In Mary Whisner’s article, Update to Choosing Law Librarianship: Thoughts for People Contemplating a Career Move, she discusses choosing to be a law librarian. One of the issues discussed was how much law librarians get paid and how it would be less then what others in the organization would be paid. She basically said if you have salary envy you need to find a different line of work and I agree. Now don’t get me wrong, I love money just as much as the next guy but I love freedom even more. I love the freedom of not having to work 50 to 70 hours a week and the freedom of not having to work at a job I hate.
George, I wrote on the same point in Whisner's article. I agree with your point about the hours that attorneys are required to work. I specifically chose to go into government law so that I could work "banker's hours" and be home by 6 o'clock every night. I think that enjoying your work is also important and the freedom of not working 70 hours a week goes hand in hand with that.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that the field of librarianship is so attractive to people as a second or even third profession. Perhaps it’s because there’s such a variety of applications for the MLIS degree, or that there’s an altruistic component to many of the available job options, or because as you mentioned, compared to the attorney grind, law librarianship presents opportunities for relative freedom. I think the diversity of people’s backgrounds brings a unique depth to the profession, and it’s a pleasure to meet others who are, like me, searching for a new path.
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