Education is often a hot topic around our home. We're both information junkies, we want to know everything about anything that interests us. Jeff veers towards movies, video games, computers, history, military and wars, and so many other things. I generally focus on literature, history, psychology, and more literature. I love books, didn't you know?
I graduated with a B.A. in English in 2010. Well, I emailed my final exams from my laptop while sitting on my parents' floor at midnight chatting with my brother about my current move to Japan. It was a few weeks before anyone else was even thinking about finals. I moved to Japan and missed the ceremony. My degree is sitting at my parents' house, I haven't even seen it in person yet.
I'm still adjusting to being a non-student, honestly. My transition out of college was different than usual, and I think not having the usual end of semester and graduation ceremony made it difficult for me to leave it behind. Everything in California felt so rushed. I took 25 credits at a time to get through before we moved. I read 5 books a week to finish a few weeks early before my books were shipped to Japan. It was crazy.
But I loved every second. Having a degree in English is difficult. It doesn't open up a world of opportunities or branch right into a specific career field, like a business degree might. I didn't have time to start certification to teach, so that's not an easy option right now. I chose a degree that's very hard to do anything with. In terms of satisfaction and personal achievement, the degree was the best choice for me and I value every minute I spent burying my nose in a book or working on another paper. I loved it so much I've repeatedly thought very hard about going back for my masters in English.
But again, hard to transfer to a job. Money. Career.
I've been researching and thinking about graduate school off and on for two years. I'm positive I want to go back to school, but I don't want to make the same choice. As much as I would love to earn a Masters in English, that wouldn't be smart for us and our future. I need to choose something more suited to an actual career path or two. A degree that will get my foot in the door towards a career that can contribute to our family. As much as I want to make the good money, I cannot commit to a degree I don't feel passionately about. I do the bare minimum in classes I don't like, can you imagine a whole degree? Or a whole career for that matter?
It's led to a lot of thinking and googling and researching universities. Because as a military spouse, another problem stacked against me is our constant mobility. Here in Misawa, there's one masters program available in person. I can't predict where we'll be in two years or how long we'll be there. It's looking more and more like online programs will be my best option. Which is limiting, but doable.
I've found a couple paths I might be interested in. Human Relations, Public Administration, Human Services. All possibilities that I could see doing and enjoying the jobs that relate.
A few weeks ago I stumbled into another possibility: Library Science.
I haven't done enough research, but it sounds like a degree that would be focused on storing and managing libraries and databases, researching both in person and on computer. Hello, perfection. My favorite part of making an argument is building the pieces. I love researching and digging through databases to see what connects. I research as a hobby. I've probably typed research five times in this post alone. I research every big purchase we buy, the bases we could move to, any relevant information, everything. Libraries are my favorite places. And I could imagine happily creating and maintaining an online database of articles or magazines or books. Perfect job for me? Maybe.
Perfect job for a constantly moving military wife who doesn't know where she'll be in 2 years much less 20? I'm not sure.
I need to research.
If you decide to look further into MLIS programs, use the ALA website. Your program NEEDS to be ALA accredited, because most employers will require that. Their searchable database of programs is useful, and you can limit results to institutions that are 100% online. :)
ReplyDeleteI believe that you have to be passionate about libraries (or literacy, research, etc) to choose this career path, because landing a job can be difficult and often the pay is measly. Public libraries (and any others that are government/tax funded) have been hit especially hard with this recession. If you're passionate about the research and data management aspects though, private companies could be an option as well.
My point is this: make sure you're getting into the field because you think it's a good fit, but also be cognizant of the reality that this isn't always a career choice that's overflowing with opportunities. Actually, it can be rather cutthroat at times... haha! I'm not saying this to discourage or dissuade you, it actually sounds like you'd be an excellent fit. But as military wives we have to be prepared to be on the job hunt every few years, and I don't foresee being able to walk right into a library and land a job right away. So, just some food for thought :) You're welcome to message me on facebook if you have questions as you do your research!
Thanks for your input. I did think to check for ALA accredited programs, searching on their website is how I found the programs I've been eyeing!
ReplyDeleteI'm taking my time to think about it and see where my current job and any opportunities here take me. As much as I want to go back to grad school and learn more about something I'm passionate about, I can't stomach the thought of more loans yet! Not without the guarantee of a higher paycheck, which won't happen with this degree necessarily.