Student Affairs
Employment
Outlook
Tight Budgets and Delayed Retirements
Slow Job Growth
By KEVIN KRUGER
In September 2009, at a speech at the Brookings Institution, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was asked about the employment outlook for the next year. His reply: “From a technical perspective, the recession is very likely over at this point.”
Despite those claims of one year ago, signs of a weak job
market continue. During the first week of July, initial claims
for unemployment benefits rose for the second time in the
last three weeks, bringing the number of jobless individuals to
more than 4. 6 million. According to Time magazine, unless
you were in the cosmetics, herbal medicine, microbrewery, or
exotic travel business, the recession has had a significant effect
on your job search.
How has the recession and the weak job market impacted
student affairs? Graduate students from hundreds of programs
finished their master’s degrees this spring in anticipation of
securing their first jobs in student affairs by summer. Still, it
appears that the entry- and mid-level job market in student
affairs has experienced a measurable contraction during the
recession and has yet to fully recover.
EMPLOyMENT PROJECTIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION MANAGEMENT POSITIONS
Occupational Title
Employment,
2008
Projected
Employment,
2018
Change
2008–18
Number
Percent
Change
Education administrators
Education administrators, preschool and child care center/program
Education administrators, elementary and secondary school
Education administrators, postsecondary
445,400
58,900
230,600
124,600
482,500
65,800
250,400
127,400
37,000
6,900
19,800
2,800
8
12
9
2
