I tweeted earlier that I didn’t get the position I interviewed for, which I’m totally cool with. It might seem odd to most people that I’m not particularly disappointed about this. But being asked to interview was great and has renewed my faith that it’ll work out eventually.

I mean… if I’m brutally honest about it (as I try to be), the committee made the right decision. Based on the skills they asked about, the job interview, and what they were hoping the successful candidate would do in the position, I wasn’t the right choice. Almost… but not quite. Not to say that I couldn’t have done the job… but it would have been tough and there is a chance I simply would have failed to live up to expectations.

However…

I learned a lot from the experience. And I’m glad to have it.

What I learned:

1. I can do this.

   No, really. I can. Having finally figured out an application process that works for me, having the experience of doing a real academic interview, having given a presentation on a topic I’m still quite proud of, and having done all of this as me (for seriously the first time ever)? I can do this.

2. I have a fairly good idea of what I need to do to have the career I want.

   One thing I mentioned in my interview is that I’ve already registered for Ryerson’s own continuing ed program for, well, computer programming. I want to do this for me, because I enjoy it. I’ve sort of been sitting on the fence for a little while because taking more classes isn’t cheap but I also know (after 10 consecutive years in higher ed) how I learn and I need the structure of actual classes to ensure that I do things in a timely fashion and actually learn stuff. I also tend to need at least a basic theoretical understanding of what I’m doing before I really start internalizing it as knowledge. This six course certificate will give me that. I can also probably finish it in a year? Maybe a bit longer.

3. I still love what I do (and other lib tech stuff) enough to persevere a while longer.

   I know I’m highly critical of libraries as institutions on a fairly frequent basis… but that doesn’t actually change the fact that I do love what we do and represent. I still believe. There are just so many critical, important, and interesting things happening that I’m not quite ready to leave the field (and I hope I never do).

All in all, a very rewarding experience. And as long as I can hang on to my current position, I’m really looking forward to (finally) learning how to code.

In the meantime… I actually have quite a bit of stuff to keep me occupied. Going to the LTG Summit in Austin later this month¹. I have a book chapter to write. I might actually write this paper since a few people have expressed interest. I have a meeting this week that might result in another (temporary) PT position.

So. Onwards and upwards!