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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

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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

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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.

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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 teamoriented 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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.