Jon Udell writes an interesting post about the bridge between education and career. He talks about “rickety bridges”, such as job fairs and brochures, between people choosing careers (students) and the actual career. (Of course, there are internships, mentorships, etc… but usually you’ve already more-or-less decided on a path by then, so I think he’s really onto something.) He says,

Thanks to personal online publishing and to an emerging cultural ethos of transparency, there is an exciting new possibility in the world. A young person today who is interested in software can find out what it is like to be a software developer — by evaluating products, by reading the accounts of people creating them, by making contact with those folks, and by contributing to real projects. I hope it will also become possible for young people to find out what it is like to be a psychologist, homebuilder, forester, teacher, retailer, or city planner. If we want to inspire the next generation we need to open windows onto our worlds, share our knowledge and passion, and invite them in.

This is just the kind of environment I’ve found in librarianship. (This idea makes Michael Gorman itch all over, I’m sure.) Of course, not every librarian has a personal website or blog, but then again, not even every software developer does either. And, software development lends itself to happening online in some ways that many library-type projects don’t. But I’ve found so many stories and ideas online from people from many different kinds of libraries and library jobs, and it’s what really persuaded me to go to library school.

I’m glad to be working in this profession.