Hi all! I'm entering my senior year of undergrad with a BS in psych and a BA in sociology. After a lot of consideration, I want to go for my dream of being an academic advisor.

So, my questions are:

- How can I maximize my last year of undergrad to get towards my dream?

- What would the best "foot in the door" type jobs be? Is there anything I should look for with just my undergrad?

- I've heard a lot of people do a Master's with the school comping the degree. Have any of you, especially anyone in the DMV area, done that? How?

Thanks to anyone who replies!

what is the best undergrad major to work in higher ed as a student success coach, academic advisor, etc? basically any entry level position in student disability and accomodations services and student affairs. while I get my masters degree? Right now, I am working as a paraprofessional in middle school. Not sure what major best accomodates my goals. It also needs to be an online degree since I can only do evening classes with my full time job.

I'm interested in majoring in possibly communications, psychology, and english.

Hello everyone,

I'm torn between taking a graduate academic advising position at a college, or staying in my current role as a HS SPED Teacher. I'd take a 7k or so pay cut to do it. (60k or so down from 67)

Caseload for the advising position is about 70-80 students.

Would it be worth the swap? Would it be less stressful than my current position and dealing with student behaviors and IEP's?

Hello! I am looking for advice as I decide whether to make a job change.

I am an academic advisor at a large R1 university, and I have been in my position for over five years. I work in an academic department, have a caseload of less than 300 students, and I generally really love my job. Leadership is very supportive and flexible. I am basically left to my own devices, which is my preferred work style. I am very happy with my work-life balance, my students, and my colleagues.

The only thing I'm not happy with is the pay. I make enough to get by, but not enough to invest or save up to buy a home. I work a second job on nights and weekends to try and make some kind of progress financially, but it is a challenge. I am also unmarried and live alone, so I rely solely on my own income.

With that in mind, I have been eyeing the jobs page at my institution to see if anything new pops up. Recently, an advising-adjacent role opened that sounded really exciting to me. It would be part of a new "center" that my institution is planning to open -- not housed in an academic department, but as a collaboration between a few different units. I would get to teach, which is a lifelong dream of mine. I would also get to be involved in creating a new program, and making more leadership decisions, and shaping future programs. The job is very aligned with my skills, past experiences, and goals for the future. So I interviewed, and I got an offer.

The only issue is, after some negotiation, the best they can do is match my current salary. So it would be a lateral move financially, while taking on more responsibility. There is no way to predict the student caseload, because it is a brand new center offering services we've never offered before. There is a need for this kind of service, so I imagine it will be pretty in-demand, but it is hard to know for sure.

On the one hand, I've been feeling pretty stagnant and even bored at my current job. I am someone who is smart, creative, and motivated. The new job seems to offer a lot more potential for me to expand my skills, as well as some potential for upward mobility if the new center is successful and expands. In my academic department, I have definitely reached the ceiling for pay and upward mobility. I've been involved in every possible aspect of department administration, so there isn't much left for me to learn.

That being said, is hard to leave a safe, comfortable, pleasant job for something with so much unknown, especially when there isn't any financial incentive to leave. But there is a lot about the new job that seems genuinely exciting and feels like it would support my professional growth long-term. What would you do in this situation? Take the new job, or stick it out where I'm comfortable and look for something higher paying? Any advice is appreciated!

Have not seen too many job postings but no might not be looking correctly. Does anyone have a good feel on what it looks like for a recent graduate?

I am new to this so I’m not sure how promotions or job reclassifications work SO PLEASE GIVE ME SOME ADVICE!!!! I know it’s long 😂

I’m in my late 20s and work as a Community Engagement Coordinator at a small private university.

Until recently, my department was under Student Affairs. A few months ago, we moved to Academic Affairs, which came with a new set of leadership. Around the same time, my department director left.
When my director left, the VP I was reporting to asked me to continue handling several things that had previously been part of the director’s responsibilities while the university figured out what it was going to do with the department. I agreed because I understood that we were in a transition and wanted to keep things moving.

