Ok!!! Now here's a topic I know something about!!
Guess what I do for a living? I'm a student affairs professional!
I don't work in Greek Affairs; my specialty areas are Orientation and Advisement and also Student Life/Activites. I'm currently in grad school full-time, but my most recent post was working as an Academic Counsellor. In student affairs, I have worked in the following sub-areas: Academic Counselling, Residential Life, Student Transition and Retention (like the orientation department), Student Activities, Academic Computing Services, and a little bit of Equal Opportunities. If you want to know more about any of these areas, feel free to ask or PM me.
I *OFTEN* see posts on Greek Chat asking about this career field. TriSigmaTX (who also works as a university administrator) and I have answered these questions a bazillion times, BUT I am always happy to answer them again!
Often, the people on GC who want to work as Greek Advisors don't realize that Greek Affairs is a part of a profession called Student Development in Higher Education (SDHE for short). They just think it would be "fun". If you are one of these people, that's ok! Instead of trying to get a job as a Greek Affairs officer, I would suggest volunteering at a higher level within your own organization or umbrella group (example: volunteering as an NPC regional coordinator).
I have to make this distinction because I really want people to be educated about what a Greek Affairs professional is - s/he is a university administrator, not a highly-paid soroity or fraternity member who gets to continue working with the greek system. Does that make sense?
So what if you really DO want to do it? Well ok! I'll use James' outline to answer:
1. Tips on which higher degree to pursue.
Firstly, having a related undergraduate degree helps. I knew from early on that I wanted to work in higher education. With that said, because I tailored my experiences, I have been a very strong candidate in internships, jobs, grad school apps etc. My first degree was a BA in Human Development with an option in Educational Psychology and a minor in Human Resource Management. A very good friend of mine applied to one of the same grad school programs as I did. His first degree was in Comparative Literature. He did not do as well during the selection process. He has some great experience in residential life, but I think his first degree hurt him.
There is some confusion about which master's degree to get. If you want to be an accountant, you get an accounting degree, right? Well, it's not that clear in SDHE. Most of the job postings I see say something to the effect of "Master's degree in Student Affairs, Education, Counselling, Educational Psychology, or 'other social science field' strongly recommended." Yes, kids, you can get a degree in Student Affairs. Sometimes they're called "Master of Student Personnel Administration" or "Master of Counselling - SDHE" etc. You just have to make sure you're not getting a degree in like business management or family and divorce counselling or something like that. I went overseas to get my degree. I am currently studying for a "Master of Education - Counselling in Education".
Pearlgrrl's description of finding a candidiate with a degree in Public Affairs and Administration I suppose falls under "other social science field" though I would NOT recommend this unless you are really short on options. In my humble opinion, a master's degree in education, counselling, higher ed...etc is much better than a public policy degree as far as this career field goes.
2. Internships that may be useful.
Anything related to higher education!!!
Many people start out as an RA in their residence hall. I would recommend trying out different areas. There are some 20+ sub-areas of SDHE and you’ll definitly want to try out a few to see which areas you like best. Volunteer to work as tour guide for the outreach office, or as a freshman leader for the orientation office. Other ideas include the student activities dept, leadership center, multi-cultural center, disabled student services, the EOP office etc.
3. Salary comparisons.
Yikes! This is not easy to do; escpecially since wages are different from state to state. My last job, I was an Associate Academic Counsellor at a Southern California university and I earned $25,000/year. But, I also didn’t have a master’s degree. Usually, entry-level master’s degree candidiates could expect about $30,000 in Southern California (at least *I* refuse to take less!
). Of course, wages go up the longer you work there...or if you get a higher post. A Directorship could be $45,000+. One of my old bosses was the Director of our department - he was earning about $60,000/yr. He got promoted to a senior vice president position at a neighboring university and his salary shot up to like $100,000. Keep in mind though, that he had been working in the profession for some 20 years!
4. How to get noticed by College Employers.
What I think works best is having a solid degree and a nice variety of experience on your resume. Having a paid job in SDHE is good, but internships and whatnot are a good start for entry-level or junior positions.
5. Personal Experiences.
Hrm....this post is too long already - I’ll spare you.
6. Whatever else may be useful
Participating in on-campus clubs and extra-curricular activites is a big plus. Now, while greek life is great, keep in mind that holding 10 positions with your fraternity/sorority does not consititute “good variety of experience.” You might also want to participate with other campus activities like, student government, academic groups, chess team... whatever.
I am a member of two professional organizations:
National Association for Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA)
http://www.naspa.org
American College Personnel Association (ACPA)
http://www.acpa.nche.edu/
Both are excellent for finding out more about SDHE. You can do searches for universities which offer master’s programs...so, do check it out.
Again, if you are keen on working in SDHE, or are just curious, PM me if you have questions!
......Kelly
