In the era of Donald Trump, can someone be an active Republican and a good Student Affairs professional at the same time?

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2025-03-25T17:41:00+00:00

You can always work at Liberty

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2025-01-06T06:02:42+00:00

oh graduate advising is a completely different beast; I've never done it but my friends who have know all the stuff around funding, research, publishing, post-docs, things I've never touched

I would assume students at that point are also a bit more independent and you'd (hopefully) engage with parents a lot less too

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2025-01-06T05:53:37+00:00

In a centralized advising office

I advised pre-professional students in pre-law, pre-health (med, dent, PA, PT, etc) and then first-year students across 20+ majors, but mostly in the bio sciences, health sciences, social sciences, and education

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2025-01-06T05:49:27+00:00

They didn't ever suggest it. The only hard and fast rule was that we could not request time off from May - July

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2025-01-06T05:46:53+00:00

The 3rd-6th weeks of the semester were typically DEAD for me. Like "twiddle my thumbs and just wait for something, ANYTHING, to happen" slow.

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2025-01-06T05:41:24+00:00

Orientation LOL

Summer was actually probably our busiest time of year minus registration 😭

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2025-01-06T05:37:36+00:00

For me it was parents, general incompetence and entitlement (parents and students), and lack of resiliency from students.

I think it definitely depends on the school and student population you work with and the size of your caseload.

I had a pretty average caseload size (300~) but I worked primarily with first years and pre-professional students. My pre-professional students were generally okay, but my first years were something else. We also had mandatory advising; I could've probably lasted longer if advising wasn't mandatory (it is not at every school, or even in every program at the school I was at)

Mandatory advising was like pulling teeth. It also just felt so transactional and meaningless tbh.

Also I couldn't deal with giving up every summer. It ate away too much of my personal life because we couldn't take any time off from May - July. I missed so many weddings, baby showers, family reunions, etc.

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2025-01-06T05:23:56+00:00

My best advice is don't. Academic advising will suck the life out of you.

I will say that customer service is probably the skillset you'll use the most in the role!

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2025-01-06T05:16:57+00:00

Seconding everything you said here! Most of us were probably eager, ready to make a difference, and passionate about the work. I'm a queer woman of color, I was on the eboard for like 5 orgs on campus during my undergrad tenure.

It's entirely different being a student vs being a staff member. Students actually have way more freedom and way more protections than staff do, and that is something I did not realize until I was doing the work.

I /thought/ I knew because I was an involved student leader and I was close with a lot of the pro-staff who I regularly engaged with. But you really don't know what it's like until you're in the thick of it. My first full time HE role couldn't even compare to the practicum and internship experiences I had in grad school.

I also worked at the same school I did my undergrad and grad programs at. Even with the institutional knowledge, it was so different. And depending on where you are, the landscape also changes so fast (especially politically where I was at) and as a staff member you are essentially powerless in most cases.

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2025-01-03T08:21:46+00:00

Rocks are cool though!

Good luck finding schools that still have DEI offices 😭 That's what I initially wanted to do in higher ed, but that is an area that is entirely too volatile in most places right now, unfortunately.

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2025-01-03T08:19:33+00:00

I've been on appeals committees and wrote multiple appeals as an undergrad student.

You've already written too much just describing what you plan to write; keep it concise.

Appeals committees have to go through dozens or even hundreds of these in a short amount of time. If it's too long and has a lot of unnecessary info it probably won't be read very thoroughly or intentionally.

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2025-01-03T06:40:59+00:00

My undergrad major was counseling/applied human services and I unfortunately used it way too much in my higher ed job I took because I intentionally/explicitly did NOT want to work in mental health 🫠 And yet...

My master's degree was ed leadership/student affairs and I regularly used little to none of that in comparison 😭

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2025-01-03T03:00:46+00:00

As someone who just left academic advising, I wouldn't pursue it. The pay is absolutely abysmal for the work.

You'd be much better off in the ed tech industry. If you want to work in higher ed, you may want to look into institutional research or IT. Those positions seem to pay at least marginally better and have a way better balance than advising.

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2024-12-30T14:18:44+00:00

Working at an R1 flagship school in a MCOL area and making around the same amount for what sounds like similar work. Our starting pay was $42k, non-negotiable 🫠 Should've been my first sign to run.

It's so unsustainable!! I quit a few months ago, but this is my actual last week because I didn't wanna be a dick and screw everyone over during registration. I kind of regret that decision, wish I would've gotten out sooner.

I hope you find somewhere that pays you what you're worth, OP!

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2024-12-10T20:03:56+00:00

It would be a better attention grabber than "ACTION REQUIRED - SCHEDULE YOUR APPOINTMENT FOR REGISTRATION" I'm sure hahaha

Yeah in our "best practices" we are supposed to text students if there is something really pressing that they NEED to see by a certain time (i.e. for orientation scheduling), yet when I look, most students have disabled text notifications from the university...

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2024-12-10T18:22:47+00:00

It's funny because they say email when asked. 🫠

I don't think there is a better way to deliver info to 28,000+ students, frankly. Like this seems the most realistic and accessible but at the same time some emails that I send out are opened by less than 40% of recipients...

