University Administration, Advising and Student Affairs Posts at US Colleges

Most staff at a US college never teach. Administration, advising, admissions, student affairs, institutional research and library services are all career tracks inside the institution, and several of them pay above the teaching median.

The roles and what they pay

• Postsecondary education administrators — deans, registrars, admissions and student affairs directors. BLS median $104,590 across 231,800 jobs, master's typical
• Instructional coordinators — curriculum and instructional design. $77,440 across 248,700 jobs
• Librarians and media collections specialists — $68,270; academic libraries pay $74,490 at state institutions
• School and career counsellors and advisers, the category that holds academic advising — $64,330, but $58,870 inside public colleges
• Archivists, curators and museum workers — $60,330 across 38,500 jobs

What the institution looks for

• A master's degree is the typical entry-level education for all four of the main categories above
• Named experience with student information systems, CRM and learning management systems
• Outcomes with numbers: caseload size, retention or yield movement, programmes delivered
• A resume, not an academic CV, for administrative and student services posts

How the market is shaped

Administration is projected to grow just 2 per cent from 2025 to 2035, an increase of 4,100 jobs, against 7 per cent for postsecondary teaching. The opportunity is turnover rather than expansion: about 14,500 openings a year.

Vacancies are published on the institution's own HR system first, and public systems often run a single state-wide portal. Pay and projection data is from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics for May 2025 and 2025 to 2035, not by JobGader.