Seeking Library Job Information

[LibraryShusher]

Hello,

I am a student working on my Bachelor's in Library Science. I have a school lined up for my Master's. I've just began researching Finland and have commenced language classes to learn Finnish and Swedish. I wonder if anyone here might help me understand librarian positions in Finland. I will list my questions.


What I Know:

1. MARC 21 (bibliographic cataloguing) seems to also be the standard in Finland, but obviously in Finnish. I have read much of what I have learned and am learning at my university is able to translate to library jobs internationally (in most participating countries).


What I would like to know:

1. I have read you must be considered a specialist in your field to be considered for residency. Is a master's degree sufficient to be considered? (with a job lined up before moving)

2. What type of positions do they hold? Is is a director type position like here, or entry level?

3. How is the pay? I have googled and have learned that it is a government type job? I cant seem to find anything about pay level average. I don't need specific numbers at the moment. I need to know if it is a generally livable wage. My husband is not a specialist in his field so even with around $35k in savings, I would like to know if it is possible to support two dependents (1 child) on this careers income level there.

4. Are there a decent amount of libraries there in the larger cities? We were looking at Turku & Helsinki. (still preliminary) I just need a general answer here from a patrons perspective.


Finally, Please forgive my ignorance. I am just beginning my research and plan to put much more into it, between my studies, before jumping into anything. I am just building a career outlook, which is obviously important. I will continue to research using this forum, which has been very enlightening thus far.

[Rosamunda]

It's not my field but I do work in education. First of all, I don't think you have much hope of finding a job in the public sector. All the libraries are owned by the municipalities and, to be honest, I have never seen a job ad for a librarian. It's a job-for-life situation and the people who do succeed in getting those highly secure jobs, don't budge. Also, the language would no doubt be a huge obstacle to finding a job.

You might have better luck looking for a job in one of the Universities or Universities of Applied Science which also employ librarians. They are independent enterprises nowadays and responsible for their own budgets, recruitment and so on.

But probably your best bet would be to acquire some IT qualifications and experience and move into the digital applications of your skills (data management, data analysis, information architecture etc): there are way more jobs open for people with that kind of background, and the language won't be such a problem.

[Pursuivant]

Reason for no adverts: For entry-level jobs they "hire" the long-term unemployeds as the county must provide work, if lucky you get one that can read and do numbers to figure out the dewey numberings.

[LibraryShusher]

It's not my field but I do work in education. First of all, I don't think you have much hope of finding a job in the public sector. All the libraries are owned by the municipalities and, to be honest, I have never seen a job ad for a librarian. It's a job-for-life situation and the people who do succeed in getting those highly secure jobs, don't budge. Also, the language would no doubt be a huge obstacle to finding a job.

You might have better luck looking for a job in one of the Universities or Universities of Applied Science which also employ librarians. They are independent enterprises nowadays and responsible for their own budgets, recruitment and so on.

But probably your best bet would be to acquire some IT qualifications and experience and move into the digital applications of your skills (data management, data analysis, information architecture etc): there are way more jobs open for people with that kind of background, and the language won't be such a problem.

Oh luckily my degree is heavily concentrated in IT as well. Its in Library and Information Technology. That's considered an essential skill here for librarians since they also run the data information systems in our libraries. By the time, I have my master's completed, I think I will be fairly fluent in Swedish and Finnish. I will have taken between, 9-12 courses in each.