What Else Can I Do with an M.L.S.? MPLA 2005 Conference Jackson Hole, WY Anne E. McKee Program Officer for Resource Sharing Greater Western Library Alliance

McKees Untraditional Career Track Received a B.A. in Library Science, worked as student assistant in Serials Unit After B.A., worked as paraprofessional in Serials Became 1 of 2 library staff to automate serials records. (Datalinx/SC-10) Graduate school for M.L.S. Position open as paraprofessional in their Serials Department. Trained local staff in Datalinx operations After M.L.S., accepted position as Head of Serials George Mason University, Virginia Worked with Datalinx/SC-10 again LOVED the job but low salary and high cost of living necessitated in having to take 2 nd job in a clothing boutique

Untraditional career track cont Accepted position 2 ½ years later to become first Head of Serials for a brand-new campus-ASU West in Arizona. Much lower cost of living! Travel allowance to attend conferences and network, but salary still low 2 ½ years later, vendor sales position became available and I was invited to apply. Assumed sales position with subscription vendor. Base pay- 40% higher than academic salary PLUS commission Recruited by a competitor after 2 ½ years, compensation included base pay, commission and lure of international travel Constant travel burn-out! Applied for current position with large multi-state research library consortium. Starting year six with GWLA

Alternate Career Paths VendorSales, Customer Service, Systems/Technology Publisher/Content ProviderSales, Customer Service, Editor/Indexer/Abstractor, Business Services R&D, Marketing SystemsI.L.S SoftwareIP authentication, R&D, Project Management Web Editor/Indexer/Abstracter URL Linking Software, Sales, Trainer, R&D Consortium/AssociationExecutive Director, Program Officer, Marketing, Grant Writer Other Project Manager, Development, Consultant, Recruiter, HR, Concierge, Service Industry, Trainer, Researcher

Helpful References h98.htm h98.htm clis724/SpecialLibrariesHandbook/ non-traditional.htm clis724/SpecialLibrariesHandbook/ non-traditional.htm ey/jobs/tips/ ey/jobs/tips/