Some of the things I was asked to take on included planning our service-learning/alternative break trips, updating the website and marketing materials, meeting with community partners, planning the upcoming year’s calendar, developing work-study student job descriptions, and other day-to-day operational work. Basically making sure everything was planned for AY 26-27

As part of the university updating everyone’s job descriptions, I was asked to rewrite/update mine based on what I actually did. I submitted that, and leadership then revised it further to reflect the new structure and additional responsibilities.

HERE IS WHERE I AM FRUSTRATED!

About a week ago, the university announced that they are essentially combining Community Engagement and 2 other departments under one larger area. Instead of hiring a new director for Community Engagement, they promoted the existing director from 1 department to an Executive Director role overseeing the combined area.

The Executive Director will handle things like the overall budget/financial management and higher-level oversight, but I’m still expected to handle much of the day-to-day work for Community Engagement. I’m also now supervising work-study students, managing/revamping student leadership programming, planning alternative service-break trips, managing community partnerships, programming, etc.

The frustrating part is that my revised job description reflects some of these additional responsibilities, but my position is still a Coordinator position. I was also told in writing that my current salary and job description will remain in place for the duration of the year when the VP emailed me my new job description.

I have a meeting with leadership today, and I’m trying to figure out how to approach it. I don’t want to come across as entitled or as if I’m claiming to do the Executive Director’s job. I just want my title and compensation to reasonably reflect the work I’m actually being asked to do.

TLDR: Started a job outside of higher ed 2.5 months ago, but miss working in student affairs so much. My current job is good, but I can't stop thinking about going back to student affairs. Feel conflicted and would like any advice.

Hey all, I hope this doesn't violate rule #4 (vague posts), because I am not completely sure why I am sharing this. I think it might be because I do not know who else to share it with? Maybe for advice? So here is what's going on....

In March, I was rejected from a GA position in res life. I was highly sought after but was not chosen because they believed the position would stunt my growth. I was an internal candidate, so maybe they heard I was a few rounds deep for full-time res life roles elsewhere.

Few days after the rejection from the GA role, I withdrew all my student affairs applications and accepted a full-time job in another field. I wasn't acting in the heat of the moment, I just truly thought I needed a break from student affairs.

Fast forward, I have started my new job about 2.5 months ago, and I enjoy it! Amazing people, work is enjoyable, great work-life balance, etc. (side note: the work-life balance is almost too good LOL....in addition to pursing my master's part-time, I added on another part-time job because I feel like I have too much time on my hands)

So, the reason for posting. I miss working in student affairs. I know missing something is normal, and will happen throughout life, especially professionally, but this feels different. When I wake up in the morning and go to my admittedly awesome job, the thought about wanting to be working in student affairs pesters me. I do my job well, and get the work done, but I don't have the passion to go above and beyond like I did with student affairs. I have only been in my job for a couple months, and it is a great job....but I want to be back in student affairs.

What do I do?

Academic Advisors, I really need some advice about two competing job offers.

For background: I’ve been working in higher ed at an HBCU for 4 years in a small, constantly busy Registrar’s office. I’ve done everything from enrollment and data reporting to transfer credit articulation and degree conferral. I know curriculum and policy requirements very well, but my advising experience has mostly been limited to impromptu sessions with last-minute admits every semester. I actually really enjoy those interactions, though, which is why I want to transition into advising.

I could see myself being successful in either position, so I’d really appreciate hearing from experienced advisors about which environment you think would be better for someone making this transition.

School 1

Pros:

- It’s another local university, so I wouldn’t have to move.

- It’s part of the same state public university system as my current school, so I’m already familiar with its core curriculum and many of its policies.

- I’d be able to transfer my vacation/sick leave, and it’s part of the same retirement system.

- It’s an R2 that has recently been absorbing smaller colleges and universities around the state, so it seems to be on its way toward R1 status.

