One thing to keep in mind is that there are *lots* of positions in higher education that are similar in some ways to faculty roles (work with students, research/evaluation, etc.) but are technically staff positions. Positions like academic advising, career services, teaching and learning centers, research development/research support, and more.

Here are some job simulations to try to imagine work in various higher ed positions:
-Teaching Faculty (https://intersectjobsims.com/humanities-simulations/humanities-teaching-faculty/)
-Career Advising (https://intersectjobsims.com/library/career-advising/)
-Program Development (https://intersectjobsims.com/library/develop-market-a-program/)
-Teaching and Learning Center (https://intersectjobsims.com/humanities-simulations/ed-development/)

Exploring the administrative section of Higher Ed Jobs (https://www.higheredjobs.com/admin/) can give you a great sense of the wide world of higher education administrative positions.

• Derek Attig

Thank you for sharing these other higher education pathways. I feel like this is a common thing at all levels of education. Students major in something, but there are so many career paths that someone can take.

I have also had several friends and colleagues who are in non faculty positions (either in or outside of higher ed), but have been hired as adjunct instructors or teaching at the community college level. This is maybe another pathway for those who want an instructional role and not necessarily a tenure-track faculty position.

• Kara Francis

@Kara Francis, might be worth discussing with @William Cope, and Mary for a future webinar for this group.

• Spencer Long

@Kara Francis, not saying it has to be them, but wondering if they might know some good folks to connect with. I know a few Ed.D. folks who are primarily administrators and adjunct on the side but not sure I know many who teach at the college or university level is the main gig.

• Spencer Long

They have asked us to identify other presenters besides the two of them.

• Kara Francis

I’m curious about this as well! I had a conversation a few months back with a K12 teacher who recently transitioned to higher education, and his top piece of advice was to work on getting published in journals that are relevant to your field. He did warn that tenure track positions are hard to come by (no surprise there), but there is an explosion of instructional design positions opening up. I also know some folks who got a foot in the door by serving as student teacher coordinators until they were able to take on some classes.

• Trevor Aleo