Editorial: Grad School Confidential

The good news in the 2007 Placements & Salaries survey is that women graduates of library and information studies programs—at least those in the cohort responding to our survey—have finally broken through the $40,000 entry-level ceiling (see “What's an MLIS Worth?” p. 30–38). However, the outlook is not so rosy for everyone.

We continue to hear from new graduates about the problems they face. They tell us salaries are too low to cover the cost of the loans they took out to pay for their degrees. They say their job searches start before they graduate and continue for months—or more—afterward. As a result, grads are often forced to take temporary or nonprofessional jobs in the field to get by until something better opens up. Some have even cobbled together several part-time jobs while looking for that first full-time post.

Both the quantitative and anecdotal information in this and other articles and in the online dialog indicate that library schools still fall short in meeting the expectations of graduates.

One recent Pratt alum responding to David Conners and Laena McCarthy's article “The Jobs Can Be Found,” LJ 9/1/07, p. 44–45 (Talkback, 10/3/07; LJjobs.notlong.com) seemed to capture the frustration of many of her peers with the first job search:

I…found that there was a great disparity between the supposed…opportunities to be had and the reality [of the] job market.... My school has not actually done graduation surveys to note what graduates have gone through [to get a position].... So all the faculty cheering over the wonderful job market has primarily been based on speculation and not cold, hard facts…. I had…internship experience, but it was still not enough to get an actual position.... I just wish my school would...take the initiative to survey its former graduates to get an honest assessment of…the hiring process.

Pratt, in fact, was one of 12 schools that didn't participate in this year's Placements & Salaries survey (see p. 38 for the others). Some schools are unwilling or unable to report the data, though this year more individual schools (44 vs. 38 for 2005 graduates) and total number of graduates did. Kudos to the new participants.

Among the schools that participated, approximately 37 percent (1,992) of their estimated graduates (5,335) responded. Obviously, we'd have a better picture of the job market if the 12 schools that didn't respond (out of 57 accredited library schools) made an effort to find out about jobs and salaries from their new grads. We still wouldn't have all the answers about prospects for current graduates or prospective students and how to help them succeed, but we'd know a lot more.

Those in the library field may be surprised to learn that the lack of available information from placement offices and the frustration with the quality of graduate programs isn't endemic to library schools. A quote from a new law school grad at ABAjobs.notlong.com in response to “Law School Secret” suggests that the problem of satisfying new graduates in securing promising jobs is more widespread: “The…degree is essentially worthless, and new [grads] have been conned into paying an outrageous amount of money for it.”

The angry grad was reacting to an article in the Wall Street Journal (“Hard Case,” 9/24/07) on poor prospects for law school students. According to the article, many of the 75 percent of grads who don't make it into the top-tier firms face starting salaries ($35,000–$50,000) not unlike those of new librarians—plus they face much higher debt. Like LIS grads, they take nonprofessional positions as paralegals and do temp work. Like some librarians, they feel the schools don't teach real-world skills or put enough stress on the internships and practical experience that are needed to get jobs.

Graduate and professional schools put a lot of money into glossy brochures, web sites, and pitches to meet their recruitment targets. It's not enough just to hand out the degree at commencement. The schools must deliver on that hard sell and put equal emphasis on helping new grads secure jobs. They need to ramp up their placement efforts and placement offices. A professional education should do more to get you a job.