sign-ups, organization of announcements, food and drink and any meal planning. These events could always, *always* use someone to solve the problems inherent in the system and make it work better.

In any case, in academia and elsewhere, someone with organizational skills is a blessing. No matter the field.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

I found that I reacted to the conference-organization suggestion with a visceral self-protective curl -- I think it's because it's organizing people, rather than organizing information. But I'd have to talk to someone who actually does the work to get a better sense of what it's really like.

Lab manager, on the other hand, sounds really interesting. And I am very interested in science; I just have no education or training in it.

Would you mind telling me more about what you do? (You can e-mail resonant8(at)sbcglobal(dot)net, if you like that better than a public LJ post.)

[kitsune13.livejournal.com]

ARCHIVIST, man. Especially for folklore -- they're needed. Transcribing old field notes and turning them into searchable databases is wonderful; they just recently got the Wayland Hand collection of folk medicine at UCLA up out of the basement and online. It's AWESOME STUFF.

Or, of course, get yourself a PhD. in folklore, and be a folklorist. :D

[pun.livejournal.com]

So are you an archivist? I've been considering getting a degree in archival studies but am totally uncertain. My under graduate degree was in History, and I love history but don't want to be a professor, you know?

I'm sorry, Res, I don't mean to hijack a post that's about you and what you should do with your life. I just meant to come in here and say thank you for this post because I'm struggling with these same questions and it helps just to know that I'm not the only one. I'll definitely check that book out. I'm always wary of anything too self-helpy, but I think I need to just get over myself and check it out.

[damned-colonial.livejournal.com]

This may sound weird but you said you wanted that stuff :) My roomie and a few other friends work for Second Life, and the above (plus your internet proficiency, which I'm assuming) sound like they would all go together really well in virtual worlds. In particular, all of "design of spaces, communication studies, folklore, speculative fiction" seem to map very well.

[damned-colonial.livejournal.com]

Oh, and the skills you list sound like "product manager" to me, from my software/tech company background.

[old-enough.livejournal.com]

LOL. What a great idea! List your skills and interests and ask your friends "What am I?"

Sorry, I don't have anything to add to what they've suggested, partly because I'm so busy looking up all the things they have suggested for you. I'm actually giving some serious thought to growing up at last, and well, um, you see... your list of skills and interests almost exactly matches mine, so... I'm really busy taking notes here. :))

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

It's working wonderfully well for me -- all the time I've wasted fruitfully spent on the internet is finally paying off.

I totally recommend doing the exercises in What Color Is Your Parachute. One thing I've discovered, since developing that list of skills and interests, is that things I'm currently doing (part-time work, volunteer work) can be aimed and directed in such a way that it gives me more experience and accomplishments in the things I'm most interested in, so it lets me get the best use out of what I'm already doing. (Like, for instance, I get called in to substitute as office manager for my church every now and then, and with that list in hand, I can look around for projects that fit into my desired direction.)

[archant.livejournal.com]

Variant on information management / librarian : patent searcher!

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Wow, I never would have thought of that. Are you in the field, or do you know anyone who is?

[tevere.livejournal.com]

Developing literacy programs for the developing world that draw on the oral history and folklore of the recipients' culture?

My partner and I are developing a literacy program here, and some of the resistance we've encountered is the fear that written language will destroy existing oral traditions. Ideally written language will help preserve oral histories and folklore and use them as a basis for development into an equally rich written culture, but it's a valid concern.

And you don't even have to live in the developing world. You could just visit!

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Interesting thought! Of course, you have to work with humans. Humans are not actually so much one of my skills and interests ...

[calligrafiti.livejournal.com]

Knowledge management (KM). It's a division in my office and, I've been told, a growing field. They run the office library, work on internal communications, organize the intrahnet, plan internal training, etc. They work with the Communications division a lot, but they're more internally focused. I work for an international health NGO, but I understand a number of different businesses are incorporating this position. Most of the people in my office's KM division have masters in library science.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Wow, that sounds fascinating! Is there anyone in your KM department who might be willing to have a brief e-mail/phone conversation with me about what they do and what they like about it?

NGO = like a service organization but not government-run? And ... what country are you in, again?

[pxr5.livejournal.com]

project manager. You need the social science and communication de rigeur in order to get *anything* done, and the skillset is almost perfect.

Take a look at the PMI (pmi.org) and see if you agree.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Huh -- my first reaction is that that website is not much use to someone who doesn't already know all about the field!

Do you do project management or know anyone who does who'd be willing to talk briefly by phone or e-mail about the work?

[darthfox.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid that off the top of my head that all adds up to Feng Shui Consultant. Which could be fun, but is unlikely to be lucrative.

[bruinsfan.livejournal.com]

I'll bet folding money it's a six-figure job in LA if you can get just one celebrity to rave about your work.

[indywind]

Consider looking in libraries, nonprofit organizations, colleges & universities, and perhaps the occasional socially-conscious corporation whose product or service you have knowledge of or interest in. Job titles might not help all that much, because the label does not always have much to do with the work (frinstance, I have the same job title as another guy in my department, "Administrative Specialist," meaninglessly vague as that is, and our jobs are pretty much dissimilar--he does budgets and managerial paperwork--works with numbers, I organize seminars and grant proposals and PR--work with words and people).
Still, you might want to look at jobs called things like:
Project coordinator, project manager, [something] services coordinator (I've seen a "coordinator of information services" job title somewhere and I have no idea what it means but it sounds cool)... museum educator or museum education coordinator or exhibit designer, researcher, social worker...