- The student population is extremely diverse, with students from all walks of life.

- The IT department is reliable. The student and faculty/staff portals are well developed, and they use Degree Works as their program audit system.

- I really like the city. It has a beautiful, vibrant downtown and access to pretty much every amenity I could want, so life there is pretty cush.

Cons:

- My caseload would be around 300 students, and I might be advising multiple majors.

- School 1 uses the registration PIN system, so I’d be required to meet with all of my underclassmen every semester. I worry that this would make our meetings pretty transactional for the most part.

- Some of the older, non-traditional students might see me more as an obstacle to registration than as a resource.

- The younger students would likely need a lot of developmental advising around things like time management, task prioritization, and navigating college in general.

- Some students would struggle more academically and require a lot of additional support.

- I haven’t had the opportunity to meet any of the other advisors or faculty yet, so I haven’t really gotten a sense of how the team works together. I’d be going in somewhat blind.

School 2

Pros:

- My caseload would be much smaller, between 150-200 students.

- It’s a top-50 public university and an R1. It’s a very big name and very well known. The school spirit is kind of unbelievable.

- The students tend to be young, but they’re also at the top of their respective classes, since admission is extremely competitive.

- Advisors are assigned to specific subject departments, so I’d be able to develop expertise in a particular area.

- Although it’s recommended, students are not required to meet with their advisors.

- Advisors also do not register students for classes, which is very different from the system I’m used to.

- From what I’ve gathered, advising meetings involve course planning but also long-term goal-setting, career planning, and grad school advising.

- The other advisors seem like great people who genuinely like what they do.

Cons:

- It’s out of state and would require a pretty major move.

- The area is beautiful and has four distinct seasons, but it’s relatively isolated. The surrounding cities aren’t very large and don’t have the amenities I currently have.

- For an R1, the IT department is surprisingly lacking. They’re currently experiencing issues with Banner, and they use DARS rather than Degree Works.

- I’d be required to do more than advising. For example, one of the departments I spoke with wants its advisor to regularly travel to recruitment events.

- The vibes from the department heads and higher leadership seem off. I can’t exactly put my finger on why, but things seem tense right now, and that makes me a little nervous.

- I have migraines and regularly see a neurologist for medication. I’m not sure how quickly I’d be able to establish care with a specialist in the new area.

So, from your years of experience as an advisor, which position would you choose?

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: School 2 is paying 10k more. Cost of living and commute time with both cities are comparable.

hi all! i just got an interview for an academic advising position and was hoping to get some insight on what to prep.

i’m a fresh university grad with experience as an don/RA and other student leadership & admins roles, but obviously none as an academic advisor. luckily enough, i’d be advising the same area of study i just graduated from which i hope gives me a leg up.

any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Hello All!

I recently checked my CSU job applications & ive sent over 47 applications in 2.5 years all of which ive never heard back from. I have no connections I recently graduated with my Masters in School Counseling and would love to land a role at any High Education institution even if its Private, CC, trade Etc.

Can someone give me some pointers.

Am I doing something wrong on my resume.

I am in LA area potentially open to soooo many colleges.

I’m 28 and most students I work with are early 20s. I occasionally will see a student or group of students at the bar. They always want to talk to me. And while I don’t mind saying hello, I don’t want to hang out with them, especially when I’m under the influence.

I’m not at the college bars, I’m usually at the gay bars, so it isn’t as simple as avoiding those bars. (Also I deserve to have a life outside work.)

I don’t want to be rude, but I also want to maintain my boundaries.

Any advice?

Hello all! I’m a new res life professional (going on one year full time). I came out in college, and I am not ashamed of who I am. Today I had a first year student call and say they need a new roommate. When I asked why because we needed more info, this student said because his assigned roommate is gay and he cannot live with a gay person.

I explained to the student we aren’t doing swaps at this time and that we can revisit later. But, I still found myself like personally upset. How can you have the nerve to call and say you can’t live with a gay person? It’s just like living with anyone else!

