S/O those who have left Higher Ed

[litskispeciality]

If you've left the Higher Ed field for another career, are you willing to share your experience? Either on here or a PM? What made you leave (if not a personal situation)? Is the grass greener maybe minus the PTO? Is your mental health any better? Tell me that people do this and they're ok. I *know* you can go back to HE later on if it doesn't work out, but am I making the right move?


*poof* thank you again, for everything!

[bee20]

My very good friend is in higher ed, hates it, has a terrible boss that is abusively homophobic, and yet...they rarely apply to other jobs and when they do they decide it's going to be terrible and usually call it off or bomb the interview. I don't get it, but it sounds like you too. Most jobs aren't terrible, they're just ok. If your job is terrible, you should find a new one, because it's likely better.

[waverly]

I don’t know if you can call it formally in higher Ed, but I left a position in higher Ed and moved to the same/ similar position in local government. I make more money and have better benefits. My time at higher Ed was a long time ago and it wasn’t terrible but after I left they tore down the building and rebuilt and I know my former co-workers had to work in trailers for 2-3 years which was difficult for them.

My main issue was sub par treatment and low pay, but it really wasn’t as bad as many stories I’ve seen.
We were moving out of state and staying wasn’t an option, but I am very happy that I left. The tone is 💯 different at my current job.

[eddy]

Your PDQ section- That is the perfect example of HE. It basically summarizes how career advancement goes. Good enough for extra work but sit all the way down if you actually try to climb a ladder.

I am still in HE, but as far away possible from student service type jobs. I also now get to primarily WFH. It has been such a healthy move.

[jinkies]

I have not worked in higher ed, but I have worked in nonprofit jobs that try to keep you in low-paying, overworked positions by scaring you into thinking that other industries will be worse. Moving away from those types of jobs was the best thing I ever did for myself.

I actually recently had a conversation with a former coworker who also left the nonprofit world to move to a position with pharma. She talked about how our old boss had made industry in general and pharma specifically sound so terrible. She's now so happy and paid so much better in her current job.

So I say that to encourage you to try something new. Higher ed is not going to change any time soon, and it sounds like there would be a lot of perks for you (like WFH) if you leave.

[smock]

Leaving HE can be a good thing. I'm in a slightly different boat since I left an academic job, so I really couldn't go back.

In your situation, leaving might be the best thing you can do––if you don't like the new job, you might be able to use the experience to come back to HE at a higher level and skip the whole "not good enough for a promotion" thing. And maybe you'll discover that you prefer working outside of HE.

[Patsy Baloney]

I say this with my whole chest: fuck higher Ed.

I toiled for 7 years and was told I should be grateful for my pension and days off.

A day off is not an increase in salary, dude.

I left to work for a reciprocal system. I kept all of my vacation and sick time. I kept my seniority. I kept my pension.

I increased my take home pay by 100% in my first year.

So again, fuck higher Ed. Get out when you can.

ETA - I don’t know if it’s evident from my post, but I went from state HE to a state agency. It’s better. Do it.

[sadie]

So, I left HE 6 years ago in a blended student-facing/faculty support role and swore I wouldn't set foot in higher ed again.

Well. A better position under my old boss in the same dept was created at at the end of last year. I interviewed and basically was told that this position would be rewritten to a higher level in a year once my boss starts phasing out for retirement. And, to name my terms. So, I did. And came back with a 60% raise, flex schedule with wfh capacity. My terms.

So, what I'm saying is you can always go back if you want to. And redefine what you want/are willing to accept.

[shortstax]

Left HE in 2019 after more than a decade. Worked mainly in financial aid. Our university was moving to a new ERP system, so my last 2 years I worked on that implementation team.

That project work was so great because it helped me see outside of my work cycle/environment and update a lot of technical skills. Learn the lingo, if you will.

Left there to a management consultant firm where I learned a ton (and got a 33% raise.) after 2.5 years leveraged that into an in house consultant role where I work on leadership development and employee engagement initiatives within a large organization. I make more than I ever have and each job has been less stressful that my days in financial aid.

[tacokick]

Are you allowed to take your pension status with you if you left for another state job? My friend left her HE job and went to work for a different state agency and kept it. Her job now is really chill, better paying and remote. She had a hard time wanting to leave that pension behind and I can’t blame her!

[litskispeciality]

Thank you so much everyone for your feedback! HUGS, head pats, and Margarita's for sticking it out as long as you have.

