<p>I recently completed my BS after 22 years. First I graduated from a community college, then a four year college. Obviously I went part-time. But I kept at it and now I’m done!</p>
<p>However, I’ve been bit by the college bug and want to stay in that enviroment. In fact, I think what I’d like to do is work at a college. I’ve applied for several positions here at the community college and our local university ranging from high school outreach to admissions to veterans office. No bites, not even a nibble. Most of the job openings say that you need experience, which I clearly lack, and a Masters degree, which I also lack. I cannot force anyone to give me experience but I can perhaps go to graduate school. </p>
<p>Locally, I can get a masters degree in Adult Education or Educational Administration but I fear neither of those is quite right as AE seems aimed at GED, etc. while EA seems aimed at principals of elementary through high school. </p>
<p>My question is this, what does one major in to work at a college?</p>
<p>Have you tried the college you graduated from? I had a friend that was a music major, but she ended up staying at the college after graduation and working in admissions.</p>
<p>I have another friend that was an english major, she worked in publishing (as an editor), and she is now working at a college. She did have management experience, I think that helped.</p>
<p>Most colleges have development and marketing departments. Would that be something for you? My D does this for an arts institution, and many people she knows have gone to work for other non-profits like colleges and universities.</p>
<p>Do you need a paying job right away? Does you college have a women’s center or an office for non-traditional students or any other office where you could intern or volunteer? Unfortunately you are like our kids and graduating at a bad time. Best of luck to you - I agree that working on a campus seems like a dream job.</p>
<p>There’s a masters in student affairs at one of my local colleges that I’m considering, which has different concentrations in a lot of different areas.</p>
<p>My sister works in the college environment. Her masters is in College Student Personnel. She works in Residence Life. My alma mater has a Masters Degree in Higher Education Administration.</p>
<p>Student Affairs is also the major I’ve always heard. Several of my residence hall directors were graduate students studying this with the goal of getting into college administration. </p>
<p>It’s easy not to hear about such majors. I think it’s mostly those who work or know someone who works in res life who are in the know. :)</p>
<p>I’ve worked at a university for 12 years and I love the environment. To be at the director level at our university a master’s degree is required. As you might imagine, education is a very important qualification! </p>
<p>Some of the entry-level positions are in admissions. Those jobs typically turn over quite quickly as they are often held by young, straight out of college kids. If your school is looking to attract non-traditional students, you might sell yourself from that angle.</p>
<p>Most of our administrative assistants have college degrees as well, if you have skills in that area. Several of them move from those positions to other administrative positions.</p>
<p>I started out in Institutional Research - they were looking for someone with spreadsheet and analytic skills. After about 2 1/2 years I moved to IT in an internal hire only position - they wanted someone who already knew the university to help with a major software implementation. I have a bachelor of arts in a VERY unrelated area, but was very good with spreadsheets, which is how I got my foot in the first door.</p>
<p>cq, Thank you for that information. I’m glad you have a job you like.</p>
<p>I’ve dug around some more online. Ironically, the university my son is attending has exactly the degree I want! Too bad we live 2000 miles apart. The university here does have a MA in Educational Administration which they describe as being for people who want to work as principals or in higher education. Then they offer a doctorate with two specialties; either superintendent or higher education. </p>
<p>I have worked at two universities. Neither cared what the degree was … they just wanted a degree. For both, for my job, a bachelors degree was all that was needed. To move up in a four-year, a masters is necessary (CC’s don’t usually care until you are in a high level position, but if it’s four-year school a masters is important). In my own experience, the type of masters is also irrelevant. Some schools want a masters in something like higher ed administration … student affairs jobs sometimes want this type of degree, and academic counselors often (but not always) need a masters in counseling.</p>
<p>I have to share that I have found a bias against age in my local colleges. Yes, it’s illegal, but it is what it is. If you are a 50-something, you may actually be seeing this at play. I actually had a director tell me she wasn’t sure I could handle the stress of the job … I just let it go, because I wouldn’t want to work for someone so clueless.</p>
<p>Something else to consider … university jobs don’t pay all that well for most support staff jobs. Make sure you do a cost-benefit analysis before getting a degree for a job that might not pay all that well. My coworkers were able to get jobs at our college with bachelors degrees then go part time for free due to staff benefits for their masters degrees. That allowed them to move up, and it was free.</p>
<p>I’ll second kelsmom - we are entering our fourth year with no raises, largely due to decreases in state funding. Our tuition is increasing 4% this year - we actually have students asking for a higher tuition increase! H and I have thought about looking for jobs in other locations, but I want to wait until S graduates from HS in 2012.</p>
<p>There are some great benefits - we can take a class for free each semester, and our dependents receive a 50% discount on tuition. I know several employees who have completed degrees (bachelors and masters) a class at a time.</p>
<p>I’ve started working on a master’s degree a few times now (once a few years ago, a couple of times before I had children). With my last kid entering his senior year in HS, I’ve decided I’ll wait until I’m an empty nester. I also have a second part-time job, in addition to my full-time job at the university, and it was too much to add graduate work to the mix!</p>
<p>I would like to chime in and say that it depends on what job you’d like to have. To be a professional level librarian, you must have your MLS (or equivalent library degree.) However, to work as a librarian assistant, any bachelors level degree would work although they’d like to see some library experience. The HR dept. wants to see a degree in that subject area or experience in HR.</p>
<p>There are all kinds of jobs and departments at any college, just like in any company: accounting, HR, support/clerical staff etc. So I’d think you’d want your degree to reflect the area that you’d want to work in.</p>
<p>Could you arrange an informational interview who works in the area that appeals to you?</p>
<p>The areas I’m interested in are admissions, academic advising or other areas where you work directly with students. </p>
<p>I did wonder if my age would work against me. I’m nearly 43 and so would be 45 by the time I was looking for a full-time job. Something to think about. </p>
<p>I’m very lucky that our in-state tuition at the local university is quite low plus my requirements for a salary someday need not be too high. </p>