SEAHO Report - Summer 2019 - 26

SEAHO Feature Articles

Four Ways for Success as a New Professional
By Tyler Placeres, Elon University
I'm going into my third year into the field and I am continuously thinking about how I started and where
am I now. Let me just say, it's tough being a new professional in this field. This field is not created for
many of the new professionals that enter the field and individuals from marginalized identities who do
enter rarely see themselves in leadership and executive leadership positions. With that, new professionals
have to constantly think about how to prove ourselves to our respective leadership teams, figure out
random, minuscule cultural aspects of our departments and institutions that have impact, and, for many of
us, figure out how to do adult things like picking insurance, understanding benefits packages, and making
friends that are not our colleagues. I would be remiss if I did not mention how these things are only
amplified for our colleagues of color and colleagues in the LGBTQIA community.
I look back at my almost 2 years as a new professional in higher education and notice my life has not only
changed, but it has been shaped to think about the next step in my career after I complete my time as a
live-in Residence Life professional. It was when I was first out of graduate school that I recognized there
are a few areas that nobody thought to teach me in my program and no other new professional decided to
tell me. So, here it is, the four things we should be keeping in mind to be successful not only today but for
tomorrow as well.
Financial security
Many entry-level jobs actually pay us a wage that does not support the many fruits of our labor. We have
read the headlines, "most educated, lowest compensated" generation in the history of the country. The New
York Times reported that the average earnings for our generation was less than $34,000 which is the lowest
it has been since 1980 (Rattner, 2015). And let's be honest for a minute, many of us don't see a take-home
salary of $34,000 and the wage gap is only worse for those with less privileged identities. It is important to
be intentional during your first few years in the profession and use all the benefits of living on-campus like
eating for free from your meal plan and cutting out small monthly costs like off-campus gym memberships.
Be intentional on where you spend your money so you can save. You never know what may be around the
corner and where having that money could save you. Take your trips and use your vacation days, but know
that having a rainy day fund could be your saving grace when you move off-campus.
Taking care of debt
Some of us in the field don't have the luxury of not having debt whether it is from student loans, buying
a car, or having credit card debt from graduate or undergraduate school just to sustain life. Yes, you got
a little cash now, but you may have a little (or a good amount) of debt. When coming out of graduate
school, it is crucial for you to decide what you will do with your debt excluding your student loans. It is my
suggestion that you find someone on your campus who does this work. Many institutions have someone in
HR, financial services, or your institution's benefits provider that offer help in managing your finances. If
not on-campus, your local credit union (you should join a credit union) will usually have someone who can
help manage and help with your debt. When looking at your student loan debt, take every ounce of help
you can. This means reading loan repayment structures and taking into consideration your ability to enroll
in the public service loan forgiveness program. I leave you with saying this, "take care of your debt, and
you take care of your future."
SEAHO Report Summer 2019

SEAHO Report - Summer 2019

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