The only bummer of this new job is if I can get the salary I talked to the hiring manager about offline, it's like $3K higher than what I make now. But it's not union so I can free up over $1k there, and the gas money I can save on not commuting. I think I'd miss social interaction, but to actual focus on something for 10 mins without 8 interruptions, then saying I get too overwhelmed sounds like heaven. The company might close for the Dec holidays (a few days, maybe a whole week?) instead of me working every single Christmas Eve because I don't have kids, those things alone could really help. DH was even supportive if I can WFH and they let me work at a hotel every once and a while I can work there on a Friday then enjoy a weekend away until I build up PTO again. I would certainly ask before working out of another location (see that other thread).

Edit: Removing the PDQ stuff

[litskispeciality]

I'm not sure about the pension thing if I can stay in the state. The biggest issue is you have to work 10 years just to get on the chart which I finally did, but it's held me back career wise, including changing schools because my old boss wouldn't promote me, you just have to leave. At lot of HE is leave, do something else, THEN you can promote when you come back, and "well that's what happened to me, so my employees won't promote within either!" I also haven't paid in to Social Security for 10 years either, so if any of that is left when I retire that can hurt. My friend encouraging me to apply to this new job, and my DH remind me pension does me no good if I die of a heart attack before I retire at 80.

My colleague's wife works for another dept in the state, but her PTO accrues at half the time. She gets some WFH, has had a promotion, and seems to like the job, but can't keep up with her H's PTO. We're also running in to issues where we're getting our PTO request denied, but told we can't earn more comp time when we're logging long days. I think this job situatio nis also getting to be emergency status that I have to leave this job for the first same or higher level salary opportunity or really risk mental and physical ramifications. Re-group in 6 months once I have a clear head and less physical stress pain. A new job is not a jury summons, and employers are used to "job jumping" a lot more now.

Also not sure if you want it quoted, but fuck higher ed so effing hard.

[deadwing]

I have never worked in HE, but a toxic boss is a good reason to leave ANY job. You deserve better.

[wildrice]

I think you should leave. You've been unhappy in your job a long time, and the stuff you've posted in this thread isn't convincing me any further that you're going to end up in a good situation by staying there. Definitely do find out if your pension transfers to other state jobs - assuming you are working for a state university?

I left higher ed about 13 months ago, but I was not in a student facing role (HR) so my experiences were a lot different. I did since start adjuncting as a side gig, so I guess I'm not completely out but I also don't consider that my career/job and I can always just stop doing that if I decide I don't like it, so I don't feel like that really counts.

The downsides of leaving higher ed (for me):

-Less time off, in terms of holiday, sick time, AND fewer holidays. I think I had something like 34 PTO days in my last job between sick, personal, and annual vacation - now I have 20. That's been the hardest. I also lost the week off at the holidays and a day at Thanksgiving.
- My health benefits are more expensive and less flexible - with the state insurance I could go basically anywhere and now I'm a little more limited (though my plan is still good). I think I pay almost double what I paid at my last job.
- This is probably unique to working in a non-profit, but I get no retirement contribution of any kind on a regular basis. We do get 2% added once a year if our agency is in good financial standing, but it's not guaranteed and with the economic downturn I kind of doubt we will get it next year.
- I do make a higher salary but I think it is mostly offset by the above, so that kind of blows.

The upsides:
- Primarily working from home saves me a ton of time and money. The flip side is that starting a new job like that makes it hard to build true friendships - I like a lot of my coworkers but I don't know anyone very well.
- Things seem to move more quickly to get approved, get an answer to a policy question, etc. We are a smaller org in general so IDK if this is due to being outside of higher ed or due to just having a lot less people involved in anything because we have a fraction of the employees.
- Believe it or not, even at a non-profit our technological systems, HR systems, etc are much newer and more useful. At least in state higher ed you are a lot more limited for vendors you can work with on everything and it takes YEARS for any big changes, while here I was able to get a new learning management system approved within months of starting my job and selecting it myself.
- Although I have not been promoted yet, it does seem we do a lot of promoting from within so there is a lot more career development opportunity for many positions. I think I would only really ever be able to get an in-role promotion (so like from manager to senior manager) since I work on a small team and I'm not qualified (or interested in) other roles in other departments. But lots of people move between departments.
- I also don't have to deal with faculty who are know it alls and don't want to listen to what I tell them to do, or give me feedback on things like training that is unsolicited and snotty. Most of the faculty I worked with were lovely and kind but there are always some that think they are better than you. I do work with some physicians and other highly educated folks in my current job but so far people seem more down to earth.

