I can’t believe it.
Here we are, just weeks away from the final chapter in my graduate program, and I feel nothing but excitement and butterflies deep in my stomach.
During the fall of 2014 I started to think, “Maybe I should go back to school. Get another degree. Change my career.”. After several months of debating with myself and researching various schools I finally decided that I would apply to the San José State University’s iSchool program to get my Masters in Library and Information Science.
I was terrified.
“What if I didn’t do well?”
“What if I did well but by the end I got a job in that field and then decided I hated it??”
and the worst of all,
“What if I don’t get a job in this field at all and have yet another degree that I don’t utilize in my life?”
Despite these fears I enrolled in the program in the Spring of 2015 and ever since then I have pushed myself to excel in every course I could sign up for. One year, I even decided to be really crazy and I secured a per diem position in an academic library. It was only a 12 hour a week position; I figured I could work my 40 hour/week retail job, take my classes part time, and work in a library for a few hours a week. How hard could it be?
Enter the most fulfilling/stressful academic year of my life.
I had an absolute BLAST working in the library. Everything just seemed to make sense! I could help patrons find the books they were looking for, help them troubleshoot some of their technology, I had some of the best coworkers ever, and it was a way nicer pace of living in comparison to my full time job.
However, this bliss did not come without cost, because by the end of that fall semester I felt burnt out from doing too much all the time. Not wanting to let down my new coworkers (and because I was having such a great time and wanted more experience) I stayed on for the spring semester and then handed in my notice at the end of the semester.
It was a great way for me to get a taste of the new world I wanted to join and I did learn just how many things I could do in a day if I very carefully budgeted my time. Most importantly though, I learned how much I could handle and for how long before I felt mentally and physically exhausted.
Now that I am just a few weeks away from my graduation (just 2 papers and a presentation left to do!) I can’t wait to be a librarian. I’ve already started applying to some local libraries, and I have my eyes peeled for anything that might be available soon in academic libraries near me.
I’m so excited to start the next chapter in my life and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me.
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Please feel free to look at the newest tab up above titled, “E-Portfolio”. Inside you will find a portfolio of artifacts from my career at SJSU and learn all about how these different projects helped to build in me an understanding of the 15 different competencies that SJSU requires we learn.
Also, if we’re mutuals and you’d like to leave a comment in my graduation book on SJSU’s website let me know! I will send you a link to check out my graduation profile.
Adventures in Library Science 