The Work Strong readings make it clear that employers have many pressures on them to succeed and meeting their needs does not necessarily coincide with meeting the needs of your career. Identifying the bullying behaviors of bad employers is an essential part of your career due diligence. However, should the due diligence stop at looking out for bad employer (see page 32)?
To me, an analysis of the fitness of your career starts with the fitness of our industry. Here are some positive thoughts about being a faculty member in higher ed:
- Faculty a Large Part of College Jobs: According to the Digest of Education Statistics, faculty make up about 1.4 million of the 3.6 million employees at colleges and universities.
- Increased Enrollment Growth: The National Center on Education Statistics (NCES) indicates enrollment at colleges and universities increased nearly twice as much in the decade ending in 2007 (26%) as it did in the previous decade ending in 1997 (14%).
- Public Values Higher Ed: A survey in 2006 from the American Council on Education reveals that 84% of registered voters surveyed believe that higher education will be critical to solving the problems of the world in the future.
- Future Enrollment Growth: NCES is predicting that there will be 10% growth in students less than 25 years of age and 19% growth in students over 25 years old for the decade ending in 2017.
The last bullet point reveals an agent of change - the age of our students. The growth in older students is anticipated to be twice as much as younger students. When thinking about change in higher education, please consider these thoughts:
- Demographics of the Work Force are Changing: The HigherEdJobs.com Employment Report indicates that part-time position postings increased 33% from 2004 through the first nine months of 2009 (8.2% to 10.9% of the jobs).
- Costs and Compensation are Disconnected: The College Board reported that tuition and fees increased by 4.4% for private institutions and 6.5% for public ones (4-year, in-state). On the other hand, the most recent CUPA-HR salary survey had salary increases for Associate Deans at 4.2% for private institutions and 3.5% for public ones.
The latter part of the Work Strong reading lays out the two basic principles for good career fitness - we are each responsible for our own career fitness and we need to work at strengthening our careers every day. I am interested in knowing what faculty members think - if we are responsible for our own career fitness, how does the inherent demand for and changing nature of higher education affect your career?
The inherent demand for higher education positively affects my career- it's likely the demand will be there to justify my "supply" of knowledge and skills in my area. Further, I think looking at the growing demographic of older students actually makes student interaction more enjoyable for me (and I'm not that much older than the incoming freshmen!). First, older students tend to be more mature and better at grasping concepts and completing work which require higher-level cognitive skills (such as the ability to critically evaluate concepts versus simple recall of concepts). This makes for a much more productive classroom experience compared to students who are either afraid to speak in class or just choose not to. That's not to say I don't enjoy my freshmen students- only that older students, in general, bring more life experience to the table. There is a large body of literature outlining adult education theory and practice. I personally rely on these sources to inform my teaching now- even with freshmen. Other university faculty who aren't familiar with this literature may find themselves struggling to catch up when their students' ages start increasing. Instructors have to learn to deal with the life the students have- whether 18 and care free or 25 and mother of two. Both of these students deserve education which is both attainable and available despite their different lifestyles.
ReplyDeleteI think making a career choice to work in academia is much more than publish or perish. Instead, we have the opportunity to influence the world for years to come through our work with students. That being said, I know that doesn't cut it in tenure and promotion decisions- it doesn't in mine either.