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If you’re thinking about transitioning to a career in higher education and you’ve already spent a few decades in other sectors, making the switch to a college campus mid-career might seem daunting. You might think institutions and hiring committees want to hire their own people who have paid their dues in higher education. After all, these employers are in the business of awarding credentials, professionalization, and protecting the exclusivity that makes their institutions distinct.
While it’s true that you’ll need a terminal degree for most full-time, tenure-track faculty positions, the idea that only people who follow a traditional career path can work in higher education is false. Colleges and universities are just like other employers who are challenged to find talent and new ways of succeeding, or at least surviving, in a competitive market.
Professionals from other industries, mainly those who are making a mid-career switch, can offer value and be desired by many employers in higher education.
The problem is not so much that institutions are slow or unwilling to accept outsiders — it’s that few mid-career professionals from other industries think they can do it.
In an episode of the “How To!” podcast titled “How To Switch Careers in Midlife,” the subject, Mike, actually wanted to switch out of a job in higher education. He had already made the switch, having previously worked as a journalist and now taught college classes while advising a student newspaper. Now he wanted another change, but his use case actually supports a mid-career switch for others to consider higher education.
Intro to Career Consolidation
Like many mid-career switchers, Mike longs for his “last, best purpose in life” and “novel situations.” He also wants to apply some of his other passions and hobby interests to a career change. Judging from his description, the decline of viable journalism jobs forced him to change too early. His current position would’ve likely suited him later in life, or he should instead explore another job in higher education. That’s because academia can be an ideal destination for those seeking what is known as “career consolidation.”
This is a stage in the theory of adult development developed by psychosocial theorist George Vaillant in which people internalize lifetime learning, become mentors instead of mentees, allowing them to become less self-absorbed and more able to see themselves as contributing to the next generation or a specific role within broader society.
But transitioning to career consolidation requires thoughtful reflection. Mike was posed ideas and questions on the “How To!” podcast by guest expert Dawn Graham, a career coach and author of the book “Switchers.”
“You not only need to have all the right tools in terms of your resume and everything else that aligns with the job search, but there’s a lot of psychological processing that goes into (a career switch),” Graham said. “There’s a lot of research that goes into it and exploration thinking about what you’re willing to give up and what you’re not willing to give up.”
The tools are specific to the skills and qualifications needed to enter a profession. Those are stated, most often on the job description with concrete, yes-or-no acquisition. But you can translate your outside skills to higher education, even with a simple change of vocabulary, as shared in a HigherEdJobs podcast episode about how to transition from another industry.
What Graham talked about in the “How To!” podcast can help those feeling reluctant to switch to higher education and change their thinking. Here are three claims from potential mid-career switchers that are false:
“It’s Too Late to Switch.”
Graham said that all the old thinking about career theory and stages of life are irrelevant today because it’s now common and expected for people to change jobs and careers. The practice of job hopping is not just a preference, but it is necessary for professionals adapting to rapidly emerging jobs and the skills required to do them.
She did acknowledge that ageism is real but only in employers’ biases, saying that previous assumptions that older professionals will want more money or won’t stay in their position long enough to hire them are proven to be false.
The type of skills and even jobs that will be needed will be different in the next five to 10 years. That’s a challenge that both recent college graduates and mid-career professionals will both have to face. The ramp is shorter for everyone.
“I Don’t Know What I Want to Be.”
If you are determined to become a professor or an admissions counselor, or if you are considering a career in higher education administration, don’t focus on a specific job title or position level. Graham said this thinking is too limiting and complicated if you have to make sacrifices like getting another degree. Instead of questioning what you want to be, ask yourself, “What problem or problems do you want to solve?”
This could be making higher education more affordable and attainable for disadvantaged populations, or something more specific, like simplifying the accreditation process.
“It really brings you to the current market and it strips away all of those factors that might distract us from really getting to the answer,” Graham said. “It strips away title, it strips away prestige, it strips away the financial piece, so you can really get to the heart of what you’re looking for.”
You can’t ignore salary completely and you have to weigh the tradeoffs, but “What problem do I want to solve?” is a question you’ll need to spend time with. The good news is that there are more than enough problems in higher education for people to solve. The industry needs problem-solvers with a variety of skills, whether it is building relationships or analyzing data.
The best approach is to identify your goals and values, such as mentoring the next generation of professionals in your discipline. Your switch will be more seamless when your focus is on the work and less on who you are becoming.
“No One’s Going to Select Me.”
You have to create your own career path and get involved before a hiring committee gives you permission to practice your new craft. Engage in the type of work you want to do in higher education, whether that means fundraising or writing grants for a nonprofit organization, tutoring students, or conducting research. All institutions and departments are different, which means they need professionals who are unique and multifaceted.
“The most successful switchers don’t wait to be selected,” Graham said. “They start creating the role they want. I’ve seen people do it after work or in other spare time — or even take vacation time to do it. But trying to break in other ways often will be better in the long term because you’re not going to lose all the time and resources that you might have spent otherwise. And, secondly, you don’t have to go through that emotional roller coaster of feeling like you’re constantly getting rejected because people can’t see the value you bring because you’re not a traditional candidate.”
If your experience is concentrated in one industry, that shouldn’t be a strike against you. Colleges and universities value practical experience, especially if you want to transition from a practitioner to an instructor. There’s more pressure now on higher education to be connected with industry and career-focused to maintain public trust.
Additionally, as a mid-career professional, you can apply your “crystalized intelligence,” or the ability to solve problems by synthesizing acquired experience and knowledge. Your breadth of lived experiences will give you an advantage over those who must rely on their fluid intelligence that is being supplanted by AI and other advances in technology. Making connections from people you know and experiences you’ve had are more important than what you know or what you can do.
Bottom Line
Mid-career professionals from other industries can successfully transition into higher education by reframing their skills, focusing on problem-solving rather than job titles, and proactively creating opportunities rather than waiting to be chosen. Don’t let your negative thoughts stand in the way of satisfying and rewarding career change.
