Grad Students Should Consider Administrative Work | Careers - Inside Higher Ed

A wide range of positions at colleges and universities are open to those with a Ph.D., writes Chris M. Golde, assistant director of Career Communities for Ph.D.s and Postdocs at BEAM, Stanford Career Education, at Stanford University.

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Colleges and universities are great places to work. Many Ph.D. students who are no longer are attracted to faculty careers are still interested in working in higher education. They are drawn to the teaching and learning mission of the institution, its organizational values, and the opportunity to collaborate with smart people.

The good news is that a wide range of positions at colleges and universities are open to those with a Ph.D. The two most obvious, building on the skills that students are learning during their degree programs, are teaching positions and research positions. A previous “Carpe Careers” column did an excellent job outlining the variety of teaching roles in the higher education landscape beyond tenure-line faculty positions. Colleges and universities also hire for research scientist roles, which are full-time staff positions.

I want to talk about a third path: the wide range of interesting jobs that have a largely administrative element. Although some faculty members speak disparagingly about administrators, staff members are responsible for much of the work done in higher education institutions.

The word “administration” encompasses a wide variety of kinds of work and content areas. Scanning a university organizational chart reveals a number of areas that have hired Ph.D. holders.
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Source: Inside Higher Ed