Education · 1 of 5

The path

Any bachelor's degree, then a specific master's degree. Six to seven years in total.

1. 1

   High school

   Grade 12

   Reading, writing and research habits matter more than any single course.

2. 2

   Bachelor's degree

   3 to 4 years

   Any subject. History, English, science and computing all work. Your subject becomes your specialty later.

3. 3

   Work in a library while you study

   During your degree

   Shelving, circulation desk, student assistant. This is the single best thing you can do for your application and your first job.

4. 4

   Master's degree in library and information studies

   About 2 years

   The professional degree. It must come from a program accredited by the ALA (American Library Association), which accredits Canadian schools as well as American ones.

5. 5

   First posting

   Months to 2 years

   Often casual or term work first, then a permanent job. Being willing to move to a smaller city speeds this up a lot.