How Much Can a Professional Degree Teach?

Via Closed Stacks, how much can a professional degree teach?

The biggest complaint lobbed at the MLIS by myself and others is that it’s too theory-driven, too abstract, it doesn’t actually teach us how to do what we will do as librarians. You graduate, having read a bajillion articles about privacy, building a balanced collection or library 2.0; but if you haven’t worked in a library, that first day on the job can be a shocking experience.

I'm still happy with choosing a college library tech program after my first year of classes. From what I've heard talking to classmates about their summer job placements, our courses really are very practical and come in handy out in the real world (one person mentioning acquisitions specifically).