Student Profiles

The prospect of a career change in libraries drew me to apply for the Master’s degree at Manchester Met. I had worked as a graduate trainee library assistant at the University for a year, so then taking the step to postgraduate study (at a place where I already knew the library service and systems!) seemed like a natural choice. 

Many senior-level librarian positions require a postgraduate level qualification, and in my current role, I have found I utilise much of what I learnt during the MA. A significant amount of my time is spent carrying out literature searches and evaluating the usefulness and reliability of information. While I already had practical experience of these types of tasks before starting the degree, my knowledge and experience increased with every assignment I undertook.

During the degree, we regularly had guest speakers including some who worked in the NHS. It was from then onwards that I considered the possibility of working in health libraries. I now work for Airedale NHS Foundation Trust in West Yorkshire. I still keep in contact with many people from the course and return to Manchester to attend events run by the Manchester NLPN (a network of new library professionals set up by a group of Manchester Met alumni).

Writing job applications and preparing for interviews can be hard work, so make a reasonable judgement on how well you meet the criteria before you apply. Don’t be put off if you don’t meet all the desirable criteria, demonstrating your potential and eagerness to learn things quickly might be just as good!

All the staff were knowledgeable about their chosen field and they were all approachable, but when I was working on the dissertation through the summer, I found the visits to my dissertation supervisor, Jonathan Willson, to be hugely important. Jonathan was enthusiastic about my ideas and that was a real push to achieve my goals.

I looked forward to every lecture on the MA, as I knew I would learn something interesting and useful.