Help me be in college permanently.

February 12, 2012 8:15 AM

I am looking for a job as university staff. The kind of job I have in mind would be something back-office, fairly routine and mundane, able to be done by someone with a bachelor of arts degree. I am also hoping to avoid a job focused primarily on face-to-face contact with others (in other words, trying to steer clear of advising or department secretary). Do such jobs exist? And if so, what might be their job titles?

Thanks.

posted by indognito to work & money (16 answers total)

Sure. My first job out of undergrad was a university library clerk, and it was exactly as you described. (But this was almost 20 years ago....so YMMV.) The job only required as HS diploma, but as it was a college town where a lot of people had degrees, most folks doing the job had BA/BS degrees. "Library technical assistant" was another job title in this realm.

But, these kinds of jobs are not as plentiful as they used to be, are often hard to get in desirable university towns, and the pay is crap.

It has its pluses and minuses.....
posted by pantarei70 at 8:26 AM on February 12 [1 favorite]

Development (or advancement) services involves a lot of back-office work like gift processing, report running, database updates and donor/prospect research.

Regarding job titles, they aren't necessarily helpful in explaining what the job actually entails. For example, at the state universities where I live the clerical/admin jobs have titles like Administrative Support Associate, Administrative Support Specialist, University Program Associate and University Program Specialist (plus there are a dozen other classifications for the business and IT sides of the operation). Any of these might be a public-facing or back-office job. You may just have to slog through the actual descriptions to see if there's a lot of public interaction.

Many large universities also have in-house temp agencies. Sometimes universities use a temp assignment to determine if there really is need for a permanent position, and I know several folks whose temp assignments have led to full-time jobs.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 8:36 AM on February 12 [1 favorite]

Colleges and Universities can be huge and varied institutions. Just about any job or career that exists in the corporate world, exists in higher education. Universities employee data entry clerks, accountants, copy editors, HR professionals, grant writers, personal assistants, etc. Any job title or description with the words "administrative", "assistant", "clerical" or "data entry" should steer you in the general direction.

These jobs will likely have lower pay, but more stability and benefits than those in the private sector. Because they are often perceived as more desirable, it can be hard to get an interview. Universities are often interested in hiring candidates who are already trained in the workings of their institution or those that are similar. Candidates from the outside (especially for staff positions) need to demonstrate that they understand the culture of the institution and posses a willingness to learn the "ins and outs".

With administrative budgets being cut, there may be an increased reliance on using temps. If you don't see the kind of jobs that you want listed, it could be wise to sign up with a temp agency that supplies workers for the university. Many people find their way into career administrative positions by way of temping.

Good luck!
posted by annaramma at 8:40 AM on February 12 [2 favorites]

I forgot to mention that universities will occasionally have monthly orientations for job applicants. They can help you learn more about the organization, network and demonstrate your interest in finding a job within the institution.
posted by annaramma at 8:45 AM on February 12

The best way to find such titles is by looking at the job listings of your nearest college or university. If it's a smallish town, turnover is likely to be moderately high since many such jobs are filled by relatives of faculty or phd students who move on when they do.

For the 5 years I lived in Ithaca New York, you could have nearly any non-faculty job at Cornell if you had a bachelor's. e.g., editor, assistant to a dean, admissions counselor (reading applications and deciding who gets in), project manager, web producer, library clerk, the list goes on and on. Public relations/communications departments always seem to have such openings.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 8:54 AM on February 12

Sure. Both of my professional jobs were this type. Often they're only advertised on the website of your local university. Look for a "HR" or "job openings" link on the front page.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:00 AM on February 12

i worked at a state university in the law school for three years, so i'm thinking back on what all of my colleagues did. the positions that stand out as being more "back end" include:
-entry level admissions staff, who processed applications/payments
-library technical services
-entry-level finance staff, who spent a LOT of time doing paperwork, tracking and filing reimbursement forms, etc.
-facilities/maintenance and/or groundskeeping, who spent a lot of time working on independent projects in and around the building.
-admin assistant for Continuing Legal Ed, spent a lot of time organizing the logistics of events, but only really interacting with his supervisor.
posted by iahtl at 9:34 AM on February 12 [2 favorites]

