[Web4lib] Seeking Advice: Switching Career Paths

[Will Kurt]

Although I'm not a Web Services / Web Development Librarian, I do run 
a library job site in my spare time, so I do a fair amount of web 
development work and also see around a thousand library job postings 
a year.   My 2 cents are:

Jon makes some good points, although I fully believe that you (and 
everyone who's posted) can get a web librarian job if you want 
it.  Too frequently libraries want an unreasonable number of 
qualifications for an equally unreasonable low pay. I could rant 
volumes about this, but needless to say I think it's a poor practice.

The point is don't be discouraged, and also don't be afraid to look 
outside of library-land for positions that may be equally rewarding 
and better paying.

To echo what everyone else is saying: build something! The site that 
I run has been an incredible learning experience, and continues to 
scale as I learn new things.  Plus it provides a useful service to a 
lot of people in the area.

Don't be afraid of programming, find a language that works for you 
and enjoy it. Once you know one interpreted language well it's fairly 
easy to at least understand what's happening in another.  I'm going 
to have to put in my plug for Python, which is very easy to learn and 
works well for everything from simple procedural programming, to OOP 
and even Functional Programming.

And finally- DO NOT accept the library dogma that getting low wages 
is okay and just part of life, it's not.

--Will


At 10:04 AM 8/30/2007, David Kemper wrote:
>Colleagues,
>
>I am seeking advice on switching careers. I am currently in the
>archival field but would like to move into the field of web design and
>website management in a library and/or information center environment.
>I have been an archivist for almost 6 years. Throughout that time,
>while mixing in some archival research work and some processing, I was
>always recognized by supervisors and colleagues as the "web guy," the
>Webmaster, the guy tinkering with Dreamweaver and Photoshop, designing
>websites, taking advantage of web technology to give greater access to
>archival material.
>
>Lately, the desire to transform myself from informal web guy to formal
>web professional has become stronger, as I feel my interest drift
>further away from my current field. A case in point: I often feel more
>connected by discussions occurring here than on other listservs.
>
>My attempts to switch gears have fallen short, however.
>
>On numerous occasions I applied for Web Services / Web Development
>Librarian positions (or something to that extent) only to be told that
>1) I do not not have enough web experience, 2) I do not have enough
>technical know-how, and the most common 3) I should remain in archives
>because I have been doing it for so long. Like a Hollywood actor, I
>have been typecast, it seems.
>
>I am wondering what I should do to switch career paths effectively. I
>have taken numerous courses on web and multimedia design; online
>information organization; graphic design and others. And I have a real
>keen interest in the web and the latest trends, and how they work to
>better communications and information delivery. I am wondering if a
>few programming courses are in order? I am not sure what should be my
>next step.
>
>Your input and advice would be much appreciated. Feel free to email me
>off the list at siansleep at gmail.com
>
>Thank you.
>
>David
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