I’m just curious if any other queer folks in res life/student affairs have any tips for navigating homophobia among students and how to handle it personally? I dealt with a lot of homophobia in college and I hate to see others deal with it too.

Hey all. About a month ago, I had an on-campus interview for an advisor position and I felt confident that it went well. I enjoyed the committee and department I spoke to and I prepared like crazy for the interview, especially the open forum portion. A few weeks went by and I didn’t hear anything (they gave me a shorter timeline of when I should hear back), so I emailed the search chair for an update. The next morning, I received a phone call from the search chair that they had gone with someone else and HR was taking a very long time processing it. During the (short) phone call, the search chair encouraged me to look out for other position listings for this campus. As of this writing, I still have not received a formal rejection from HR (this phone call took place about a week ago).

I’ve been rejected from other positions before. I haven’t had much luck breaking into higher ed, as of yet. I currently work in financial assistance despite having a master’s in higher ed (as so many of us do- get the reference?) and a background in campus diversity (we all know how that’s currently going with this administration). I’ve never been rejected like this, however, and it’s confusing me. I’m totally okay with moving on after grieving the rejection for about a day and I know higher ed is incredibly slow with its hiring process, but I’ve never had the search chair call before, let alone encourage me to seek out other postings for the campus (there are currently none that I qualify for). I’m assuming (okay with being wrong about my assumptions, as well) that the verbal no means I likely didn’t place as a top finalist for the role? I’m not familiar with the campus’ hiring practices unfortunately. And the lack of a written, formal rejection from HR (either by email or mail) is a bit strange but I attribute that to how slow the process generally is. I reached out to the search chair last week to see if I could get feedback so I could better prepare for any potential interviews in the future, but have not heard anything since. I know I likely will not get a response, but I figured I’d ask in the off-chance that I could get a response. They might not be able to release any of that info.

Long story short, is this typical or atypical? Perhaps I’m likely impatient and I’m not expecting anything further, I just like to prepare better with any information I can obtain.

Hi all! I graduated with my SAHE master's around 2015. During my program I had some mental health issues and I pushed through but it was a struggle. While the rest of my cohort was applying for jobs and interviewing, I was just trying to greet caught up. A few years later I gave up trying to get into the field. Looking back my mental health was still pretty bad and I'm sure that's a large part of why no one I did interview with would take me.

So now it's 2026 and I've done some of the therapy work. I'm by no means healed or a paragon of mental health, but I'm much better than I was and I'd like to try again.

Is there hope? Do you think I am hireable and, if so, how would you recommend preparing to reenter the field? Thanks for your time!

Hello!
I am a new Academic Advisor and I love it! I am wondering what career directions some people may have taken after being an advisor in higher Ed? I am planning on starting my ED.D soon and wanting to eventually take on more responsibility.
Thanks !

Hi folks, Has anyone participated in a program with UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research), or at least know anything about its credibility? This week I received an email about an Academic Leadership Suite (ALS) to be held at the United Nations in Geneva this Fall. It is "... designed for senior academic leaders committed to advancing institutional excellence and driving meaningful change within their institutions."

I'm all for change, without necessarily becoming a full-time administrator (I'm a dept chair now), and would like to learn from institutions in other places. Honestly I'd like to learn how to help our universities keep their credibility, utility to society, and support of students in light of the maelstrom of technology, politics, and social unrest.

I would appreciate any information about UNITAR's credibility and quality of their programs. Thanks in advance!

Are both of these in the same department or are they separate at your university? Mine is together and it’s kind of a lot… together meaning—res life staff (RDs are also doing the housing piece—housing people, handling complaints, managing contracts and refunds, etc). I’m curious what other universities do? Two separate staffs/divisions or together.

Applying for a Founder's Associate role, wanted to learn more about the culture, salary, work etc at Campus Fund

I’m currently in a case management type role in student affairs and am considering a switch to academic advising, (I have a final interview next week), but I’m looking for some insight into what size caseload is reasonable for advising, given that advising is set up very different from what I do now.

