November 28, 2007
Career Paths: How do I get there from here?
Some people are lucky enough to know exactly what they want to do and how to do it. For the rest of us, there's Career Services.
But what about those who aren't already halfway there? Those, for example, who have a vague, if any, idea of what they'd like to do, but no real idea how to begin such a career?
Think of it as a question closely related to "What can I do with a (blank) degree?" which is a question that many students ask directly before applying to certain academic programs, declaring an undergraduate major, etc. In some circumstances, there will be a helpful resource, a chart or booklet, that notes career options. In my experience, only the most thoughtful counselors think to procure such a document for their students. (To SI's credit, all of the individual specialization web pages have this information) And I, having been in both of these boats, have decided to address this question for the benefit of my dear, dear readers.
If you have your eyes on the field of Information Science, there are a number of resources available to you through the School of Information.
First, there is the always helpful "MSI Pathways to Success." This tool lists a number of environments (corporate, non-profit/cultural/educational, or government) and a number of potential SI careers within each field. It's simple, just click an environment, then a career, and *poof*! You will be presented with a list of useful SI courses, cognates, internship opportunities, related research, and even a list of jobs that SI grads have found in these areas.
Now, as helpful as the Pathways to Success can be, they fall short in their breadth of career listings. I, for example, am interested in special collections libraries (particularly the historical variety), which is not listed. Now, I KNOW SI has prepared a number of people just like me for such careers...so where can I find out how they did it?
This is where that magical, wonderful thing called "networking" comes in. If you, like I, do not find a published recipe for finding the job of your dreams, it's time to start talking to people.
SI has published Alumni Profiles. This list of graduates can be quite useful. Just find someone who is doing something you'd like to do, and read up on how they got there!
Next, there are faculty and current students. If you're already in SI, just start asking around. Go to a student group meeting and ask people there. Bug the second year students in your classes. Talk to faculty in that area. And don't just talk to one person, talk to many. There is no one way to do things, so get a wide range of perspectives, and it will prove valuable every step of the way.
And last but not least (and this is applicable far beyond the reaches of SI), talk to people who HAVE the job you want. This is especially easy if they are public servants of some sort (professors, librarians, administrators, etc.) but even if you cannot just walk up to a desk and ask for five minutes of there time, the Internet is a wonderful thing. Sometimes they will have a web site with their qualifications or bio listed, or an email address. Although I'm sure this varies by industry, but many people are happy to talk about their successes. Sometimes they'll even slip in a few secrets on what their company usually looks for when they're hiring.
I hope you'll all find this to be helpful. And if not, there's always career services, right?
-Megan
Posted by messelti at 05:57 PM | Comments (0)