Sarah Johnson
Name:
Sarah Johnson
MSU Degree:
BA in English, 2025
Any other degrees:
Masters in Library and Information Sciences, Louisiana State
University, expected December, 2027
Favorite memories of being an undergraduate English major:
Studying in the library with other English majors and talking through paper ideas.
Current Position:
Senior Library Associate
Organization:
Mississippi State University – Mitchell Memorial Library
When you graduated with a degree in English from MSU, what were your plans for your future? Has your career path mostly realized those early plans, or have you discovered new plans and goals along the way?
When I started my English degree, I consistently changed my mind on what I wanted to do. I realized at the end of my degree that I wanted to become an academic librarian because of how much I enjoyed researching topics for papers and working for the university library as a student. Now I believe that I would be happy in any type of librarian position.
What is your current occupation, and what does your work mostly consist of?
I am currently a Senior Library Associate at Mitchell Memorial Library. Every day I answer questions about the library and campus, manage and assist student workers, and answer basic research questions (how to use and find databases).
Which skills that you learned as an English major do you use most in your job?
The skills that I use the most from my degree are research and communication. Both of these skills are crucial in my position with the types of questions I have to answer.
What additional skills did you need to learn in order to do your job, and how did you learn them?
I had to learn a lot of real-world organizational skills as well as interpersonal skills. I frequently deal with patrons from all walks of life with different needs, so it’s important that I know how to properly communicate with them.
Are there common misconceptions about your career field, which current English majors might share, that you have learned the truth about?
“Librarians sit and read at a desk and shush people for a living” is the biggest lie that tv has ever said. Most of the time the person sitting at the desk is a library assistant – not the actual librarian – and there isn’t much down time for reading. There are also SO MANY different fields for librarians that many people don’t think about. Library workers are usually busy with things like reshelving, cataloging, patron interactions, etc., and that is just at public and academic libraries.
In what ways does your career enrich your life and help you to achieve your personal as well as your professional goals?
This position gives me the best of both worlds in the library field. While I work for an academic library, my position is very similar to one at a public institution. I get the interpersonal experience that one would find in a public library but learning how academic libraries operate at the same time. I also have made some really great connections with my co-workers here that I hope to use in the future. Through this position, I learned that I really enjoy helping others and solving their problems (when I can). We also have many regular patrons that I enjoy seeing every week.
What advice do you have for undergraduate English majors right now who might want to follow the career path you did?
Try to get a job at a library or start volunteering! The work is very rewarding but not for everyone. This will also look great to any future employers that prefer candidates with experience. I would also recommend looking into different types of libraries or librarian jobs since there are many options available with an MLIS.