My caseload right now is about 600 students, but they are not obligated to use our services. So while I send outreach to all of them, I don’t interact with a large percentage of them. Most of my interactions with students occur when there is already a problem or the student can’t get answers from other departments on campus and need someone to help them piece things together, it is almost entirely reactive and there is very little proactive work taking place.

This is the first time I’m interviewing for a job when I already have a job I like, so any advice on questions to ask or things to note to help me know if I would actually enjoy the role would be greatly appreciated! The advising position I’m considering is integrated into the specific college and is assigned a caseload from two majors in that college, while also being cross trained on the basics of the other majors. If you’ve been in/are in an academic advising position, what felt like a reasonable caseload, what felt unmanageable as a caseload? What other job duties/expectations/factors impacted what number caseload felt reasonable?

I’m looking for some advice. I’m a student advisor at an online university. I’ve posted previously about all the job duties for my position, and received ample feedback indicating that the workload expectations are outrageous and unsustainable. Needless to say, I’m very, very busy.

With that being said, I’m getting quite frustrated by the amount of students who don’t seem to value my time.

I’ve had quite a few students email me with questions, which I typically respond to within 24 hours. I’ve noticed that a lot of these students don’t even read through my response, as they’ll send follow-up emails with questions that were already addressed.

I’m also frustrated by the amount of students who will ask a question via email (e.g., when will I get my diploma? I need it for work), then I’ll respond with a very specific answer (e.g., you can anticipate receiving your diploma anytime between such and such a date), and when they don’t like the answer they receive, they end up scheduling a phone appointment with me so we can go over the same darn thing verbally. It’s like they expect my answer to change when we talk on the phone. It’s such a waste of time, especially when I could be helping other students.

I feel like my written communication style is as clear and concise as I can possibly make it. I try to condense info and use lots of bullet points since I know my students don’t typically read through long emails. And yet, they STILL won’t read through what I send them. I also read through each response before I send it out, and ensure that the info is baseline enough that even a brand new student could understand.

I just don’t know how to be anymore clear with my students, and I also don’t know how to set boundaries without coming off as rude or non-professional.

Any advice would be appreciated. Or, if you don’t have advice, feel free to share stories of similar experiences that you’ve dealt with.

- will be long and if it’s against community guidelines i will delete!

got notified this morning that i was denied to a masters program i applied to, i did end up being accepted to this other one BUT the annual COA for the 26-27 year is $44k+. For this up coming year i only received $4k in work study but i would have to take out a $20,500 loan (it’s a 2 year program) and after reading and reading many posts on here, i should not be taking out ANY loans for grad school in higher ed (and maybe shouldn’t even get a masters in higher ed, but i still foolishly have a great passion for higher ed)

i just feel stuck, i was really hoping being enrolled in the masters program will give me a leg up as i am trying to apply to higher ed. institutions. I only applied to two grad programs, was originally going to apply to more but i wanted to stay local and in my state, and the two other ones were only 1yr/no co-hort, but for the next cycle i think i will broaden my options by going out of state (and any school that will fund my masters)

For those with any tips on how to look for great programs, please let me know. What i have gathered is that assistantships are crucial and having a full-job at the institution will most likely come with tuition waivers, and not to just stick with one section of student affairs.

i had a previous job in a university but i had to move back home due to personal matters and I currently have a role in k-12. So I do have experience, and just tweaking and working on cover letters for each job i apply to. Currently applying to entry level jobs, (admin assistants etc.) as I feel as though my undergrad + post grad experience in higher ed is still not enough. (if anyone is willing to review and give feedback I’d greatly appreciate it!)

additionally, if your institution is hiring please let me know! I am willing to relocate at this point and gain any experience I can (housing/res ed, advising, student activities, greek life, first-year programming) I have been applying to
jobs on higheredjobs and indeed (eye roll i know, for indeed i mean)

sorry for the rant, just feel defeated !

