Choice of career in library and information science and past work experience

Abstract

The study explores how different occupational backgrounds of Master’s students in LIS shape their motivation to choose a career in the library profession. The research is conducted on full-time employed Master’s students from Hong Kong. The research method applied is survey, and data were collected with an online questionnaire. The study reveals that students with library jobs significantly differ from students employed elsewhere with respect to motivation to pursue a career in LIS. While library-employed students place more value on extrinsic motivating factors, students employed in other fields value intrinsic factors as well. Regarding the future developments in the LIS profession, students from both groups agree that the application of information technologies, service orientation, academic research, marketing activities and teaching are all important.

LIS pre-professionals’ perspectives towards library user education: A comparative study between three universities in Greater China

“…Because of the distinctive colonial pasts, sociocultural, and information landscapes amongst the three regions, the professional qualification, requirements, and practices for LIS professionals in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China are distinctively different from one another (Dukic, 2017; Ho et al, 2018; Lo et al, 2015, 2017). These differences are further reflected in the LIS curricula at all three universities in this study.…”

“…Furthermore, according to the findings of our previous studies, a significant percentage of LIS students at both HKU (41.7%) and NTNU (22.8%) already held graduate-level qualifications (in other non-LIS-related academic disciplines) prior to entering the MLIS program. For this reason, students at both HKU and NTNU tended to vary widely in terms of their educational and occupational backgrounds (Dukic, 2017; Ho et al, 2016; Lo et al, 2015, 2017). In comparison, only a small number (3%) of PKU students held postgraduate qualifications prior to entering the MLIS program (Ho et al, 2016).…”

Where Are the Scientists?

“…In general, career decisions for undergraduate students are motivated by demographic, social, environmental, and cultural factors (Thomas et al, 2023). However, many prospective LIS professionals enter an MLIS program as a second or even third career (Ard, 2006;Beck & Callison, 2006;Dukic, 2019) and for many it is not their first choice for a graduate program (Ho et al, 2018). In particular, Taylor et al (2011) found that over half of MLIS students decided on LIS after completing their first degree, and a third made the call more than five years after completing their first degree.…”

“…In particular, Taylor et al (2011) found that over half of MLIS students decided on LIS after completing their first degree, and a third made the call more than five years after completing their first degree. There is a noted increase in second-career librarians coming from other occupational areas (Dukic, 2019), and Canada leads this trend (Lo et al, 2015). Entering into the field of LIS professions is often considered serendipitous or accidental (Hallmark & Lembo, 2003).…”

“…Given that MLIS students come from a variety of backgrounds and enter their programs at different ages, life stages, and career stages, it is surprising that students across borders and cultures report similar motivations in pursuing an MLIS. In general, MLIS students are motivated by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors (Dukic, 2019;Moniarou-Papaconstantinou et al, 2015;Taylor et al, 2011). Intrinsic factors refer to the desires and interests of the person, including an interest in library work, a love of books and reading, enjoyment in providing service, an interest in technology, or a desire for personal learning and career development.…”