It is the time of year that my students are applying to jobs in the higher education industry and the time that I remind them that growing as a professional doesn’t stop with their master’s degree. It is easy to get comfortable within this industry, as typically there is a low turnover rate. Many professionals stay in their positions for the lifetime of their career, which is rare in the workforce today and therefore easy to not plan.
Per Sean Gallagher, Executive Director of the Center for the Future of Higher Education & Talent Strategy and author of The Future of University Credentials, the shift toward online credentials, badges, and the many new forms of professional certification will disrupt and change the ecosystem of higher education. No matter, your functional area of interest in higher education, you need to be aware of the changes to the ecosystem and adapt accordingly. A few key areas, I would recommend focusing on in your own career are technology, data & measurement, and flexibility.
Technology is key, as it affects every unit in a university setting. You should be prepared for how changes in technology can enhance your practice or potentially eliminate roles within your area of expertise. A Harvard Business Review article – Technology Will Replace Many Doctors, Lawyers, and Other Professionals, challenges the idea that there will be professions spared. This is the same case within higher education. High performing systems will replace many professionals and require a different type of expertise. I have three technology project currently running in my office that will eliminate lower level work. When I started in career services, there was little to no technology used. Now, I must be able to translate my knowledge of career success into technologies that serve larger populations. Salesforce is a great example of how technology is expanding my own work. This is a good change, as it allows for simple questions to be answered via technology and allows me to deal with more complex questions personally.
Data & measurement is necessary to running an effective and efficient office. Of late, media coverage has tended to focus on the soaring costs of higher education. Graduation rates, retention and professional outcomes have been used to measure success but little is focused on the quality of the education or performance of an office. For each office, you need to understand the data available to you and how you can use this enhance your programming and then how to measure the effectiveness of that programming. Data is the foundation of decision-making and needs to be integrated into your work and across offices. It is not just IT’s job. If you want to learn more, see Ben Sullins course on Twelve Myths of Data Science. In my own office, we are considered a cost center for the university and I need to be able to articulate our value to the mission of the school. To do this effectively, I need to address the interests of my students while moving the mission the school forward. Collection, evaluating and reporting of data is one of my key responsibilities.
Finally, you need to be flexible with your working identity and be ready to take on new roles within higher education or adapt your current role. There is not a position that is permanent. You need to be cognizant of your own working identity and how you must adapt for the future. If you haven’t done so, check out my video on Managing Your Career for tips on creating a working identity.
Career Solutions by Valerie 