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Go Back to School: Hidden Job Perks at Colleges and Universities

By H. Staples
Learning & Life Columnist
June 1, 2007

The U.S. boasts over nine thousand colleges and universities, and one in four Americans is enrolled in some kind of educational institution, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. No wonder educational services is the country's second largest employment industry, providing about 13 million jobs.

Besides healthy job prospects, employment at a college or university can include a number of other perks:

• Free tuition for yourself and your immediate family
• Library privileges (including free Internet access)
• Recreation privileges--gym, tennis courts, and fields
• Access to cultural events--concerts, lectures, and clubs
• Travel budget
• Book budget
• Participation in study abroad programs
• College town amenities--boutiques, film houses, and restaurants

Going Back to School - So You Can Go Back to School

A college campus offers a variety of job opportunities, the majority of which are in teaching and administration. To teach at a college or university, you will need an advanced degree in the discipline you would like to teach. If a staff position sounds like a better fit, a degree in education administration will certainly help boost your chances of landing one of the highly desirable administration positions. Career training in adult and continuing education is particularly appropriate for jobs at two-year and community colleges. Each college has it own perks, which you'll learn once you've landed your job. James M. Lang, assistant professor of English at Assumption College in Worcester, MA, reflected on this while he chaperoned students on an all-expenses-paid trip to Ireland. As he reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education, "One of the most important lessons I have learned in my nearly two years on the tenure track at a liberal arts college is just how many opportunities and benefits this job has, that often only appeared to me after I accepted the offer."

Sources:

• Chronicle of Higher Education, "A Few Perks No One Told Me About"
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Educational Services"

About the Author
H.L. Staples teaches at Syracuse University. Her articles have appeared in The Boston Review, Denver Quarterly, The Georgia Review, and elsewhere.

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