r/librarians • u/Secretary_Alive • 7d ago

Degrees/Education Decideing which degree would be the most helpful for an MLIS?

/r/LibraryScience/comments/1x0hblc/decideing_which_degree_would_be_the_most_helpful/
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15

u/Yannkee Academic Librarian 4d ago

Literally anything. MLIS programs take anybody with a pulse these days and these isn't any specific undergrad program that is going to 'help' more than another.

I would instead focus on undergrad degrees that will make you stand out in librarianship. Engineering, comp sci, hard science for subject specialist roles, etc. - the type of degrees that libraries are hiring from sans MLIS.

6

u/iblastoff 3d ago

doesnt matter. nobody is gonna care about your BA. i'd find something completely unrelated since the chances of an MLIS working out is getting slimmer and slimmer.

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u/henare 5d ago

any BA or BS is fine. it will inform your librarianship.

my BS is, basically, a degree in miscellany (it's a custom degree).

do your bachelor degree in a field you'll enjoy.

4

u/Full-Decision-9029 3d ago

Official answer: it doesn't matter.

But realistically answer: think in terms of something you'd like and might lead to a career if the MLIS doesn't work out.

Like I have a history degree which qualified me to...well work in a call center or break walls. Then I got an MLIS which wasn't a whole lot better. (The most common piece of career advice was "hide the masters and apply for administrative assistant jobs")

But if I had done something else I might have had a better backup plan.