I've often been described as being "really focused on my career". So much so that it's become a running joke in my life.
Ever since graduation as a librarian, I've received excellent career advice. Always think two or three jobs ahead of yourself. Know exactly where you want to be in two/five/ten years in the future. Build networks. Monitor your professional development. Keep learning.
Five years ago, I attended a job interview for what would be my first permanent full-time library job. The interview chair asked me where I saw myself in 5-10 years. I remember saying that I saw myself working as a librarian in five years, and certainly managing my own library in ten. To be honest, I never really looked far beyond that.
I ended up working as a professional librarian a year and a half later, and was managing my own small public library branch in under three years. I needed to re-assess my goals, and started thinking about dream jobs. Working in a state library or the NLA. Specialising as a children's librarian.
The NLA has managed to elude me (or have I eluded it?) but I've now worked in two state libraries, both with with involvement in youth literature events. And now, here I am, managing a school library.
Last week, I reached five years in the library world. Two and a half of those were in Darwin. Two and a half in Melbourne. Yes, I've only started in this job, and I know that I'll be here for the "long run" - it really has been what I've been working towards all these years.
And yet, the very idea of not having something further to aspire to makes me uneasy.
Perhaps this is why, eventually, people change professions. Maybe, in five years' time, I'll have had enough of libraries, and move into one of those other professions I wrote on a list about seven years ago when I was wondering what to do with my BA in English. It was really a toss-up between Librarianship and Arts Administration back then. Maybe it's something I'll pursue in the future. Who knows, maybe my professional writing course will pay off, and I'll be a prolifically published author.
Maybe all these things can be my plan. It seems as good as any.
