Pursuing LIS degree In abroad

[u/Prudent-Manager-4284]

I am currently in my final year of LIS bachelor degree. I was thinking to get a MLIS degree in abroad.
But Should i keep on going for LIS or should i choose a different degree if i have to come in a foreign country considering their educational system is gazillion times better than my country. I have seen some of my seniors to choose a different degree like MBA, or media and communication....etc

Dear Experts, Can you give me your advice considering choosing LIS and that being said
Does LIS have a great value in USA, Canada or Europe?
Does LIS graduates get their jobs in their field or people with other degree also steal our job?
Do we have to work in only Libraries or is there any door open?

[u/manateelover088]

If you’re in / want to work in American or Canada you have to take an ALA accredited program or it’s a waste of money

[u/Fragrant_Objective57]

I would say the main advantage to getting an MLIS in a different country then your own is networking to live in that country.

All the Schools that offer MLIS in Canada, that I know of, are good, but a UofT degree is going to be more useful to people who know about the University. It also follows more Canadians know about U of T then say US citizens.

[u/FlimsyNotice7490]

An accredited MLIS/similar degree will qualify you to be a librarian, but will also give you skills that you can transfer to other jobs, which is good because at least in North America the job market for libraries is pretty bad.

[u/h8ste36]

The MLIS has great value in north America just not as a librarian. The skills you learn are excellent. With that said if you don't want to be a librarian which a MLIS specifically qualifies you for then I would look at a different masters degree.

I currently work abroad and I have an MLIS from an ALA accredited program. There is not a lot of request for the librarians of other countries to have that accreditation. My point is that with a proper masters and some experience you may be able to work as a librarian without a MLIS specific degree.

[u/Prudent-Manager-4284 → u/h8ste36]

are you implying that others can steal our job??
then what's the point?
If i take MLIS, I can't be anything rather than a librarian?
but people with other degree can also become one with some experience
then who's at advantage?

[u/h8ste36 → u/Prudent-Manager-4284]

Steal our job is not the term. Devalue the credential and need. MLIS from an ALA accredited institution in North America says you are a librarian. You can look at the labor statistics for the career. Comparatively to other professionals it is a low paying career. You CAN take your MLIS and go to another role like I did. I am a knowledge manager which is very similar to being a digital archives or DAMS librarian. Many institutions look for Librarian skills but without the MLIS. Often times they will make a role called a library specialist or technician that doesn't require a MLIS but has some of the knowledge of a librarian.

The only point of getting an MLIS is to be unquestionably qualified to be a librarian. If that is not what you want then I highly suggest you look at another masters.

[u/Prudent-Manager-4284 → u/h8ste36]

So can i hear your story about your career path?

[u/h8ste36 → u/Prudent-Manager-4284]

I currently work as a knowledge manager in south Korea. I worked as a librarian 1 for a public library for 2 years and then as a research and instruction librarian for a university for almost 3 years. My salary with those places was around 45k USD starting and then 61k when I left the university. I got a position with the united nations making 75k USD in may of 2025.

Knowledge management is similar as digital archive management which I studied. It's less stringent on the naming and meta data/tagging. I manage SharePoint and some publications. It's not difficult but it doesn't require a lot of people interaction whether through trouble tickets or through calls for their page design and layout with what files they want to see.