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A Potential Professional Writing Path

I have worked in my local library for several years during winter and summer breaks from Purdue. Even though I worked in Patron Services, primarily checking books out for patrons and organizing returning materials, I have learned more about what it is like to be a librarian. Taking my academic career further to grad school to become a librarian would be a path that would allow me to achieve my goal of getting stories get out into the world. My degree in Professional Writing will help me accomplish this.

The appeal of pursuing a degree in Professional Writing for other students and myself is how, at its core, we learn how to effectively write. It means that no matter what field you go in to, your primary skill will be how well you can write in multiple forms and capacities. There are different career paths available such as grant writing, technical writing, User Experience Design (UXD), or Experience Architecture (EXA). Additionally, the desire to work in publishing meshes well with Professional Writing. I chose to enroll in this major because I want to work with books and expand the love for literature to those beyond me. Working in the publishing industry is a potential way I could make this happen as well, and it is a career path many who pursue Professional Writing undertake. Alternatively, becoming a librarian would also be a way to use my skills I’ve learned in Professional Writing classes. I would also be able to interact with the community around the library and hopefully be a positive force in their lives.

As I look toward graduation this upcoming spring, completing a degree with PW will allow me to have a valued, versatile skill set. I have enjoyed my courses in PW because they have challenged me to work on projects I hadn’t encountered before. Being able to analyze something and effectively articulate the positives and negatives of it to an audience is crucial to good communication, which is why it is greatly emphasized in PW. This will translate well to working as a librarian because accomplishing the job day-to-day will include writing proposals to defend budgets for programming and create material for the public to convince them to visit the library and take advantage of said programming and other amenities.

Without PW, I wouldn’t be prepared to write the necessary copy and documentation needed as a librarian. In this PW class and others, we have had an emphasis on ensuring products are created in a way that services the audience they are made for. This will help me as I potentially continue to grad school to get my masters in library sciences, solidifying my path to librarianship.

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