Should you become a librarian?

Not if you believe this. This makes me a little sad. But a little more mad.

Firstly, and most obviously, because I am in library school. I'm certainly qualified to do other things, I like respect, and my cat has a historical cat name — crap. I guess I should just quit now, right?

That's the secondly: Seriously? Seriously? Because I want respect as a librarian (this seems to be the overarching theme of the flowchart), I can't be a librarian? So we're going to leave the profession to people that don't want respect anyway? This seems a little bit off to me.

Some of the commenters on the post find this flowchart funny, and maybe that's its intent. Because while I'm sure that public librarians, especially, find themselves feeling like overpaid babysitters at times, I'm also sure that there are times that make those librarians say, "This is why I became a librarian." Because otherwise, why would they still be going to work every day? But to have this flowchart out there, where non-librarians and potential librarians can see it (potentially) taken out of context... that's going to drive away some really great future librarians.

Other commenters note that librarians are going out of style, that they're being replaced by paraprofessionals, that soon enough everything is going to be automated so why should anyone enter library school right now? To that I say, because library science and information science are changing, too. MLIS students don't just learn how to shelve books. They learn how to use new information tools and how to teach others to use them. They learn how to put together and maintain digital libraries. They learn how to be a librarian of the future, not of the past that these commenters seem to be living in.

If your boss doesn't respect you, and especially if you don't respect your boss, figure out why not. If it's a personality clash; find a new boss. Get out of there. If you're doing something wrong, make it right. If your boss is doing something wrong, make it right. Take initiative.

If the customers are fighting you, and you are doing your best to help, you need to find a new way to help. Ask more questions. Put yourself in the customer's shoes. Don't be confrontational. Make the customer happy, even if you can't answer the question.

If your coworkers despise you, you are probably doing something wrong. Fix it. Or possibly you are doing everything right. Fix them, but be respectful about it.

If your mother cries and begs you to join a religious cult, your mother is crazy. Get her professional help. (Okay, this one's obviously meant to be humorous. But just in case.)

I agree with one (sadly anonymous) comment: "Instead of whining about being a librarian, go be something else." If you don't, there's a chance you'll soon become the disrespectful boss or co-worker that ruins things for everyone else. There are plenty of excited young students (I am one of them) who want to change your profession for the better. Let us do it.