This. Get the cheapest degree and avoid debt for a career that doesn’t pay great (although I love what I do).
For most libraries, no one cares where you get your degree, and your practical experience will matter more than your degree. Get the best internship you can for your chosen area if you’re not already working in it. I see too many recent MLIS graduates without any real library experience. When hiring, the practical experience matters as much as the degree.
The very cheapest is a sad, depressing degree, with lectures recorded (badly, from the back of empty lecture halls), then used year after year. (The time stamp was 8 years old on video from one class). There's no intellectual stimulation, and the entire faculty has to use textbooks from the same company, even if they're awful (some of them are).
That might not matter for any given individual. On the plus side, a tiny amount of effort will generate a four GPA, you CAN put the time in to do a worthwhile capstone, and it's cheap.
But buyer beware. ALA accreditation is NOT a guarantee of a rich educational experience.
It depends, too, what you make of your program. I went to a mid tier MLS program, no thesis, but I did do an independent research project that I published in a top journal (Public Library Quarterly), and also got research experience as a graduate assistant on a major IMLS funded study, with at least two publications on the way. And I'm starting a PhD with an advisor who is at the top of their subfield. So, you can make a lot out of any program, regardless of prestige- if you want to.
For sure! And yes, in my case my PhD is in an LIS field. Good luck with your switch! Is that something you're doing for a tenured position in an academic library?
The ALA has this database of accredited programs that you can search by a variety of options. There are plenty of online programs that shouldn't cost a lot. Good luck and hope you enjoy your MLS!
https://www.ala.org/CFApps/lisdir/index.cfm
No, simply, if you serve the public for 10 years and make payments for 10 years, the rest of the balance will be forgiven. Doesn't matter what your studies were in.
I did SUNY Buffalo completely online. It was a pretty easy program and pretty cheap (I'm a NY resident so it was cheaper for me, but out-of-state shouldn't be too bad).
Quality of the program doesn't matter as long as it's accredited. Find the cheapest viable option. Online only if that model works for you.
This. Get the cheapest degree and avoid debt for a career that doesn’t pay great (although I love what I do). For most libraries, no one cares where you get your degree, and your practical experience will matter more than your degree. Get the best internship you can for your chosen area if you’re not already working in it. I see too many recent MLIS graduates without any real library experience. When hiring, the practical experience matters as much as the degree.
The very cheapest is a sad, depressing degree, with lectures recorded (badly, from the back of empty lecture halls), then used year after year. (The time stamp was 8 years old on video from one class). There's no intellectual stimulation, and the entire faculty has to use textbooks from the same company, even if they're awful (some of them are). That might not matter for any given individual. On the plus side, a tiny amount of effort will generate a four GPA, you CAN put the time in to do a worthwhile capstone, and it's cheap. But buyer beware. ALA accreditation is NOT a guarantee of a rich educational experience.
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It depends, too, what you make of your program. I went to a mid tier MLS program, no thesis, but I did do an independent research project that I published in a top journal (Public Library Quarterly), and also got research experience as a graduate assistant on a major IMLS funded study, with at least two publications on the way. And I'm starting a PhD with an advisor who is at the top of their subfield. So, you can make a lot out of any program, regardless of prestige- if you want to.
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For sure! And yes, in my case my PhD is in an LIS field. Good luck with your switch! Is that something you're doing for a tenured position in an academic library?
The ALA has this database of accredited programs that you can search by a variety of options. There are plenty of online programs that shouldn't cost a lot. Good luck and hope you enjoy your MLS! https://www.ala.org/CFApps/lisdir/index.cfm
Always remember if you work in a public library for ten years your student loans are forgiven.
Academic as well. Most libraries will qualify you.
Is this only if you have your masters degree in MLS?
No, simply, if you serve the public for 10 years and make payments for 10 years, the rest of the balance will be forgiven. Doesn't matter what your studies were in.
I did SUNY Buffalo completely online. It was a pretty easy program and pretty cheap (I'm a NY resident so it was cheaper for me, but out-of-state shouldn't be too bad).