[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: SAA Employment Bulletin (Dec.2001)/Jobs Requiring CA for Employment



1/9/02

Just f.y.i--

      Related to earlier questions posed by job-seeking, entry-level archivists about the need for the certification credential--i.e. CA designation from the Academy of Certified Archivists--I recently reviewed the most recent SAA Employment Bulletin for Dec. 2001 (it's online at www.archivists.org) out of curiousity related to posted jobs either preferring or requiring the CA.  It seems that these employment practices are clear evidence of both archivists' and SAA's attitudes towards the need for certification.  Here's what I found:

      1.  33 positions are listed in the Bulletin, and include upper level jobs with titles like "Head", "Director", "Manager", "Supervisor", as well as jobs for "Archivist", "Asst. Archivist", "Processing Archivist", "Reference Archivist", and "University Archivist".  Other related positions include Curator of Manuscripts, Records Manager, and Mss. and Archives Librarian.

      2. Of these 33 positions, only 2 positions (both for Catholic Dioceses in the  midwest)  list the CA as "desirable."  1 medical institute preferrs the CRM (Certified Records Manager) as additional qualification, no mention of the CA.  And 1 research center  requires the CA within 2 years of hiring.

      3.  So, of the 33 job announcements--1 requires the CA, (which is only 3.03% of listings) and 2 mention that the CA is "desirable".  Taken together then, 3 of 33 job listings (which is 9.09% of listings) in our most recent professional employment bulletin even mention the CA designation.  (Note:  The History Factory lists jobs for Director and archivists plural, but I only counted it as 2 jobs since it didn't specify how many archivists it was hiring.  So multiple archivists would bring down the % requiring CA even further.)

      Why promote an unnecessary credential when jobs are routinely filled by listing appropriate qualifications for the positions?