I want to be a Greek Advisor or Student Life Administrator!

[IUPphimu]

I attended the student affairs in higher education program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Graduated in May 2004, and it's a fantastic program. They currently have two assistantships in the greek like office, and do internships for students as well. I did one of my two internships in the greek office and worked with recruitment and advised the jr. panhellenic council.

Here is the website with details of the program. They manage to have assistantships for nearly everyone in the program, and have a great job placement rating. IUP is a huge presence at the ACPA and NASPA conferences.

http://www.iup.edu/sahe

Deb

[Dionysus]

Originally posted by gpb1874
i work in student activities, not res life. have thought about res life, but don't think i can handle the hours! i tend to enjoy my sleep. for grad programs in texas, check out www.tacuspa.net and click on graduate programs. if anyone wants to talk about this profession just let me know!

Well, I pretty much heard positive things about this profession, especially from those working in student life/activities.

What are some things you dislike? (anyone else can answer this too )

[gpb1874]

late nights (although i try to avoid at all costs for multiple reasons), low pay and few weekends free, especially during the fall. there's recruitment (i work with guys and girls, so there's lots of time spent), leadership conferences, homecoming, parent/family weekend, retreats and then it's usually late october! admin can be a pain or a blessing or somewhere in between.

for me, the good usually outweighs the bad. i don't let much get to me. i've learned to handle difficult higher-ups who try to pile more work on me. I learned to make friends with the people who can affect me (especialy the money people....be really nice to them and ask their advice on stuff). It can get tiring and be difficult at times. I'm lucky that my Greek system is rather small and they are a great bunch of students with very few problems.

if you get frustrated easily and can't work with MANY different types of people and learn to get through the red tape, this is not the job for you, whether it is Greek or not! It's busy for all student activities people everywhere and most offices are understaffed and underpaid. sad, but true!

[Dionysus]

Is it common that you will have to relocate to get the job you want, in this profession? Even if you life in a semi-big city, or larger?

[RG-SAM]

Like many of you here I am also planning on a career in Student Affairs. My undergraduate degree is a Bachelor's of Science in Sports-Event Management with a concentration in History.

Upon graduation college, I traveled for my fraternity and I am presently volunteering for the year while working full time to save up some money.

I would love to talk to you all who are choosing this as a career or who are presently in their careers in this choosen field!

[HeavenslilAngel]

Hi all,

Please feel free to refer me to other threads if they exist on my question.

I am contemplating a career change from IT to Greek/student affairs/university administration etc. I may have mentioned like 3 completely different jobs etc. A little disclaimer, other than the fact the first place I probably need to start to achieve this is back in the classroom to get some Higher Education education, I know next to nothing about how to go about making this change.

As stated, I'm currently in the IT industry. I do technical support and want to get out of that because 1) I don't see the advancement opportunities despite the fact that I have a Bachelors in Computer Info. Systems and a Masters in IT. The reason is that politics are pretty prominate here as with any IT company. 2) I'm tired of job hopping within IT. I quit either because its boring or the politics get bad or they fire me for taking off too much or just typical lay offs etc. 3) I volunteer for ASA and absolutely love it and am very passionate about it. I find it extremely fulfilling and have spent and continue to spend approximately 30% of my life on it. I started my current position in 2006.

I'm open to other positions in IT but I fear that I may not find them fulfilling either. I want to be stable and love going into work every day. I don't dread it now but its not exciting. Any links, advice etc would be greatly appreciated!

I have other thoughts but I'm about 2 minutes from getting off work YAY!!!!

[minDyG]

Originally Posted by HeavenslilAngel

Hi all,

Please feel free to refer me to other threads if they exist on my question.

I am contemplating a career change from IT to Greek/student affairs/university administration etc. I may have mentioned like 3 completely different jobs etc. A little disclaimer, other than the fact the first place I probably need to start to achieve this is back in the classroom to get some Higher Education education, I know next to nothing about how to go about making this change.

