1

Career Trajectory Paper

Crystal N. Gay

When determining where to begin this paper I decided to think of where I wanted

to be and what I wanted to have accomplished by the time I retired. Then, I thought of

where I was now and all the points in between the beginning and the desired end. I am

currently an academic advisor at Georgia College and would one day like to be a

Director of Advising. While I would love to stay at Georgia College my entire career, I

understand that opportunities at other institutions may pop up along the way.

Higher Education Career Aspirations

I would like to continue working with students in the academic advising setting. I

am in my fifth year as an advisor and each day I see the benefits to the students of

having a professional academic advisor guide them toward graduation and having a

faculty mentor help them make decisions that will help them reach their post-graduation

goals. I would one day like to be in a senior advisor or director of advising position. I see

how much good advising does, but also feel I would fit well into a position that help with

the programing and decision making regarding implementation of advising.

Critical Points of Career Decision

I never planned to become an academic advisor. My goal was to be a college

professor. Even though there were aspects of being a faculty member that I was not too

keen about (required research, the daunting process of tenure, publications), I loved the

thought of interacting with students and teaching. When I was offered a temporary

advising position it was perfect because I wanted a break before graduate school and

the job kept me involved in higher education. As I began the work, I realized it was all

2

the aspects of being a professor I wanted, and none of the stuff I did not want. Since I

fell in love with the job, I have become committed to becoming the best advisor

possible.

Job Qualifications for Desired Position

Earl A. Jones discusses a required skill set for Academic Advising Directors,

which includes knowledge of development theories, a terminal degree in higher

educational administrative leadership, and the background to manage an office and

supervise advisors (2009). The University of West Georgia is currently looking for a

Director of Advising and list the qualifications of the position as a Masters degree, five

years of experience in higher education, demonstrated responsibility, experience in

supervising and advising, as well as knowledge needed to manage personnel, budget

and overseeing a department (University of West Georgia, 2013). A description for

another Director of Academic Advising listed requirements as a masters degree, three

years of management experience, and experience in budget oversight (University of

Washington-Supierier, n.d.). The desired or preferred qualifications included a doctoral

degree and NACADA membership (University of Washington-Supierier, n.d.).

Career Trajectory

When considering my career trajectory or path I began by thinking of my

currently position and where I want to be by the end of my career. From there I thought

of the positions and opportunities in between that would help me reach my goal. I

currently serve as an academic advisor. In order to one day be a Director of Advising, I

would need to serve as a senior advisor and an assistant or associate director.

Currently the department I work for does not have a system in which an advisor can

3

move up in ranks. So in order to gain the experience needed I may need to look at

positions and opportunities outside of Georgia College. Georgia College is currently

making changes to the structure of the advising center but until that is done it is difficult

to know what opportunities will be available for growth.

Professional Development Plan to Realize the Goal

In order to realize my goal, I used the career trajectory and thought about each

stepping stone on the path. I began as a part time advisor and moved to a full time

position. With that came more responsibility and more room for growth. Georgia College

is currently expanding the advising center to accommodate centralized advising for all

undergraduate students. With this growth we hope to see the utilization of a tiered

system. Each tier would have increased responsibilities.

Skills/Competencies Needed

Some skills listed include communication skills, creating and maintaining a team

oriented environment, and creativity and vision (University of West Georgia, 2013).

Others include ability to develop a strong assessment plan, high ethical standards, and

make verbal presentations (University of Washington-Supierier, n.d.). I have sufficient

written and verbal communication skills; however, I know that I could improve on this

area. I have attended multiple trainings on email communication and customer service

but have very little background with verbal communication. I have improved on this in a

one-on-one format and when teaching, however I could use some experience with

giving speeches since that would be a job responsibility of a director. In order to gain

these skills I could take courses in public speaking or join a local group that practices

speech giving.

4

I am currently a chair for the assessment task force with in the Center for Student

Success and could use this experience to begin learning how to maintain a team-

oriented environment. This experience will also give me knowledge of developing

assessment plans. I know that this experience is very small in the big picture; however,

starting small is how you hone your skill set. Ideally, Georgia College will soon move to

a tier system, and as I moved through the tiers I could begin to gain some more

beneficial supervisory experiences.

Creativity and vision are skills that are hard to learn. However, being able to

predict the direction of higher education and the needs of students would help with this.

In order to do this, I would need to use the literature available through different

professional organizations to stay on top of current trends in higher education and be

aware of current issues in the field.

Goals

My short-term goals include teaching an online course of freshman seminar for

students who have previously failed their seminar course. The objectives with this goal

are to finish creating the course and get approval to teach it online for Spring 2014. The

format would then be available every spring for an online course as well as having

modules available for instructors who wish to use content in their fall courses.

