teaching require postgraduate qualifi- cations. But sometimes a Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate may be adequate for people’s career goals. Where do library and other information professional careers sit in this matrix? The two main career routes in the sector (academic and public librarians) are both weighted towards postgraduate qualification, specifically an accredited one. Prospect provides details about required qualifications in its Job Profile section. For both academic librarians (
www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/academic-li- brarian) and public librarians (
www.pros-
pects.ac.uk/job-profiles/public-librarian) it says value is placed on post graduate and/or accredited qualifications.
It may also be worth checking the members of CILIP’s expanding Employ- ers Partners Scheme to see how their employment processes and CPD pro- cesses use the PKSB, the tool which also underpins the courses CILIP accredits. Another issue to consider is the fast changing economic situation and how this may be affecting employers and the employment market.
There is some recent analysis of the job market here:
www.cilip.org.uk/news/614568/ What-happens-once-youve-got-the-job.htm
Institutions
The next step is matching your own goals/needs to an institution. The aim is to become as confident that an institution will help you to develop the real-world skills and knowledge needed to master your profession. Also that it will take into account your current situation as some students will be career changers while other will be enhancing existing careers.
Prospects suggests that you scrutinise your potential department, its research reputation and the academic profiles of lecturers to ensure that they are special- ists in your particular field. A big benefit of accreditation here is the requirements for staff CPD, which ensures skills and knowledge are current.
The advice is also to “look into the institution’s reputation” but with a warn- ing that “while overall league tables can provide an indication of a university’s strengths and student satisfaction, they’re usually based on undergraduate courses.” It says: “A university’s sub- ject-specific strength is a more valid con- cern – an institution may be strongest for your area of study even if it doesn’t score highly overall.” Again, accreditation can provide a mark of quality if a host insti- tution falls short.
Your interests and style To narrow down your options when choosing a Masters, target programmes and institutions that satisfy your inter- est. Hopefully your career choice and
September 2022
personal interests will be well aligned, but one of the messages from the case studies is to find as much common ground between your personal interests – the subjects that motivate you – and the requirements of your career. You should consider if some forms of teaching suit you better than others and then check if the course is exam-based, continually assessed or both and ask yourself if you enjoyed the rigours of exams or writing your dissertation and the freedom this afforded you.
Course content
Prospects advises looking past the course title saying: “Courses with similar titles vary significantly in terms of content”. This is certainly true in CILIP accredited courses too. Look at compulsory modules, whether they support your reasons for doing the course and add to existing knowledge. Scrutinise optional modules and confirm that your specialist interest will be covered. Prospects suggests that you also check that modules won’t be cancelled if only a small number of students select the option. Again, accreditation should help with this – although courses and modules do come and go.
Links with employers
Prospects refers to links with industry. It says: “Not all institutions offer the same opportunities, so check before making your decision.”
Accredited courses will all offer different kinds of opportunities and they must all meet certain standards and be compatible with CILIP’s conditions (see benefits of accredited courses).
But strong industry links to employers can be manifested in different ways and the advice is to look at whether there is
access to mentoring schemes, opportuni- ties to work with businesses, networking with employers and alumni.
Location
This will mean different things to differ- ent people. Work, family commitments or accommodation costs may limit stu- dents to looking at the nearest or most flexible options. For others it may be a lifestyle decision: city or rural, campus or not. Some may consider studying abroad (CILIP does have a number of accredited courses in institutions around the world). Postgraduate students in the information sector do often opt for some- thing nearby or flexible study options because they are working. The options on offer for accredited courses will differ from institution to institution, but many do have distance-learning options. To assess whether a location will work may mean looking at programme timeta- bles and how many days a week you need to dedicate to study, or how many lectures and tutorials you will have. Prospects ad- vises finding out about contact hours, class size and whether you’ll be able to work part time. Also what the options are for part- time study, although this often doubles the time it takes to gain a qualification.
Support and facilities
Access to the latest academic facilities and resources is important. Once again accreditation should provide a good deal of reassurance in this area. However, Prospects also advises potential students to not just focus on life in their future careers, but to also “ensure that the university offers wellbeing support to postgraduates. This could include coun- selling provision, mental health support, disability support or a personal tutor system.” IP
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