Recap: Careers in Higher Education by Kingsley Aryee

🎓A career in Higher Education. You might think working in a university is just about about research or becoming a lecturer! Well, you couldn't be more wrong and there are so many career pathways in Higher Education whether that is being a lecturer, project manager or finance manager! In this empowering session, Kingsley Aryee shared his own career journey from student to School Liaison Officer, the importance of mentorship in his career and the diverse career routes in Higher Education!

1. Kingsley's Career Journey to Date

Kingsley showcased his career journey which was diverse, varied and is testament to the different possibilities you can find in your own career journey within Higher Education:

BSc in Electrical Engineering→ Juggling his Masters at UCB alongside his cleaning job (at his same university) → Various roles at UCB including Student Ambassador, Admissions and Employability Administrator → Now, a School Liaison Officer

It not only shows how career opportunities are diverse within Higher Education (it's not only just about roles working in academia) but also how Kingsley stayed resilient, determined and built his personal brand which aided him in securing roles within different departments at UCB!

Kingsley in his current role as a School Liaison Officer

2. Myths about Higher Education

Kingsley tackled some of the biggest myths surrounding Higher Education in general as well as careers within Higher Education:

Myth	Reality
Only careers in Higher Education are being a professor, lecturer or researcher	No, those are only just a few of the career routes available. There are more including: ·       Career Advisors ·       Project Managers ·       Partnership Managers (building partnerships between the university and local businesses)
Higher Education doesn’t guarantee success	Not many things in life are a guarantee but what higher education can do for you is provide valuable skills and opportunities such as, connecting with your lecturers who are leading innovative research, learn how to network and attend Careers Fairs where some of the UK’s largest employers are present!
Age-long debate of Apprenticeships vs University	Both have their merits, and one is not better than the other! It really depends on the individual, what their learning style is and what goals they want to achieve.
It’s not attractive working in Higher Education	Well, there are a lot of benefits to working within Higher Education: ·       See the real-life positive impact of your work on student’s outcomes ·       Get involved in the local community through volunteering, opening up career opportunities for students at local businesses and more! ·       Flexibility in your work that might not be afforded in other industries
Higher Education is all about Academics	No, higher education is not only just about academics. It is about building connections, bridging the gap between your education and entering industry and partnering with local businesses to bring about positive change within the community.

Higher Education as Kingsley pointed throughout is not about academics, can afford a lot of flexibility and growth in your career journey! Kingsley is proof of that going from an administrative role to a front-facing role talking to large audiences at schools, careers fairs and to key stakeholders such as, colleges and sixth forms.

3. Career Opportunities in Higher Education

The career opportunities within Higher Education are wide and varied ranging from roles you can enter immediately after your degree through to more senior roles:

• Academia: This is the career route if you're interested in research or delving deeper into your degree subject which you can enter initially through doing a PhD, achieve a doctorate applying for research roles and even pursue teaching as a lecturer or professor

• Student Support: This career route allows you to work in roles where you directly support students outside of their academic routine whether that is as a Careers Advisor supporting students with finding internships, placements and graduate roles or in Accommodation Support aiding students who are living by themselves for the first time!

• Professional Roles: These roles are where you work for the university behind the scenes in various functions which allow the university to run very similar to roles you will find in companies such as, finance, HR, business development and project management.

Higher Education is not just all about grades on a paper or researching in a lab as the entire sector relies on roles you might typically find at a corporation or a local business. Again, a degree is a not a must-have for most roles unless you want to work within academia which requires has a specialised set of requirements.

4. What Skills are Needed for a Career in Higher Education?

There are no unique set of skills needed for a career in Higher Education (unless it's a research role which requires specific skillset) as it is similar to any other sector as you need a blend of both technical and soft skills such as:

• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

• Adaptability and Resilience

• Networking and Communication Skills

• Time-Management

These were crucial skills throughout Kingsley's career journey as he obtained certain job roles through networking, adapted to learn new skills to leverage in his career and solve problems daily through his current role!

You can start developing these crucial skills straight away. Read Next Gen Hub's guide on all things soft skills!

5. Don't Stop Believing in Yourself!

"If there was one message you want to give to our audience, what would it be?"

What a message Kingsley provided! Don't stop believing in yourself as you are your single biggest advocate throughout your career journey. Nobody else is!

If you're interested in a Higher education career, kickstart your journey today:

• Reach out to your university careers service or the university's careers team for any open roles

• Research what the relevant skills that are needed for the job description and start developing them!

• Tailor your CV to the specific job description

• Network and connect with professional already working in the sector.

If you have any further questions or want any further advice, reach out to Kingsley via his LinkedIn:

Kingsley Aryee