Another short-term goal is to earn my M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration

in the spring of 2015. I put off my graduate education while I was establishing the first

ever position as a pre-psychology advisor. I have been back in school for a year and am

very excited to reach the educational goal of a masters degree.

5

As chair of the assessment committee in the department I would like to see a

solid foundation of assessment for freshmen seminars, advising, and other programs

under the department, which includes the Bridge Scholars Program and the Learning

Center.

My long-term goals include continuing to improve my skills and knowledge as an

advisor, move up in classification, and eventually transition to a supervisory role. If the

tier system is implemented I would aim to move into a tier that would help me gain the

supervisory experience and possibility the personnel experience needed in order to one

day become a director. I have experience maintaining departmental budgets for a

previous position as an administrative assistant and from currently advising a student

group on campus.

I will need to pursue a Ph.D. in a field related to higher education. This would

meet the preferred educational requirements of a directors position. While the ultimate

goal of what I wanted to do with a Ph.D. has changed, I would still like to pursue an

advanced degree.

Promoting Professional Development

Using the professional development plan provided in the American Higher

Education course I have been able to look at certain areas that would be beneficial in

promoting my grow professionally. These include membership in professional

organizations, utilizing literature, mentorship relationships and collaborations.

Professional organizations. Membership in professional organizations would

be beneficial. I am currently a member of NACADA (The National Academic Advising

Association) and plan look into other possible organizations such as NASPA.

6

Professional memberships provide resources for professional development

(publications, conferences) and networking. NACADA has numerous conferences

throughout the year and attending these conferences is very helpful in broadening my

knowledge of the profession. Becoming more involved in professional organizations will

help me learn more skills needed for my job and goals but also help me network with

other individuals. This will be helpful in terms of job opportunities as well as letters of

recommendations.

Literature. In order to obtain knowledge of development theories I need to strive

to stay up to date with the current literature. To do this, I could set aside an hour every

week that I would read a new piece of literature in academic advising. Some other ways

to keep up to date included using Google Scholar, RSS feeds, and Twitter (Fulford,

2013). In the past I have used literature to learn how to craft a Personal Philosophy of

Academic Advising, come up with ideas for outreach to students, and new ideas to

incorporate in my freshman seminar. If I continue to read literature I will be able to learn

about things that would help me start growing in a way that I would become

professionally prepared for a director position. Some possible resources are The

NACADA Journal, the NACADA clearinghouse, and The Journal of Higher Education.

Mentorship. In September of 2011, I presented along with my mentor about

using mentorship for professional development at a Georgia Drive in Conference. We

chose this topic because mentorship is one of the easiest ways for professional

development in a time where funds are not as readily available. Having these

relationships is very helpful when learning how to do a job and ways to improve your

skills. To reach my goal I should identify individuals who are in positions that I am

7

interested in and learn from them. The interview project American Higher Education

helped me have a discussion of my goals with my current supervisor who serves as a

Director for Advising. The tips he gave me that day are included in this paper but I

should continue to have discussions with him and foster a mentorship relationship.

Collaboration. In the past, I have presented at two NACADA conferences. One

was mentioned previously and was done in collaboration with an advisor at Georgia

College who mentored me when I started working as an advisor. The other was in

partnership with two staff members from Savannah College of Art and Design. It would

be beneficial to continuing crafting ideas for presentations and applying to present at

conferences when possible. I am currently in process of starting a research project with

a faculty member in the Department of Psychological Science and hope to have a

published paper or presentation from the results of the study. I am very excited about a

collaboration with someone that is not directly in my field but does have a similar

interest. Together we can take her interest in student learning and my interest in

motivating factors specific to academic advising and research advising from a different

perspective.

Summary

I am just starting out on my career journey and have a long way to go before I

reach my goal. However, this paper has helped me begin to craft a plan of how to reach

that goal. There are several things I can be doing now to promote my professional

development so that if an opportunity arises I can be ready. While long-term goals can

be years or even decades away, it is never too early to consider what steps can be

taken along the path to help you get there.

8

References

Fulford, L. (2013). Useful tips to keep on top of new literature. Retrieved from

http://bitesizebio.com/articles/search-engines-for-literature-searching/

Jones, E.A. (2009). A view toward the position of director of academic advising: A

personal plan of action. Retrieved from:

http://dus.psu.edu/mentor/old/articles/091118ej.htm

University of West Georgia. (2013). Classification title: Director of advising center.

Retrieved from

https://jobs.westga.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/position/JobDetails_css.jsp?posting

Id=140092

University of Wisconsin-Superior. (n.d.) Director of academic advising position

description. Retrieved from

http://www.uwsuper.edu/hr/employment/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&P

ageID=1293590.