Tag: working in a public library

One Alternative Career

I think that a job in a library could be one great alternative career.

For decades I haven’t been a fan of thinking the only job you should get is in a corporate office.

Working in a public library the pay might not be great however the benefits could be better. Like getting a pension. And the opportunity to open up a 403(b) as an additional source of retirement income.

A 403(b) is the non-profit sector equivalent to a 401(k).

The benefit of a public library job is that it’s a pre-set 7 hours-only workday. You can show up in Converse high-tops or combat boots.

In a future blog entry I will talk about a library job in more detail.

You should be interested in working with people. It would help to be chatty at the customer service desk.

You can host programs like arts-n-crafts or a writing workshop.

A library job can often be a union job too. I’m so not a fan of working in a corporate office.

In the coming blog entry I’ll talk about the right way to work hard at any job. You want to be able to get ahead without losing your head.

This Must Be The Place

I arrived early to an after-hours event at a library. Able to browse the shelves I checked out three books.

The beauty of working in a public library is that I can wear silver-coated pants and black platform Adidas Gazelles to the job. Plus use neon green eyeliner and lavender lipstick.

“This Must Be the Place” if you want the freedom to clock out on time, get generous paid time off, and possibly receive a pension when you retire.

The pay isn’t always so hot yet you’ll likely be offered a 403(b) you can contribute to for a source of retirement income.

This month I took a burnout quiz that revealed I didn’t have compassion fatigue. In the coming blog carnival I’ll talk about stopping high stress before it starts. Our work doesn’t have to create ill health.

We can S.O.S.–save our sanity and serenity before things get out of hand. That’s why I’ve coined the term The New Alt-American Dream: We can opt out of what used to be called “the rat race” and find the job we like going to.

Not everyone likes living in New York City. That’s OK. I recommend researching jobs in your local public library system. To become a professional librarian you’ll need a master’s degree. A clerk or computer tech person often only needs a H.S. diploma or GED.

Alternative Career

I had wanted to talk about working in a public library as a possible career.

For those of us without a college degree we can apply to be a clerk or a computer tech person.

You can often apply for a job on the library’s website or via their LinkedIn account.

The case I make is for a person with a 4-year degree to consider getting a Masters’ in Library and Information Science.

Often these jobs are union jobs and might offer a pension unlike traditional office work.

I’m not a fan of getting an office job after how I bombed out of the insurance field in the 1990s. Followed by a repeat of the same dynamic in the job I had at a law firm for two years while in graduate school.

Starting out fresh out of library school with an M.S. in New York City the salary is $56K for a professional librarian job at a public library.

Not all library systems are equal. The supervisors at some public libraries can be tricky to deal with.

Yet in the end if you ask me getting a job in a public library is far better than working in an office. Especially if you don’t want to wear a suit or put up with the corporate life.

The best thing is a public library might have a scholarship fund staff with 4-year degrees can apply for to go to library school.

I’ll end here with this:

For those of you who live in New York City and have a Brooklyn Public Library library card you can check out of any Brooklyn branch a copy of my book Working Assets: A Career Guide for Peers.

It’s shelved at their Business & Career Center. You can place a copy on hold and have it sent to the branch you want to pick it up at.