As stated, I'm currently in the IT industry. I do technical support and want to get out of that because 1) I don't see the advancement opportunities despite the fact that I have a Bachelors in Computer Info. Systems and a Masters in IT. The reason is that politics are pretty prominate here as with any IT company. 2) I'm tired of job hopping within IT. I quit either because its boring or the politics get bad or they fire me for taking off too much or just typical lay offs etc. 3) I volunteer for ASA and absolutely love it and am very passionate about it. I find it extremely fulfilling and have spent and continue to spend approximately 30% of my life on it. I started my current position in 2006.

I'm open to other positions in IT but I fear that I may not find them fulfilling either. I want to be stable and love going into work every day. I don't dread it now but its not exciting. Any links, advice etc would be greatly appreciated!

I have other thoughts but I'm about 2 minutes from getting off work YAY!!!!

I don't have any inside information regarding this, just a thought I'd like to share...is there any way you could try to combine these 2 fields to find a career that would be more fulfilling for you? For example, my former boss's wife had a computer science degree, and she worked for UGA writing the programs they used to do bids matching. Basically (I believe, as far as I was told) she was a programmer for the Greek Life office. Maybe you could try to find something that would highlight your areas of expertise within an environment that involved more of your interests? Just a suggestion.

[HeavenslilAngel]

Originally Posted by minDyG

I don't have any inside information regarding this, just a thought I'd like to share...is there any way you could try to combine these 2 fields to find a career that would be more fulfilling for you? For example, my former boss's wife had a computer science degree, and she worked for UGA writing the programs they used to do bids matching. Basically (I believe, as far as I was told) she was a programmer for the Greek Life office. Maybe you could try to find something that would highlight your areas of expertise within an environment that involved more of your interests? Just a suggestion.

I would be open to that. However the most common issue I run into is that unless its what I'm doing currently no one will hire me because of lack of experience in whatever role I'm interviewing for. I understand that they don't want to train because of time and effort and that it would be easier to have someone with experience because all they would have to learn was company/school culture. But if no one will hire entry level how do I get the experience? Also, if I go into higher education with no high education education behind me. One of (if not the first) question they'll ask is why aren't you working in your field. I may still get that question but at least a degree in higher education may show that I really want this and while they wil probably still ask why I want to do something else, it may not be as big of a deal. I don't know. I'm open to staying in IT but working nights has to go, corporate politics .....UGH!! and higher pay would be good too. Also, I should mention that I've almost hit the top of the pay scale with what I do now and I would prefer to interact with students and faculty and university personnel over jail staff, inmate families and etc as I do now.

[33girl]

Honestly it sounds like you just need to get the heck away from the corporate drama and get into a smaller, family owned company. If you want to avoid politics, student affairs/uni admin is NOT the place to go.

Not only that, unless you hit the right opening at the right time, you're more than likely going to have to relocate.

Believe me, I have had this discussion with myself numerous times. I would love to help students and their families as well, but I want to stay in Pgh and the PCness and politics would cause me to break multiple heads (or at least office supplies).

[Xylochick216]

If you're looking for higher pay, then higher education isn't the place for you. I just earned my masters in higher ed and worked in Greek Life for a year. Greek Life is the bottom of the totem pole for many student affairs positions. It's mostly people fresh from grad school who can devote 60-80 hour weeks while getting paid for 40 hours. Even my 20 hour assistantship ended up being over 40 hours a week at times. It was a really fun job, but very tiring and thankless. Plus, most student affairs professionals are constantly on call and have to deal with crazy issues at all hours of the day.

If you really want to work in Greek Life, you'll need to get your masters in higher ed or student affairs. I can't think of any school that will hire anyone in a Greek Life position without a masters in student affairs anymore. As for job hopping, turnover is very high in student affairs, especially in Greek Life. Like I said, people get worn out doing it and move on. Even people I know who are 110% set on working in Greek Life for years end up moving on after three years or so because they are so burnt out. You might be better off seeing if ASA has any job openings.

Good luck!

