Indexing is sometimes regarded as a niche career reserved for librarians and information specialists. In this post, professional indexer Susie Marques-Jones discusses the changes in global working practices in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Age and highlights her own eclectic career path to being a professional indexer and ‘multipotentialite’.
Jobs in the AI Age
According to StandOutCV, the average person will change jobs at least nine times in their lifetime, increasing to 15 for millennials and Generation Zers. Given the rapid technological changes to our roles in the world of work, it’s becoming more and more important that we learn to adapt from the current Digital Age to the coming AI Age.
Furthermore, in its ‘Future of Jobs Report 2023’, the World Economic Forum (WEF) highlights the changes to the types of jobs we’ll be doing in the coming years, with careers needing analytical- and creative–thinking skills topping the charts.
So, how do we futureproof ourselves and our careers to help us transition seamlessly into the new era of AI?
My path to indexing
Like the younger generations mentioned above, I’ve moved through several careers, from the inevitable shop and bar work, teaching abroad, and even a stint in a casino in the Algarve, to translating, teaching, raising a family (by far my hardest job to date), and becoming a freelance editor. It was in editing that I discovered the creative corner of the publishing world known as ‘indexing’.
Qualifying as an indexer with the Society of Indexers (SI) felt as if I’d found my place in the world. Analysing texts and creating their indexes, while networking with indexers from around the world who came from all walks of life and careers, satisfied my need to keep my brain stimulated and help readers to easily access the information they needed.
But I also loved working as an editor and networking with my colleagues at the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP); I was passionate about deaf education and access to British Sign Language for the Deaf community; I wanted to continue to be involved with the work of the British Association of Teachers of Deaf Children and Young People (BATOD); and my lust for learning meant I needed to be constantly acquiring new skills.
The solution? Combining indexing with all these roles (and more) and being a ‘multipotentialite’, a term coined by the author Emilie Wapnick.
The benefits of combining indexing with a variety of other work
There are many positives to incorporating indexing with other careers and embracing multipotentiality.
- There are crossovers in the skills needed for indexing and other roles, like editing and teaching. For example, developing an eye for analysis and detail and working creatively on projects (the top two desirable skills highlighted by the WEF), collaborating with colleagues all over the world online and learning new abilities are all areas we need to develop in the AI Age. Learning indexing upskills you to work in other careers, and vice versa.
- Indexing is part of the publishing process and fits in easily with copyediting and proofreading. You also get to work on and be part of the different stages of a text’s journey into the world.
- Developing flexibility and innovation to create new job roles and keep your knowledge up to date not only fits the needs of our changing world but also gives you more job security in the AI Age.
- As a multipotentialite, I can combine my different careers. My voluntary work for BATOD has progressed into paid work as a BATOD Proofreader and Language Modifier, and also working with exam boards. I am even using my ‘niche’ indexing skills to create a cumulative index of the online BATOD Magazine from 1999–2026.
- But I can also be ‘just’ an indexer for a while, taking on indexing projects full time when it’s more convenient for me to do so, for example, during the school holidays or when I’m travelling.
So, if you’re interested in exploring the amazing world of indexing, you can find out more from the SI in A career in indexing or and its Training in Indexing course.
About
Susie Marques-Jones is a freelance indexer, copy-editor and proofreader, a Professional Member of the SI and the CIEP West Wales Group Coordinator. She has worked in education for over 30 years and is a teacher, polyglot, and deaf education specialist. As a ‘multipotentialite’, she indexes books in education, languages and travel, history, art and calligraphy, social sciences, esotericism and spirituality. Email: [email protected]
Photo by Peggy Anke on Unsplash
