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

[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?

late replying here, I spent the weekend working on a paper

[lurkmuch.livejournal.com]

My program (MLIS at Kent State Univ. (http://www.slis.kent.edu/)) is set up to accommodate people who are working full-time and doing the program at night. I'm told this is pretty common.

The drawback for me has been that I've reached the point where I need to gain some library experience before I graduate. But fitting a part-time library job on top of working full-time and going to school part-time is fairly difficult. And a full-time job in a library to pay the bills in the meantime is difficult since library jobs that don't require an MLS are thin on the ground.

Having said that, I absolutely love my program. Ten minutes into the first class, I went OH YES, YES THIS. My issues with it have been mainly logistical, and my only real regret has been waiting so long to start it. If you have more questions about library school, you're absolutely welcome to email me if you like!