You might also look into training in architectural design, cultural anthropology, sociology... or if you're not up for a ton of education, seek work as an assistant to someone in one of these fields, which can be nearly as rewarding as doing it yourself.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Now the assistant suggestion is really useful and encouraging! Because I'm interested in all the fields you mention, but I have a bachelor's degree in journalism and no further education, and I'd like to do job first and master's afterwards, rather than the other way around!

Do you know anyone like that who works as an assistant, or who employs an assistant?

Your work sounds too people-oriented for me, and your colleague's sounds too number-oriented, but it does sound like you might be in the general ballpark of a place I'd like to be. Would you want to tell me more about your organization and the people who work for it? Either here or in e-mail?

[lurkmuch.livejournal.com]

Your skill set pretty much screams "librarian" to me - then again, I'm working on my MLS and thus have it on the brain. *g*

I'm not working in the field yet, so I leave to other people here who are. But my own interest list would overlap pretty closely, and I'm definitely finding ways to indulge those interests while in library school.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm getting 'librarian' a lot, and it does interest me a great deal!

If I decide to pursue an MLS, I'm going to need to do a multi-step process, where I get a nonprofessional job that's a little closer to the field so that I'll have income while I go to school. I wonder if there are actually jobs in the university's MLS department that would be a match for some of my skills?

[luthien.livejournal.com]

I used a lot of those sorts of skills when I was an archivist, particularly when working on the appraisal side of things, which I specialised in.

And of course that's a branch of information management/science, too.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

You've been an archivist? Interesting! Would you be willing to talk by e-mail about what that was like?

[gnomad.livejournal.com]

Industrial/organization psychology sounds like it would fit. You bring in the social sciences as well as some of the design of spaces, communication studies, and pretty much all of your noted skills.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

That sounds fascinating. Do you know anyone in the field, by any chance?

[giglet.livejournal.com]

I know, this is probably not useful. But it seems clear to me that you should be a (best-selling) novelist, writing folk-based speculative fiction.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Of course!

[cathalin.livejournal.com]

Well, you wanted us to think outside the box, so I'll admit that when I read List 1, I thought, hmm, sounds a lot like what a lawyer (some types) does. Though law appears linear, and some aspects of it totally are, in reality there's a lot of problem-solving, creativity, and making connections between disparate things involved in many types of law.

Also, that list sounds like some jobs working for local, state or federal government, where you're dealing with policy choices or coming up with solutions to things. You can work for an official or a legislator, or for a department that oversees a certain aspect of government - e.g. environment, human servies, communications, justice, transportation, etc.

Finally, the top list also sounds like what a teacher does when planning out what and how she's going to teach something. So, teaching one of the things on your "interests" lists could work - e.g. social studies or literature.

And yes, frighteningly, I have personal experience with all of these. *g* (If for some reason you want info on any of these, just say the word).

(p.s. You should *so* write novels for a living, omg!)

[indywind]

1+1=eleventy!

you could analyze/classify and design a space to teach folklore & speculative fiction in a library on behalf of a social-science organization! With a cherry on top!

Hello, it's Friday and I'm silly.

But my good wishes are for serious.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

O, Res, you are using that book! I worked my way through that book last spring!! It's a great book!

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

I absolutely love the exercises; they turned up all sorts of surprises. (Apparently all my life I've been working waaaay down on my list of pleasurable skills.)

You know how when you apply for a job you're supposed to highlight certain accomplishments, have stories to tell that show how you demonstrated this or that skill? It has only recently occurred to me that people can find those projects on purpose to showcase their desired skills. You don't just look at your past and hope something will turn up; you can actually go looking for things to do that you can tell a future employer about.

So instead of showing up at Habitat for Humanity and saying, "I dunno, I'll do whatever volunteer work you've got" (and ending up editing another goddamned newsletter), I can show up and say, "OK, here's what I like to do. What have you got?"

(Also, of course, it occurs to me that when I'm in an interview and the person says, "Tell me about a time when you demonstrated excellent customer service," this is a sign that I'm interviewing for the wrong job.)

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Librarian.
Urban planner.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm getting both of those. You know what's funny? My dad used to be an urban planner! I am a lot like him in a lot of ways, though I'm abstract and he's concrete.

[nudaydreamer.livejournal.com]

Well if you like fields that no one has ever heard of until they end up there, are you familiar with research administration? You could work in a university department or central office (I've done both) so you get to be close to academia. It requires the ability to long- and short-term plan, multitask like crazy, communicate clearly (especially in writing), maintain all kinds of files, constantly learn new guidelines, deal with a variety of electronic databases and systems, keep people out of jail, work easily with numbers, learn something new every day (seriously), put up with grumpy old professors and naive young grad students, translate gibberish into human speak, say "no" in an unlimited number of ways... it's sometimes crazy but never boring. :) And universities are often desperate for people to take these jobs. They were ideally looking for someone with 3-5 years experience to take my current position, but settled for me after 1 year.

[ectomycorrhizae.livejournal.com]

If you want more info on behind-the-scenes museum work (at a university), feel free to email me at drktan at gmail dot com.