Would I got back to higher ed? Yes, for the right opportunity. And I'd love to get that wonderful time off again. But I haven't overall regretted moving and I do really like where I work now, so I'm also in no rush to go back.

[sarahsays]

I agree that you should leave just because of the toxicity if nothing else.

For what it is worth, the job I left my current one for was a much higher title and higher salary but I had unrealistic expectations and no support. Even though I am still in HE, I am 100% happier now and don't regret making the change for a minute.

Even if you lose some things by taking a new role, it might still be worth it for your personal satisfaction and mental health.

[lilypad1126]

I've only skimmed the responses, so some of this might be a repeat, but I'm happy to talk about my experience.

I left higher ed (student facing, head of a department role) exactly 2 years ago. Is my current job my dream "i'll retire from here" job? No, probably not. But here's the thing - I'm not sure I have one of those. For now, it's a great fit for me, and that's all I can ask. I keep my eyes open for other positions, whether in higher ed or not, but so far, nothing has come up that I'd rather do. Here's my pro/con list.

Pro's:
-Fully remote
-Flexible schedule - we're "open" 8 - 5 but b/c we're spread out across the country and the amount of travel we do, and b/c my boss knows I get my shit done, I can start later or end earlier or take 2 hours for a workout in the middle of my day.
-Higher ed adjacent - I work for a non-profit that, consults I guess you'd say, with universities and so I work with the same population of students I did before, just at multiple universities. So I'm super comfortable with the subject matter and how to actually do my job.
-Good pay plus a bonus structure. When I took the job it was a lateral move as far as salary, but now 2 years in, I make significantly more than I would if I'd stayed at my university
-Fully remote so I don't have to see all the annoying people in the office daily. But we actually talk more/are better connected than I ever was to folks when I worked in the office full time.
-Fabulous benefits (health, dental, retirement). The health benefits are significantly better than higher ed.

Con's:
-Less vacation time. But really, I haven't missed it and now that I've been here 2 years I have enough saved up just like I did in higher ed that it's a non-issue. And again, being fully remote with a flexible-ish schedule means I'm not having to take vacation time b/c I needed to leave an hour early to run my pet to the vet, or whatever.
-LOTS of travel (but that's unique to my job/role). This is only half a con, b/c I traveled in my higher ed role, but this job just has SO MUCH TRAVEL!
-No extra flexibility in decisions being made. There is so much red tape here. It's annoying. OTOH, I feel uniquely qualified to handle it since it was this way in higher ed.
-IT infrastructure is obnoxious. Higher ed was probably way too lax, but my god is my company way too strict.
-Not near enough people on my team. We just hired a new person who will start Monday, but we really need to hire at least 2 more.

I mention the cons that are probably unique to my company just to say that every company has their cons. Some I can live with (lots of travel) some make me want to pull my hair out (IT). I'm sure there are other cons that just aren't on my mind today but none of it makes me want to RUN back to higher ed. Would I for the right job? Absolutely. If I have to work full time, you better believe I'm going to do it for the highest pay and best benefits I can get.

After reading about your job struggles for years, I think you should strongly consider it. It felt weird to make the decision to leave higher ed but I do feel like I've gained a bunch of skills I wouldn't have in higher ed. No job has to be forever. Interview, see how you feel, maybe you decide to try it out. If you decide after a while you hate, you can look again, and possibly go back to higher ed.

[glw]

I agree that you should leave this particular job. As to leaving higher ed entirely, I think that depends on whether working in higher ed is a goal/matters to you? Or is it just a job to apply your skills that could be applied elsewhere? There's no judgement there-- I just think it's a field (like teaching, nursing, social work, etc.) where being dedicated/inspired by working in this area is often necessary in order to be satisfied and to put up with the downsides.

I also think you'd likely have a very different experience at a private school vs. state school. I left a job at a state-run community college for a private school because of the exact issues you're experiencing, and it is WORLDS better here. Just getting out of the union situation was lifechanging.

(ETA-- my role and many at my school are fully remote, and all are now flexible and most are WFH 2-3 days a week, so that is possible in some higher ed jobs. Not enough, though!)

[jobae1234]

I left higher ed for almost the exact same reason you described, which is that there was no way for me to get promoted. I was bored and I felt stifled. I had been promised a promotion but the university changed the role and I could no longer meet criteria. The day I found that out, was the day I started aggressively planning my exit.

I started my own business. Now, nobody can deny me a promotion! If I want to take on something new, I just do it. Turns out this is a good fit for me because I’ve tripled my income.

I gave up summers off, solid retirement matching, and fantastic health insurance. Still worth it.

