Library & Information Science Ranked Worst Master’s Degree for Jobs

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By Jason Boog on June 18, 2012 8:23 PM

A recent Forbes article ranked library and information science degree as the worst master’s degree program for finding a job. This news should make every author, publisher and reader very sad—-what do you think?

Check it out: “Library and information science degree-holders bring in $57,600 mid-career, on average. Common jobs for them are school librarian, library director and reference librarian, and there are expected to be just 8.5% more of them by 2020. The low pay rank and estimated growth rank make library and information science the worst master’s degree for jobs right now.”

No matter what you think, librarians need our support right now. Use our best library people on Twitter list to find the librarians working near you and go visit your local librarians. Over at Reddit, a number of librarian readers are debating the topic. We’ve included some of their thoughts below…

One Reddit reader wrote: “Sometimes I feel like the whole world is discouraging me from becoming a librarian. I’m halfway through my grad program and seeing things like this makes my heart ache.”

A more optimistic reader added: “My understanding was that the profession was aging and many current librarians would be retiring soon. I personally know several librarians who hoped to retire by now but can’t afford to yet. I think the projections for job growth in the field assumed a lot of retiring would be happening, allowing people with some experience to move up and free the entry level jobs for the (many) new graduates.”

Another reader responded: “I graduate with my MLIS in 2 months I can see how that would be depressing. None of us got into this business with the expectation of making insane money. That being said there are jobs out there you just have to be willing to move and look outside your comfort zone. I come from a legal background, but right now I work in a scientific library. Is it what I wanted no, but it is what I found.”