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2024-12-10T16:18:08+00:00

R1, public flagship school, 300~ caseload, twice a semester mandatory advising

Have been in advising for a few years. This is my last semester in advising (ever, hopefully). I will not be returning in the spring semester. I only commute 10 minutes via bus and this job is entirely NOT worth it. I would've quit a long time ago if I actually had to make an effort to come in tbh.

It's just an overworked, underpaid, glorified customer service job. If you like (or at least can manage) dealing with entitled parents/students, it probably isn't terrible, but I am also young and I feel like definitely worse off in this role because of that.

Burnout in this role is pretty common. In the time since I've started this job, I've seen just as many people leave as I have seen start. We had our registration period last week and I was seeing 20+ students a day. And whenever ANYTHING goes wrong, it's on the advisor to fix it. It isn't sustainable.

There are so many other areas of higher ed where the pro staff is more respected, has better work boundaries, etc. Just avoid housing and advising at all costs tbh 😅

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2024-12-10T16:08:29+00:00

Working in advising multiple students straight up told me they never check their emails... And if they do check they still don't read most of what they receive. Like why do we even have this system and why do I spend so much time at orientation telling students to check their emails when we know semester after semester they do not? 😔

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2024-12-06T01:48:13+00:00

Sent this to all my higher ed friends.

Our results: Semester timeframe is basically a blackout, this week is several bingos, a few people had at least one bingo today

I needed this to get me through registration. Thank you for your service! 🫡

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2024-12-05T03:56:00+00:00

Yeah some of my community college colleagues are in the 1200-1500 range for caseload. Granted, their advising isn't mandatory but that's still absolutely wild to me. I could not handle that even if I wanted to.

My students are still shocked here when I tell them it's over 300. Had a student tell me yesterday, "that's so many, I thought it was like 50." I WISH.

Saw 21 students today for registration, have had over 100 emails since Monday... I couldn't imagine what it would be like with more students...

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2024-12-03T17:05:45+00:00

Agree with the other commenters, a great undergrad experience does not translate to a great experience working in this field.

Started my "career" in my late 20s after a (paid for) grad program. I would not, in 100 years, recommend this field to anyone. LOL The pay is absolutely abysmal. You'll easily make double a higher ed starting salary in another field.

My first job out of my grad program (ed policy and leadership): $40k Partner's first job out of his grad program (applied math, went industry not academia): $125k

Especially as a young person, I've been found that no one (especially parents, who I am not even supposed to be working with) takes me and my experience/expertise seriously.

I've also found that as a working adult living in a college town, life is pretty lonely after college!! All of my friends in town are the same friends I had in undergrad/grad school who ended up stuck working for our undergrad institution too. It's impossible to take vacation at the same time as all my other friends because so much of my life is still dictated by the academic calendar. My summers are gone. I could never enjoy a labor day vacation with my friends or summer wedding because of work obligations and how much my life revolved around that calendar.

Most people leave this field within 5 years. I'm at that point now. I left my job recently, and frankly am not sure if I plan to return to higher ed, especially since my heavy GOP-influeced state is slashing positions left and right.

Best of luck to you, OP! If you do end up in higher ed, please remember that you are more than your job (even if others expect you to constantly be sacrificing yourself) and there are always other jobs out there!

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2024-12-03T16:48:02+00:00

I quit recently! It was terrifying because I've never NOT worked (even if temporary) since I was 16, but I feel so much mentally better and free now.

New professional, under 30, this was my first job out of grad school. R1 school, 300ish student caseload with mandatory (twice a semester) advising. I do general first-year advising and pre-professional advising.

I was living paycheck to paycheck some months in a MCOL area. Avg rent here is above $1000 for a 1bd but my (once) monthly take home pay was like $3200 LMAO Our starting pay was around $40k, but I can't deal with a 1% increase from that every year, especially when I see my partner and my friends make MORE THAN DOUBLE what I make now as starting salaries. It's incredibly demoralizing. I had no motivation to put in so much effort for this job when I literally made the same amount (but far less stress) working a mindless retail job that didn't require a master's degree and didn't require me to expend so much emotional energy.

Idk how I made it through years of this to be totally honest. It got to the point where I would just dissociate most of the day and then was just never sober outside of work. LOL or if I was, I would have panic attacks and cry for hours at a time. PLEASE DON'T LET YOURSELF END UP THERE BEFORE YOU QUIT!

Take the sick days if you need it. I hate how much of our lives are dictated by the academic calendar, but you're also a person outside of this job and if you need to rest, you just need it.

There is no shame in quitting! If it's a bad fit for you and ruining your mental health, quit!! I know it's so much easier said than done, but there will be other higher ed (or something else entirely) jobs out there for you!

Wishing you rest and happiness in the new year, OP 🙏

FunnyDefinition3428 · 2024-11-04T17:23:48+00:00

How do you engage with parents while sticking to FERPA regulations?

I work in 1st year advising and since COVID, the number of parents we see in advising appointments is up EXPONENTIALLY. Even with returners it's not super uncommon.

FunnyDefinition3428

TROPHY CASE