OCARMA - Orange County Chapter of ARMA InternationalProviding education, networking and
professional resources to Southern California
records and information managers and administrators

Career Development

When you were a little kid and someone asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up, it's highly unlikely you said "a RECORDS MANAGER!" Let's face it, most of us in the field fell into records management from a variety of other jobs or disciplines and we got our training on-the-job and by self-study. However, the field and the opportunities are growing, due in part to several high-profile cases involving mismanagement of company records, and the resulting Sarbanes-Oxley legislation and updated Federal Rules of Evidence. Records Management is on the cusp — changing from clerks in the basement filing papers to C-Level managers writing policies that affect the workers and the information assets that comprise the core of most of today's businesses.

“Get Your Ducks in a Row”

In order to take advantage of the new opportunities and career paths opening up, RIM professionals must make sure they possess the skills and knowledge required for this new RIM-world order.

ducks in a row

There are few, if any, Southern California colleges or universities offering Records and Information Management specific certificates or degrees. Fortunately many colleges and universities are expanding into cyberspace and offering more courses over the internet (click the "RIM Courses" and "Degree Programs" buttons on the left). In addition, there are a variety of organizations that offer traditional or online seminars, workshops and networking opportunities. OCARMA provides interesting speakers on a variety of RIM related subjects at each monthly meeting. Check our meeting calendar for a list of topics planned and for other local programs and seminars.

“Now Prove It”

Once you have been armed with all that knowledge, there are a variety of certification programs available that may be of interest to information and records management professionals. Some are directly RIM related, others are complementary to a RIM professional's knowledge. Just click the "Certifications" button on the left to see the variety available.

A salary survey was completed by Ray Cunningham in 2005. You may download a ZIP file of a database (.mbd) file or an Excel file.

Scholarships are available to OCARMA members. For more information go to our membership page.