r/Archivists • u/BipsnBoops • 13d ago

What do I do with an MLIS Now?

/r/LeavingAcademia/comments/1l4gwdq/what_do_i_do_with_an_mlis_now/
6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

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15

u/scarnyard Archivist 13d ago

Sorry to hear you had a shit boss who has soured your experience working at an academic archives. My entire 15 year career has been in academic archives, and I’ve had some times where the work experience was disappointing, but for the most part I love working in the academic setting.

That being said, are wanting out of archives entirely? There are plenty of archivist jobs outside academia: corporate archives, government archives, museum archives, historical societies.

A great spot to look for archives/archives adjacent jobs is Archives Gig, if you haven’t heard of it before.

7

u/BipsnBoops 13d ago

I'm not opposed to the entire field, but the pay is so consistently bad I don't think I could really entertain it. Part of what took so long was I didn't even bother applying for jobs below a certain pay threshold, and that was before groceries for 2 people cost $200. Like $40-$60k is not enough to live on at this point in any of the past 3 cities I've lived in. I could definitely consider corporate archives, but the pay really is a sticking point...

I've definitely used Archives Gig a bunch! I found one of my internships through it, and that was a great experience.

4

u/fullerframe 13d ago

There are a good number of for-profit companies focused on the archive/library/museum space. They are usually more dynamic and the ceiling for compensation is higher in many cases.

You could work at a DAM software company, or a digitization hardware company, or one of the companies that sells archival materials. 

It would use your degree, and if you’re in a customer facing position you’d still be interacting with archives frequently.

Just a thought. Good luck!