This week marks my one year anniversary here at the Library of Congress. Granted, this isn’t the first job I’ve had and other one year milestones were not necessarily a big deal, but librarianship is a new career for me and it is my second career!
The dotcom bust (2000-2002) took its toll. I was working for a high tech company in Silicon Valley (San Jose, CA) that was going through round after round of layoffs. I was wondering what’s next? Who’s next? It was now time to figure out what’s next. After some soul searching and a part-time job (for fun) at a library I knew and I went back to school. Then, last year I found myself very excited about a new career here at the Library of Congress!
No doubt there are many out there thinking about second careers and wondering “can I do this?” “Where do I begin to figure this out?”
Begin here! Take a look at the many books available on the subject of career changes or career development then see what might be available at a library near you. A popular title and one found in most libraries is What color is your parachute?* In this book there are exercises to help you figure out what you might be suited for.
Some public libraries, like New York Public Library or Livermore Public Library for example, have set up job centers to help their patrons. See if your local library provides this service. The Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics has a page for job seekers