It was a banner year for women in 2006. Their average annual starting salary finally cracked through the $40,000 glass barrier, increasing to $40,566 for all women and with a substantial gain of 11.3% for women in the Southwest. There was small, but solid, growth in salaries overall. Another surprise was the substantial leap in graduates reporting jobs outside of the library and information science (LIS) professions (up 43.7%). The number of LIS graduates participating in the annual placements and salaries survey increased by 12% for 2006. This year, 1,992 graduates submitted responses (approximately 37% of the estimated total graduates). The percentage of graduates reporting employment of any type has remained steady at 90.8% (totaling 1,809). Of these graduates, 89.9% reported placements in some type of library agency, down slightly from 92.9% in 2005, while those reporting placements outside of library agencies increased by 37.4%, continuing a trend from previous years. However, fissures appeared in the job outlook owing to more graduates in nonprofessional jobs, rising temporary positions, more graduates taking multiple part-time positions, and a longer average job search. This article reports how the overall growth is marred by fissures in job outlook. It presents a follow-up survey among 2006 graduates who were asked to discuss the challenges they faced in finding their first professional LIS position.