What’s it like to work at a University?

[WTCT]

I appreciate they aren’t all one homologous group but...

I have spotted a job advert for what appears to be my dream job. It’s within administration rather than faculty (is that the right word?)

I will definitely be applying but I’m interested in people’s experience of working in that setting.

My experience is retail (head office). It was fast paced, we were cash strapped so that was a big focus throughout everything we did. It was flexible, (ie they allowed flex working) fun and I worked autonomously. I had a lot of different bosses so it wasn’t specific to my boss.

My perception of working at a university is that it would be working in a setting where there are a lot of intelligent, driven people who want to be there and who are therefore motivated to succeed.

If you work at a university, how do you find it?

Just a small plea to remember that not every academic is arrogant and incompetent: some of us aren’t and really value our Professional Services colleagues. Good luck with your app, OP.

@gormless I agree. Plenty of scope to develop great working relationships between academics and PS...

I bloody love working at a university!
It really does depend which university and which department.
I've worked in professional support services and as an academic at various universities and have loved each role.

@gormless agree 100%

I used to be an academic. I would have been lost without the admin staff.

I got out for the negatives reasons offered up thread.

I hated it.

Thanks very much for all your comments. I’ll let you know how I get on (will probably find out sometime in 2021 😂)

In no particular order, Slack timekeeping, skivers, petty politics, pompous academics, empire builders, meetings about meetings, poor management, zero deadlines or project management, zero appraisal/review, zero staff training except for a chosen few....blatant favoritism, blatant misogyny, blatant nepotism.
Decent salary for the area, Good pension, good holiday allowance, informal work environment, access to cheap canteen and fitness classes, free onsite parking, easy commute.

I’ve temped at a university and my hourly rate including annual leave was £12 an hour, which for the depressed city which the university is in, is very good pay for admin work. University admin jobs are very competitive to get. I got one interview out of 10 permanent jobs I applied for.

I also temped in a university library, which was okay but some students are SO rude and entitled. And management was really laid back to the point of being non-existence.

Eating and drinking on campus is generally cheaper than the chain places outside the university. Most of the staff I came across were very nice. Some of the academic staff were arrogant and too superior to talk to the support staff. There were patronising comments like “oh so you just do part-time temp work then” and look surprised when I said I was studying for a Master’s degree too.

Whereas at my university we have an amazing staff development programme which is free and open to all staff - including the funding of professional and academic qualifications.
Some academics are a nightmare but thankfully they're a dying breed.
I've seen very little evidence of misogyny in my institution and there is a real effort being made to make the senior leadership teams more representative and balanced with regards gender and ethnicity.

The annual leave allocation is amazing! 30 days plus a week at Christmas and bank holidays for support staff. More if you're an academic.

We don't get free parking though ...

It's the most family friendly job I've ever had. My DH works at a different university and he feels the same. I love working at a university - they're vibrant, busy and interesting places to work. Although, I may have just been lucky ( or my previous jobs were dire!)

Although, I agree about the entitled attitude of students. That has changed over the years - we can thank the £9k + tuition fees for that.

When weighing up the pay don't forget to consider pension, I assume it would be an LGPS pension which will be better than most private sector pensions

It is not likely to be an LGPS pension. It is a university not a local authority. But it is likely to be a pension with similar terms.

One student actually said to me “I pay your wages.”

I felt like saying “you don’t pay my salary as you have a tuition fee loan that you’ll most likely never pay back or even pay any of it back.”

I’m presuming that the student loan money comes from tax payers? Does anybody know where the tuition fees that go to the university actually come from? As in where does the SLC get the funds?

@theunknownknown the university I worked for had an LGPS pension, it was part of the London Pension Funds Authority, sorry I assumed this meant universities generally had public sector pensions. My point still stands though, weigh up the whole benefits package especially pension.

basket yes, it's the government that pays the fees and then the student pays the government back - if they earn enough.

Students assume universities are awash with money thanks to the fees they pay - that couldn't be further from the truth.

@Basketofkittens indeed. That's very much the entitled attitude now. I'll be paying my student debt of forever probably, I'm just damn grateful there was the option in the first place as I'd never have been able to fork out myself eg the US system.

And totally, the sad fact of the matter is many of these loans will never get paid back anyway....

Non academics where I work all have LGPS pensions...