and having to defend it orally before a committee. I do very well in writing, but oral arguments are not my forte. So it occurred to me that maybe I needed something I could make a career out of other than being a professor of history.
I asked for time away from my history studies and enrolled in library school, and I finished it in one year, during which I was fortunate to study with Lois Mai Chan (who wrote a major textbook on Library of Congress cataloguing) and George Cunha (one of the pioneers of conservation in this country), among others. I went back and tried to finish the MA afterwards, and never managed to, even though I took every graduate-level class in my focus area offered by the university and more. I finally ran out of time, and they politely told me to leave.
It took me four years to find a job as a librarian (there are a LOT of people in my town with library degrees because of the school, and not that many jobs open up, and that seems to be the case over time). I completed another undergraduate major and minor during that time and was basically a professional student. Then I finally landed a job as a medical librarian — in a totally different area from anything I expected — and flourished. I'd found my calling. I loved being a librarian, actually working as one. That lasted 20 years, and then I was laid off when the library closed. I was asked back to help in another area because I'd been flexible and had helped out in their department. I did that for 9 years, doing healthcare patient scheduling and insurance authorisation, but I wasn't happy; I was stressed; I was burned out. It did not end as well as it could have.
I was out of work for seven months, decided I did not want to work in healthcare at all, and tried to find library or administrative/office positions instead. I did a lot of job seeking with local universities, the state, and municipalities. I was finally offered a state job recently, and as long as I pass the drug test and the more intensive background check they're running now (and I don't see why I won't), I start the week after next.
I am so thrilled to finally be doing what I trained for and what I feel is a calling. I may have 'found' it accidentally, but it is what makes me happy and want to get out of bed in the morning. I'll be working with an underserved population in a challenging environment, so it'll definitely be a change. I'm so hoping it goes well.