We have full time paraprofessionals at my college. The paraprofessionals in my area set up labs and basically have to interact with only three people - two professors and the staff supervisor. Secretaries are also under this description, though. Required degree is only associates. In the past we've selected highest degree available (and a lot of people with Master's do apply for the jobs) but I'm steering away from that, and others will too, probably.
posted by Lt. Bunny Wigglesworth at 9:47 AM on February 12

I work in a decent sized UK university and out place is full of support staff who do different jobs, some of which will be front line in terms of student interaction, others dealing with businesses, with potential students or staff or with other institutions from schools through to other universities. Some examples:

Admissions: dealing with recruitment of students, this might mean a fair amount of time on phones, some face to face at open days, but lots of back room admin too.

Registry (this might be called something else in the US): dealing with ensuring university protocols are applied to students registration, exams and assignments and awards. Some time spent dealing with students but I would guess more dealing with enquiries about students by staff, plus admin to make sure everything is in place, up to date and exams happen at the right time, students get all the right marks and the right degree and with all the right boxes ticked, double ticked and correct.

College Management: Mostly dealing with staff within departments, facilitating teaching or research or both, supporting more senior college managers in having policy in place to cover all eventualities, supporting university efforts to maximise efforts in either T or R. Good right down to straightforward admin levels.

Library: Front line of back office. As a Mefite I am sure I don't need to tell you this isn't about stamping books and putting them back on shelves.

Finance: You might struggle without a numerate background but again some front line but mostly back office, can be teaching or research focussed.

Research Knowledge Transfer (no idea what this is called in US institutions): Dealing with research staff internally and external businesses to try and maximise returns on knowledge generated within the university.

Central university management: Lots of admin tasks looking after the senior staff and their schedules, preparing documents for senate and council, facilitating the many committees that run the institution (and I do mean many) and more.

Giving (or taking if you prefer): Getting the most out of alumni! Junior staff in this dept would be there to assist the actual gift seeking by more experienced staff.

Education Enhancement: this is our fancy name at my place for the oversight department which recommends good practice in making our institution more appealing to potential and existing students.

Welfare: Offer support to students suffering emotional or financial stress. Requires admin support as well as trained counsellors.

I will be missing out loads, as others say, find the vacancy page on your local institutions page and bookmark it for regular weekly checks. In bigger institutions there will be lots of opportunities across departments and lots of potential to step up and move across departments as your confidence and experience grows.
posted by biffa at 10:13 AM on February 12

indognito: "The kind of job I have in mind would be something back-office, fairly routine and mundane, able to be done by someone with a bachelor of arts degree."

I work for a public university, and when there aren't hiring freezes, there are positions might fit into. I have some recent experience trying to place a B.A into a uni, as a roommate has a BA in History, and another in Early Childhood Education. It's not easy but colleges are bigger than you'd think. My first suggestion is to browse a couple of local colleges for help wanted postings, and maybe an org chart, just to get an idea of just how many departments a university has. You'll probably notice a lot more part time jobs than fulltime. Also keep in mind that postings sometimes live only a week or two, so you should check regularly.

It's harder to place BA's than business / IT people, especially if you rule out admin assistants. When I was in new employee orientation at my previous job, around half of the new hires were admin assistants. But it's possible depending on your degree. Libraries hire a lot of people, but they're somewhat incestuous with requiring / preferring MLS's. In IT we hire graphic designers and writers / tech writers. There's plenty of jobs answering phones for billing, admissions and transcripts. HR is probably out because they deal with a lot of face-to-face problems and give the same benefits presentation over and over again, but then I've never seen an HR position advertised ever. For all I know we grow HR reps in a vat.

There are a few hurdles you'll face trying to get in the door. Sometimes there are part timers who are unofficially "a shoo-in" for FT position they're legally required to advertise for. Sometimes you can be declined in favor a of a "spousal hire," an annoying tactic colleges in smaller economic areas use to recruit professors whose spouses wouldn't be able to find work outside the uni. Many times jobs come with experience required, which favors work-study students who've recently graduated--so if you're trying to change careers your 10 years of experience in another field may not be considered an asset. Finally, university staff jobs are also more likely to require advanced degrees. Especially things like grant administrator -- running a small grant funded department. I don't generally think it means anything other than a EoE-valid filter for the flood of applicants.

