Entry-Level Job Opportunities in Higher Education

Most of us think that by the time we finish college, we'll have a set career path in mind. For some, that turns out to be the case. But for just as many students, what comes next is as ambiguous in their senior year as it was when they entered the classroom as a wide-eyed freshman.

The career choices you make early on will impact your career path from here on out. Not every degree comes with a "rubber stamped" first job after graduation. Many liberal arts and social sciences degrees prepare you for a variety of career possibilities, but which road you take is up to you.

Maybe you'll enter the corporate world and start moving up the ladder. Maybe a private sector job is more for you. What about government work? Graduate school? Or maybe you'll consider staying in the university environment even if you don't go to graduate school right away.

I'm not talking about being a perpetual student and modeling your life after Van Wilder. I'm talking about the option of working for a university.

You don't have to plan on earning a Ph.D. or becoming a professor to build a satisfying and challenging career at a college or university. There are a variety of entry level professional positions in higher education settings. Many new college graduates transition to the workforce by taking on one of these positions. For some of these individuals, college and university administration or student services become a lifelong career.

My first job after graduation was working at an internship placement office at a two-year college. I was hell-bent on a career in journalism, but while I was getting my feet wet I needed to pay the rent, so I took the first thing that came along.

Over ten years later, I'm still working in university environments. I've been a career development office, an academic advisor, an assistant registrar and a project coordinator for information systems development. I found that once I started working in higher education, the opportunities to do new and different things were abundant, and I had no desire to leave.

Why would you want to work at a university?