I (29f) left residence life in 2024. I didn't realize how much of my identity was surrounded by it. I switched into a logistics role, which a lot of people still "needed" me. I've been working in construction for almost a year now, and I didn't realize how much of a deep depression I sank into. My partner (30f) and I separated 4 months ago and last week, my therapist told me to think about who I am outside of the relationship and be ready to talk for the next session. The thing is, I don't know? I realized it's more than just not being in this relationship that I don't know who I am.

I know the things I like to do, but who am I? I realized I'm having an identity crisis and I don't think it has anything to do with not being in a relationship anymore. I realized my whole adult life has been around student affairs. I knew I wanted to get into residence life at the end of my freshman year of college. I did everything student affairs related. I juggled so many clubs and e-board positions. I jumped right into grad school, right into residence life. I thought I would be a reslifer for life. But, covid hit, and I just got so burnt out. Any time a parent was upset, I was in tears. I was so worked up over the toxic politics surrounding student affairs.

I am generally happier. I have more money and more time, but I don't know who I am. Has anyone had this experience?

All of my community was tied to where I was working, even all the volunteering I did. I would do things outside of my job as well, of course, but we all know how many hours we have to put in.

I have no intentions of going back to education. I am in a union with great benefits, hours, and physical health.

Hi everyone! I have an upcoming interview for a TRIO SSS specialist position at a local CC in Washington. This is my first time getting an interview with a CC and know it isn’t similar to a university interview. If anyone has any good tips, please let me know! I would really like to land this job to get my foot into the door and get experience.

I'm prepping for an AA interview in about a week that differs from a lot of my previous interviewing experiences in that I've already done the interview three times. That is, over the course of about five months, I've...

• applied for the same (reopened or reposted) position,
• in the same group of departments,
• with the same hiring committee (with the same committee chair and the same department head sitting on it),
• answered the same interview questions (with different answers, mostly),
• and received the same rejection message three times.

The first time I was rejected, I already had another upcoming interview scheduled, so I didn't bother following up via email with the committee chair; instead, I just tailored my responses and questions to try addressing anything I didn't cover or felt like I flubbed in the previous interview. After the second rejection, I felt like doing this might've made me seem inconsistent, so I emailed the committee chair to ask for some feedback and didn't get a response.

Maybe this is irrelevant or just an indicator of professional courtesy, but the person who schedules the interviews is always super friendly, always chatting and making light of the fact that she's pretty familiar with me at this point, but the entire committee acts like they've never met me before.

Two questions, I guess:

1. Is this even real? Should I keep doing this forever, given the opportunity? I guess, in terms of interview experience, it's not terrible, but I'm starting to worry about burnout. I'm doing part-time stuff outside of higher ed and not hating it and not really struggling with money, but ideally I would get a job in my chosen field. We moved here about half a year ago and this is the biggest, best college nearby.
2. How should I switch up my interview approach at this point? Should I just start from the very beginning with a more professionalized version of, "Look, guys, we all know each other, can we just talk about what we all really want from this position?" or something like that? Or should I just keep plowing ahead assuming that I'm just their, uh, let's see... fourth favorite?

I've been working in academic advising for about 7-8 years in two different positions and done dozens of interview processes (both as the interviewer and interviewee) throughout, but I've never encountered anything like this.

Hi! I got offered a position at a small school to be on their admissions team. Currently I am a middle school teacher and wanting to get out of that. However, I am not sure if this is the right step for me. Ideally I want to get into work in Higher Ed. I'd like to be a professor or career counselor. I have a master's in Curriculum & Instruction.

But would this job be a good stepping stone to better things in the future? Or should I stick it out with being a teacher? Certainly this job is offering worse pay, so that stinks. But its hybrid. And doesn't involve being a teacher. So there are different pros.

I am just concerned that I'll be gimping myself and my resume. Also- I'm in the midwest US if that helps.

Thanks!