[HeavenslilAngel]

Thanks for the advice. My goal would be to move up and advance from Greek Life and potentially be in a high profile type University position some day. I realize that you have to start out at the bottom and would be willing to do that since I'm already at the bottom in the IT world. Another downfall that I am experiencing in IT is that I'm the wrong gender for advancement(not sure any other way to put it). I wouldn't mind being on call, traveling etc as the Greek Life/Student Affairs jobs will require. As long as I get an issue resolved and go back home (if at night) I'm ok. As of right now, I am working 8 hours in an office all night and work every weekend. As far as relocation, I wouldn't mind that either. I've actually been wanting to move for a little while now. I would love the opportunity to work for ASA. They want experience though usually.

[SthrnZeta]

I just recently started working at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University as the Communications Specialist for the Alumni Relations office. So, basically I am the one who updates our FB and Twitter pages, helps alumni sign up on our website, answer the phones, register alumni at events, and I'm also the office manager and I supervise the 2 student assistants that work in our office.

For those of you following my many job searches, I have finally found something I like doing.

I earn a decent salary (mid-30s) and though I'm technically in a "lower" role, I really feel like part of the team. I too would like to work in the higher administration of a university some day as I love the academic environment. My boss, the executive director of alumni relations, was once the secretary in this office and has moved up in her 6 years here to her current position. So, I know it can be done! As much as I love Greek Life, it doesn't appear to be a job one stays in for very long. So, instead, I have contacted the Greek Affairs director here, who is my age, and have just tried to befriend her and keep up to date on the Greek happenings here so I can feel like I'm still in the loop, lol. My job keeps me dealing with people, which is something I love, and allows me to work at a university, which I also love.

My advice would be to look at the individual universities websites job postings and apply that way. I found my job at 2 in the morning, looking randomly at area schools and decided to apply on a whim. After 3 in-person interviews, and 1 phone interview I was hired! Yay me!

[knight_shadow]

FYI -- If anyone is looking, TCU is looking for a Greek Life Coordinator:

Job Description:
FLSA Status: Exempt
Salary:Commensurate with experience and education

Manage fraternity and sorority housing facilities by identifying and resolving issues with students, student staff; contacting physical plant and housekeeping personnel to assist with resolution. Manage student emergencies and problems by counseling students; making referrals to appropriate parties such as other student staff, University Police, alumni, Chapter Advisors, National Officers, parents, and the Office of Campus Life.Promote chapter and student organization success by meeting with and advising student leaders, planning and implementing leadership training and assessing group success, and developing and implementing assessment protocols. Develops student leadership skills by meeting with advisees, teaching programming skills, supervising planned activities, and developing and implementing assessment protocols.
Maintain staff confidence and protects operations by keeping information confidential. Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks. Contributes to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.

Job Requirements:
Manage fraternity and sorority experience by coordinating housing, programs, services and resources to assist and monitor individual students and student groups.

Requirements: Bachelor's degree. 2 years professional experience in higher education or a related field, or a combination of professional experience and undergraduate leadership experience.
Skilled in leadership techniques, program planning and assessment skills; Microsoft Windows navigation skills; ability to work in a team environment; ability to develop and maintain productive collaborative relations; ability to develop and implement training programs; ability to manage multiple administrative tasks simultaneously; knowledge of communication, mediation and interpersonal techniques; knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access); knowledge of counseling and crisis intervention techniques.

[SthrnZeta]

BUMP

I just applied to Drexel's online program in Higher Ed Admin with grad certificate in student development and affairs. I currently work in an alumni relations office and I am the faculty/staff adviser for a fraternity here. I've also just started as the co-adviser to the recruitment chair of a local chapter of ZTA. Since I can't do a grad assistantship in this program (they do co-op's instead) I thought I'd try to just get as much experience as possible, even before my degree (to help me get into the program and let the admissions committee know I'm serious!).

Any thoughts on how employers might view this approach...? My diploma will just say Drexel University but I'm sure it'll come out in interviews that I did online (my husband is Army so it made more sense to do it this way). Any thoughts on my path???

[ZTA Doe]

It hasn't been announced yet, but I have heard that Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC will be searching for a new Fraternity/Sorority Advisor.