Hilltopmom Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 (edited) I'm a special Ed teacher but haven't worked in a decade. I'm plan on looking for jobs for the following school year, was thinking of subbing to get back into it & because I have preschoolers at home still. But, in college, I worked admissions and also in orientation planning a few summers & loved it. Attending admissions events with my oldest has reminded me of that. The CC next door to my house has an entry level admissions job open & I'm intrigued by it. It's in the office, not a travel position. If you work in admissions, can you give me the run down on your job? Requirements say associates or bachelors. I have a masters in Ed, but no college work experience since I was "in" college, 20 years ago. It looks like a glorified administrative assistant position in admissions, & likely doesn't pay much (can't find that info anywhere), but... I kind of don't really want to go back to teaching for various reasons. (But hey, it's my degree & pays decent for what I need plus on the kids schedule) This wouldn't have Summer's off, but is right next door to me & I think I'd love it. I'm way more excited about this than subbing. The timing isn't right, I'd have to pay for daycare for a couple of years. But who knows what will be open then. Anyone wanna share? Thanks Edited July 19, 2017 by Hilltopmom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 I don't work in admissions but have friends that do. Many of them travel a good deal and work nights and weekends for college fairs. It sounds as if this particular job won't necessarily require that. They say that there are certain periods of the year are very busy and other times are slow times; for example, there is no taking summer vacation during orientation weeks in the summer. Depending on the state you are in, one thing to consider is whether being employed at the CC will give your children any extra benefits to attend college. Some states will give college employees a tuition break for their children to attend. That can be an important benefit even if the pay itself s not great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 At the CC's I've worked for, they have admissions folks who basically answer the phone, handle walk-in needs, and make appointments for students with other college personnel. The CC mine go to has a full-time person in that role who has been there for some time. I actually had her in a class ten years ago when I taught there, and she was just on the main college phone and mail room part-time while she got her degree. She loves her job, and they've paid for training so that she is actually at a higher grade than when she started. She always is very friendly to me when we're there and loves her job. The hardest season for her is of course the weeks just before and just after the semester starts. CC's my area just go to local fairs in their service region, so the travel is minimal for them. Our state doesn't give a tuition break for the children of employees. I tell my kids that they do have inside information though. My son transferred under a very detailed guaranteed admission agreement from the CC to a selective 4-year because of information I had from working there. I only know a handful of students who have done that successfully. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milknhoney Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 Yes! I work part time in a private university admissions office. I've been here 18 years, working part time for the last 8 years (since I started homeschooling). I really can't speak to how my job might differ from a CC. But here it is. Ever since becoming part time, my primary job responsibility is to coordinate our two big campus visit days in the fall and spring. I also was made coordinator of new student orientation which I absolutely hated. Thankfully, a few years ago that role went back over to Student Life (where it belongs!!!). I also help put together several publications that our office sends out. When I lost orientation, they gave me a small territory to manage with the promise that I wouldn't have to do the travel (which was to Hawaii, so no problem finding somebody else who wanted that trip. You might be asking why I wouldn't want the Hawaii travel?!! That was my territory for the first ten years, so been there, done that. I'm over Hawaii. Much to dh's disappointment). For the upcoming cycle, they finally gave Hawaii away to someone else (nice young single guy who will be happy to travel) and I am just going to help support management of our two largest regions, because those counselors can't handle all the management along with their extensive travel. My role and responsibilities have shifted a lot over the years, one of the things I like about working here. But the basic admissions counselor/territory manager job involves answering email and phone call inquiries, meeting with campus visitors, reviewing admissions application files, keeping track of all the applicants in your territory and contacting them to make sure they are on top of submitting whatever they still need, analyzing data to determine the locations you need to hit in high school visits and college fairs, as well as making regional admissions presentations. Also, staying on top of everything going on and understanding all of your college's majors so that you can talk about them to prospective students. By the time I was in my third year of counseling, I was totally bored. After a while, repeating your same "here's why we're the best" speech over and over again and answering the SAME questions over and over again gets really old. I started to look around for other jobs but somehow never did leave. I stuck it out, and after becoming more seasoned I was able to acquire new responsibilities, and that helped a lot. For several years, I had a very small territory so that I could focus on marketing. That was really fun. I worked with designers and printers to create our publications, coordinated photo shoots, researched the best periodicals to place advertisements in, and worked with marketing firms on name-buys to send out our search pieces. Eventually, the university grew to the point of creating a separate marketing department, which I probably would have transitioned into except that was the time I was pregnant with dd and looking to go part time. Right now I'm happy just because they were willing to accommodate me with the part time thing, which our university isn't normally flexible with. So I'm making a lot more money than I would have trying to find something else part time out there, which makes it possible for us to afford part time. AND, employee dependents get full tuition waivers!!! At $35k/year x 2 kids, I am looking at a $280k bonus!! The other thing I like about admissions is that it supports higher education. Admissions is very similar to a sales job, and it's nice to be able to "sell" a product that I really truly value. I've been here long enough to recognize how much better the education here is than our state universities... if only I had known all that 25 years ago, maybe I would have looked beyond... I'm really excited about what my kids have to look forward to. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted July 25, 2017 Author Share Posted July 25, 2017 Thank you everyone! Now, how the heck do I take a "teaching & homeschool mom (organized co ops)/ foster parent" resume & turn it into an admissions position resume? (Btw- it would be awesome if we got tuition waivers, but no, state school, doesn't offer that.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milknhoney Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 Admissions usually has a pretty high turnover. So if you have a bachelor's plus experience working in Admissions, I think they will be interested in you despite the gap in your employment history. Admissions isn't rocket science, so they pretty much want to know that you have a functioning brain, a work ethic, and that you will get along with the rest of the staff. And depending on the position, public speaking skills. The fact that both your work and home experience is in education is a plus. If you've organized co ops, you should play up that you have experience dealing with parents. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted July 27, 2017 Author Share Posted July 27, 2017 Thanks! I applied today. Turns out the hiring committee already has interviews scheduled so she wasn't sure if they'd be willing to look at another resume at this point, but it's worth a shot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milknhoney Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Good luck! I actually turned in my application at that stage too... and here I am! Let us know how it turns out! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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