But what I really want to emphasize is that universities have a lot of random job positions come up. Those grant funded initiatives, for example come in all the colors of the rainbow. Just read the detailed postings, because job titles are too flexible to really convey the duties.
posted by pwnguin at 11:11 AM on February 12 [1 favorite]

Thanks, all, for your answers. I am beginning to check the help wanted sections of the local univ websites weekly--just didn't know if there were magical keywords I should have my eyes peeled for. Good to know that temp agencies might be an in.

And as someone who is already in the library world (public libraries)--any tips on how to get a university library technical services job? I have never, ever seen one advertised in my (largish) city in all the years I've been looking (albeit errratically--maybe they've slipped past in the weeks here or there when I wasn't looking).

pwnguin: "For all I know we grow HR reps in a vat."...lol.
posted by indognito at 12:42 PM on February 12

Many large universities have their own on-campus temp pool, which is a good way to get a permanent staff position at the university. I worked at both Northwestern University (north of Chicago) and at Georgetown University (in DC) in their internal temp pool before getting permanent positions at both schools. Call the HR office and ask if they have an internal staffing agency and ask how to apply to it.
posted by crush-onastick at 1:24 PM on February 12

I came in also to suggest Development/Advancement, as long as you avoid the face to face fundraising aspect of it. Something like Trusts & Foundations might be good for you - you get to do a lot of grant-writing. Or Fundraising Research is another job which might suit you, basically involving a lot of research into potential donors. Or you could work on maintaining their donor database.

One thing about universities though - at least in the UK, these are often mired with dysfunctional communication structures and bureaucracy; and knowing people and being able to make good personal relationships is key to getting stuff done. It is often impossible to do a job at a university which doesn't involve liaising with other departments, getting sign-off from various parties, etc. You will need good communication and networking skills to get anywhere. While this is a massive generalisation it is certainly something I have found to be true for myself and for my other friends and colleagues who work in academia or central university services.
posted by Ziggy500 at 2:21 PM on February 12

Mail room! When I had my on-campus job I worked in the mailroom and it was fabulous. Plus, it sounds like it would fit what you are looking for.
posted by blue_bicycle at 5:29 PM on February 12

The state university where I work uses state titles in employment listings -- most people would not be able to guess what my job actually entails from my state title. We also have different types of positions -- non-benefited temporary positions, positions that are mostly clerical (but they're not called "clerical" in the employment listings because...bureaucracy?), and "professional" positions that are more admin-y jobs and usually require more than a Bachelor's degree.

Confused yet? Because we're also a (multi)-union shop, so people in the union get first dibs and many clerical positions never make it to the point of accepting applications from anyone who is not already working on campus. On the plus side, this means that once you're in, it's possible to move around within the institution and keep all your benefits and stuff while changing jobs. (Meanwhile, it means that people with BAs are getting jobs serving food at the dining hall for the sake of being considered an internal candidate in six months or a year or however long it is now before you can make your first internal move.)

All of which is to say: the job listings may not give you all the information you need. I know that our HR department provides some of this kind of information on their website for people who are not already affiliated with the school, but YMMV on that one. But yes, these jobs exist.
posted by camyram at 8:02 PM on February 12

indognito: "And as someone who is already in the library world (public libraries)--any tips on how to get a university library technical services job?"

My university library has a typekit blog for job postings (yay RSS feed), and I wrote scripts to build my own feeds for the rest of campus. It's a very 80 percent solution, just checking in webpages into SVN and exporting an RSS feed of diffs from the repo. I think any decent solution here is going to be tedious unless automated, or you have a connection on the inside watching out for you. If the above makes sense to you you're already above the library techs I collaborate with on occasion.

You really want to be checking these things daily, because you want prep time. There's no way you put together a competitive application when you discover an job posting and there's only 24 hours left in the submission deadline. Remember: a leisurely application is a confident one!

Oh, and you're probably looking in the wrong places. Assuming postings make it past stories like camryram's, they likely to advertise on their own websites and places like Chronicle of Higher Education. Craigslist/local paper classifieds/Monster.com are usually out. The hope is that through targeted advertising they can improve the screening process. This tends to backfire though when we're hiring IT and can't seem to find anyone qualified because nobody in IT knows it's there.
posted by pwnguin at 10:04 AM on February 13