Words of my father echoing . . . (past the advice of Forbes)

I still remember driving from Long Island to New Jersey with my father some fifteen years ago when he intimated to me that although he'd been an accountant for twenty years, he never enjoyed it. I could have taken that in one of two ways: (1) Sometimes we need to do things to survive in this world even if we don't enjoy it; or (2) Find something you enjoy doing and do it. While I find both interpretations to be valid, what I took from it is the later, to get paid to do something I enjoy doing. I lucked out because I love what I do.

Recently, Forbes reported what it found to be the best and worst graduate programs for jobs. The worst degree was one in Library and Information Science, reporting a mid-career median salary of $57, 000 and 8.5% projected employment increase. The report noted that it did not take job satisfaction into account, but it was basically telling college grads not to become librarians. (Is this a dying profession? How is it that when the world of information is exploding, the profession at the heart of information access is imploding?)

Among the top worse degrees were the other graduate degrees I might have considered had I not chosen to go to law school, then library school : English(2), Music(3), History(9). And while I don’t find the subject itself fascinating in an academic sense, since that is one of the things I do, Education (4) made the list too. Surprisingly, Philosophy was not on the list, nor was Law (considering all the bad press law schools have received over the past year.) What was most surprising is that the Masters of Studies in Law(MSL) was not on the list - what is that?

Well, it boils down to dollars and cents, I suppose. Don't do anything unless you can make a good living out of it. The fact that I somewhat believe that is only further evidence of my entrance to fatherhood, but at the same time, I hear the words of my father in my head saying to me in uncertain terms, "Find something you enjoy doing and do it."

I truly enjoy working in legal education. I can recall that on a weekly basis for the first year of working at the Charleston School of Law, I would think to myself, "I can;’ believe that they pay me to do this." I still will to direct a law library (despite the fact that I believe my mentor secretly prayers for the end of law libraries). And if I were a recent college (or law school) grad wondering whether I should enroll in the Rutgers School of Communication, Information and Library Science (SCILS), now School of Communication and Information (SCI), I still think I would choose the MLIS degree (though attaining the JD was so much more fun).

Well, I've been the crossroads and I've chosen my path (which has had its bumps), but what would I tell myself some seven years past? The answer is simple: Find something you enjoy doing and do it. So my advice to anyone considering becoming a law librarian is this: If you're going to do it, make a life out of it. Don't watch the clock while you do it. It is not just a job; it is a career. Don't do it if you'd rather be doing something else. Do it because you feel called to do it. I heard the calling, and I came a calling, irregardless (yes, I know" irregardless" is not a word) of what Forbes or anyone else would say about it. So son, if you want to be a librarian, be a librarian (but marry a doctor as the healthcare industry seems to be the ideal environment to find work). (DCW)