I'm gonna be an
archivist. And not just any archivist, but a
top secret archivist working on projects that I can't tell anyone about. No one. Not even my mom. In fact, I'll probably just tell everyone I work at McDonald's so I don't wonder if I'm revealing classified information and about to get sent to prison for the rest of my life.
This means, of course, that this blog will now become defunct, but after all I'm not a Gonnabe Librarian anymore. And since I haven't written for a year and a half or so, that's not tragic. (Now, to those two or three of you who used to read this and will miss my blithering and blabbing and swearing and shouting in capital letters: I apologize. I'm a top secret archivist now and need to maintain a cool and distant demeanor.)
SO DON'T ASK ME ABOUT MY JOB. SRSLY! No, seriously. I don't want to have to kill you.
After a year and a half of radio silence, though, I feel like I need to wrap this up with a bang, so I've been thinking of the things I should have said all that time.
Two years is a lot of time to summarize in a blog post.
Here's the short story:
I worked as Site Director for Dancing Classrooms New Mexico, where I learned a lot about running a nonprofit. Like, that was not cut out for running a nonprofit. Could I do it? Yes, to a point. Did I want to? Unfortunately, that would be a resounding NO, which is probably why could only do it to said point.
I wrote blog posts for an executive search company until they decided to do it in-house. I learned that I like writing so much that even blogging about executive compensation could be fun. I also learned that when it comes to paying real money for writing, even people who believe in top compensation for top talent aren't buying it. (And I was cheap!)
Here's what I learned about library school:
You know how they say you should take whatever electives you want because it's the core courses that really matter? THEY'RE TOTALLY WRONG. Not that you don't need the core, but electives and internships can make all the difference. Here's what they liked about my resume:
- Stuff learned in Digital iCreation (videography) which, you might remember, was my absolutely favorite class ever
- Experience with multimedia materials (NYPL internship and independent study at the Belfer)
- Digital library classes and experience (DL certificate, and internship at SUNY Upstate)
- Writing experience (blogging, research papers, case studies, and everything else we all had to write)
- Exhibit experience (SUNY Upstate, again)
I didn't major in archival studies, and I did what interested me. And my resume was a 100% perfect match for the job. Luck? Maybe. I prefer to think it just proves that patience is a virtue.
And here's what I learned about job hunting:
You know how they say you have to be willing to move to get the job you want? THEY'RE TOTALLY RIGHT. It took me two years to find a job because I had to stay in one place.
And you know how they say you should apply for jobs that aren't necessarily in the library/archival field? THEY'RE TOTALLY RIGHT. The job I applied for called for someone with a degree in library science OR photography OR graphic design. I thought it was a long shot at best, especially since one glaring hole in my background would be the whole scientific thing, and the archive is full of scientific things, but lo! Here I am.
The end:
No, not the end. The beginning, for me. It's just that it's a beginning I can't tell you about without killing you, so ... I'll leave you with a song. Not my song, because have decantophobia. It's a song by WoodyGuth3 called "I'm an Archivist."
Enjoy, and thanks for listening to me and not telling me I'm an idiot.
