The nice thing about studying for postgrad LIS in Scotland is that you get a grant,
plus fees paid.
It doesn't cover you while you do your dissertation, only for the period
while you're actually being taught.
I couldn't have afforded to do any postgrad course at all otherwise,
especially not straight after my undergrad degree.
Also you don't have to start paying off your student loans until you're on
a bit over £15k (if you remember to keep your inland revenue statements,
and send them to the student loans company in February after the annual statement)
but this doesn't help getting through the other debt that you have to take on
to cover things not covered by the pittance of loan (or grant, which does help a tiny bit).
Like credit cards, overdrafts, etc. And teenage children.
The cost-benefit analysis of doing LIS postgrad doesn't look rosy-
you need to take on more debt than you're going to be able to pay off
in the short term (less than 5-10 years) if you go into most LIS jobs.
I'm in a much better job than before, but it would have been impossible
without the SAAS grant. At least the Scottish Executive thinks information
skills are worth investing in. (Mind, you also get grants for studying Divinity...)
Carol Ince
> -----Original Message-----
> From: list for CILIP members working towards MCLIP status
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jo Davies
> Sent: 09 January 2004 16:08
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Local job centre: from the horse's mouth
>
>
> I hope I'm not stating the obvious here, but it now costs around
> £3000 to do an undergraduate degree, and another £3000 to do a
> Masters - and that's just the course fees. Personally, I would not
> be able to take a job on 15k. I could not afford to pay off my
> student debts and live at the same time!
>
> I take the point about job satisfaction, and agree that some jobs
> are worth doing, even though the financial rewards are not that
> great. However, I would like be able to say that the profession of
> librarianship is open to all, not just those that can afford to
> undertake the expensive process of qualifying, especially with the
> prospect of a relatively low salary with which to pay off all those
> debts.
>
> In my opinion the question is not whether we need to raise the
> status (and salaries) of our profession (YES, WE DO!), but how we
> go about doing this? I'm sure that is relevant to chartership.
>
> Answers on the back of a post-card, please.
>
> Jo Davies
>
> Trainee Professional Librarian
> Archway Healthcare Library
> Archway Campus
> London N19 5LW
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 9 Jan 04, at 14:47, Shane Mawe wrote:
>
> > "E.S. Rees" wrote:
> >
> > > All of the jobs for 15k in the interactive job centre
> touch screen are under
> > > skilled labour - checked today - .. and on ...
> >
> > Yes, but not all Library posts are at the 15k bracket
> >
> > Shane
>
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