Working in Higher Ed Sucks. Here’s Why I Left.
Lately, I’ve been hearing an increasing number of “I quit” anecdotes from friends working as administrative staff at universities. I worked in this space until recently, so I feel little surprise. But I do feel sympathy because most of them have been systematically underpaid and overworked for years.
Frankly, higher ed deserves a Great Resignation. And it may be coming sooner than its leaders realize.
I still vividly remember the struggle so many are experiencing. After graduating with a master’s degree, I worked in a major university’s dean of students office from 2014 to 2016, a role that regularly demanded 60-hour weeks. I was on the front lines, dealing with student issues, including the student stress and depression that pervaded such a high-achieving academic environment. For this, I was paid about $30,000 a year with meager benefits.
The reason I endured this for so long—and why many others do too—was the belief that I was working for a higher calling: namely, the betterment of students’ college experiences and subsequent careers. Colleges consistently inculcate this idea of a higher “mission” to appeal to administrative staff, getting them to accept pay and hours that would be unacceptable elsewhere.
Ultimately, my employer’s talk about its mission didn’t put dinner on my table.
If colleges walked the walk and were genuinely mission-focused, things might be different. But in reality, they operate no differently from for-profit corporations, paying top dollar to those in leadership positions while underpaying junior staff, and preferring to focus on generating revenue.
According to a 2019–2020 survey by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, academic advisors nationally make less than $50,000 a year on average, including those with master's degrees. Comparatively, the national average for master's degree holders is just over $70,000.
Meanwhile, the prospects of advancing to more senior, better-paid roles are remote. It can take decades to qualify for a vice president or dean role, where salaries start to enter six-figure territory.
University administrators should have moved to address these issues long ago, but the prevailing attitude has been to do things the way they’ve always been done. After all, the old way has delivered handsome profits and comfortable life for those at the top.
It’s unlikely to work much longer, though. I’ve lost count of the number of friends in higher ed who’ve told me in recent months they’re leaving or considering leaving their jobs because they feel undervalued. A potential perfect storm is brewing for colleges, as employees come out of the pandemic with a new perspective on their work-life balance and the opportunity to do something about it.
If college leadership teams are smart, they will start implementing fundamental changes before the resignation trickle turns into a flood.
The first thing they should do is to drop the empty “mission” rhetoric, at least when it comes to persuading staff to work longer and harder for some nebulous greater good. Then, they should implement more equitable wage structures that put administrative workers on par with equivalent workers in other sectors.
It’s not all about the money. The Great Resignation has taught us that workers are placing more value on flexible work arrangements and comprehensive benefits, including training and development opportunities. College leaders have generally dragged their heels on allowing remote work, probably because they have so much invested in the physical infrastructure of the college campus. But if they want to retain people, they need to recognize that many employees now see hybrid work as crucial.
Colleges should also go beyond the standard health benefits they offer and think more innovatively about how to attract and retain employees in this environment. Millennials and Gen Z workers want their jobs to have meaning and enrich their lives. Universities should respond by offering healthy professional development allowances, perks such as student loan payment assistance, and even a chance to share in institutions’ often substantial equity.
When I found a new career after leaving higher ed, I felt the relief that comes from leaving a toxic relationship. Many more will be following my footsteps unless colleges start to mend their ways. University leaders can’t rely on their “mission” anymore to justify low pay and overwork for administrative staff.