I’m very Team Bet On Yourself And Take The Risk, so I say pursue the new job and if that sucks too then just try again.

[penelope]

I haven't left HE (still here) but I worked in the real world for 15 years before coming here. If I didn't have the boss I have (and when he moves on to bigger things, and he will because he is meant to be more than a Dean) I will leave. He's the only reason I stay. The internal politics and BS like simply not being allowed to advance are real. I was stifled in a previous position because I had the audacity to question something that, in the end, I was right about. That probably made it worse for me, how dare a peon be right?!?! From that moment on I was getting no where. Because of my experience I was offered something else and am still here, just in a different department. The pay inequity is insane in HE. It varies so much from department to department, just depending on which ones have money and which ones don't upper admin should be embarrassed. But they don't care and legit wonder why they can't keep people here. Completely out of touch.

If my boss sucked donkey balls AND I had to deal with the rest of the BS I would not still be here. If your work environment it toxic nothing is worth it. Once I got out of my old position I didn't even realize how much I hated life until I didn't anymore. Get out while you have the opportunity to do so.

[indianchica]

I'm in Higher Ed admin and have considered leaving, but I truly love working with education and students. If anyone wants to pm me the names of companies that you moved into and are good to work for, that would be super nice of you.

[litskispeciality]

To answer the question about working in Higher Ed, I *think* I like it? I was a tour guide in college, I went in to Admissions right out of college. I've been at private, for profit (never, ever again), state graduate school and now state community college. I've even had real world jobs but found my way back to HE after my job was outsourced. At the time it was a blessing.

I had a great boss and mentor at my last job, but then we got a new Dean and salary cuts. That boss retired earlier than planned because he couldn't interview to be the dean, and other BS. It was sad.

I think I'm good at my job, so that's part of why this is so hard. I don't want to leave the field, don't think I should have either. I know HE will only get harder even at another college.

I feel in my heart CC is the right place, but not this place. We lost a really great advisor a few months ago because their promotion request was taking taking so long to review, and they haaaaated the boss that is now "no longer here" (aka fired). They've refilled that job with an outside candidate, passing up myself and another internal candidate because neither of us "were ready". You really have to play the politic game for a promotion here. Oh and that new person 2 weeks on the job is already taking on an extra case load of "lost" students because the faculty advisor is too busy.

I've tried to work at the privates again, but the pay in my area is horrendous. I actually had one place require my salary range before I could interview, only to take back the offer because I wanted about 5k more than what I made. Mind you this was less than cost of attendance for one year, pre-COVID. Another colleague at my current job wife also left private college higher Ed during COVID because of promotions, work load etc. That place paid awful, and screwed you on PTO by taking away holidays to "give" you a week off in Dec. She now travels and has rc'vd a promotion in less than 2 years.

I even tried for a real R1 state job during COVID that would have been awesome, but it was a pay cut for a better title, and a literal 100 mile commute. I only applied because HE was still mostly remote, now I could never do that drive.

I lurk on higheredjobs a lot, but everything open right now is a step down, less pay, or one of the local(ish) state R1(?) always requires internals get first pick. As mentioned on here it seems like I will benefit leaving HE, even for something else if this job doesn't come through. If 6 months, 2 years from now I really miss it I can go back and get the promotion I think I've deserved, but who knows how much worse the industry will get?

I'm sorry for all the brain dumps here. While it doesn't seem like it, I try not to post as much here anymore, or stick to non-work related posts when I can.

[litskispeciality]

This is not an excuse, but there are articles in the Chronicle of HE about failed searches because no one is applying to HE. I think that's my sign too, no one is applying because they know it sucks. You can't even get a free masters anymore!

We've had open positions in my office that've taken MONTHS to fill. No priority to get someone in the job, just cover for them. They just re-opened another position because they literally got two applicants. Even the one I was just turned down for will be reposted in a few weeks when it breathes so my feelings aren't hurt because they had no other qualified candidates for two open positions.

Our local CC competitor lost all of Admissions -literally, and we're dying to know why because it wasn't lay offs or retirements. I watch to see if they refill the positions, but it's the same union BS. Plus you can land a plane with those red flags.

Finally, salary inequity in HE, I have a lower base salary, but do more work than the advisors because my job is a lower grade in the union. Both jobs Require the same degree, same amount of experience. I have no down time, they do. They also look down on us that we're 'not advisor's' as if that is a better job. It's a bit degrading. That happens everywhere in HE though. Lots of I'm better, and busier than you.