Thank you for your replies!
polly_mer and everyone else who has the time to take a look, these are the programs in higher education administration that I was referring to:
http://www.tc.columbia.edu/o&ldept/highered/prospective.asp?Id=Program+Descriptions+and+Concentrations (Master of Arts program)
-"Students earning the M.A. degree will be positioned to serve in a variety of academic and student support positions, as well as in various policy-development, policy-support, and administrative roles."
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/alt/highered/student_personnel_administrator-This program looks really good as you have internships and pursue your degree at the same time.
I have talked to the administrators at my school, such as the dean of students, dean of academic advising, associate dean of academic affairs and had some insight into the day-to-day activities that they perform.
I think you are missing some key information here. The MA programs you are looking at do not lead to dean or related positions. Those programs lead to being a specialized administrative assistant in an particular area like the registrar's office, the dean's office, or the instructional services center. Those are wonderful things to do and we need qualified people to do them, but that's not at all what it seemed like you want to do from your first post.
If you go this MA route, you definitely want to take a program that gets you into an internship to provide experience as part of the educational credentialing because it's that experience that will get you a job. Just today, my university advertised for an admissions counselor and the qualifications were a BS/BA in anything with a preference given to people who had experience working with students in any administrative capacity. They couldn't care less about that MA because practically no one has one and in this case, on-the-job training is usually much more valuable than any classroom.
Of course some of the best advice that I've had was from my professors. However, there are too many problems with trying to become a tenured history professor nowadays. This was my initial career choice but I've done so much research and have come to find that its almost impossible to land a tenure track job in US history even if I get my degree from some of the best universities in the country. There are already so many qualified applicants that cannot land jobs.
If those odds are too daunting for you, then it's good that you have decided to look into doing something else.
I do have the grades to apply to the top education programs for a master of arts + initial certification in social studies. Would a degree from Columbia, Harvard, etc. land me a social studies teaching job in NYC metro area?
The reason why I can't decide what I want to do is because I do not really understand the job market as I am only finishing up undergrad. I assume that the individuals who already work in the profession or are on the job hunt can provide much more insight. What I am DREADING is getting a degree and wasting money and not being able to find a job after wards.
While finding a job is a valid concern and I applaud going with your interests toward things that have the highest probability of getting a job, neither of the two paths you have suggested are likely to be degrees that lead to the jobs you want.
You can be an admissions counselor or other academic support job with just a bachelor's degree in practically any liberal arts subject. That's what your liberal arts education has prepared you to do. However, the entry-level market in those areas is fierce because so many people are qualified and interested in continuing to remain in the collegiate atmosphere. Your best shot is to do your research on what those people do, write an outstanding cover letter about your interest and qualifications, and then apply to every job you can locate in those areas, even if it's not geographically where you want to be.
To get where you want to be, you need to work your way through the system because those degrees you mention upthread really only work for experienced people to get to the next level; they do not function to allow one to circumvent the arduous process of starting at the bottom and gaining experience to advance.
Teaching high school history and then coming back for more degrees and going into administration or starting out with a mid-level/entry-level position in secondary administration are two options that intrigue me and these are careers that I would enjoy and can live with. However, I do not want to go into a career where I will not be able to land a job even though I would be going to one of the top-tier schools for that degree.
When exploring job offerings at higheredjobs.com I've noticed that most of them want a Masters degree. That is why I looked at the NYU/Columbia programs as they prepare students for entry/mid-level jobs in administration. The only job I can really get after graduation is that of a Resident Director but that might involve me to very remote states, which I do not really mind but I want to have a game plan.
I will repeat here: you are not qualified to get a mid-level position in secondary or post-secondary education administration with just a master's degree and no experience. The reason those job ads are written that way is so that someone who works up through the system then has to go get the classroom training, which is useful at
that stage since experience alone is not sufficient. Those MA degrees are for the people who are ready for mid-level jobs based on experience, but need some classroom training to get the big picture that wasn't available purely from 5-10 years experience in just one place.
Resident director is appropriate for a starting position and does get you on the ladder. After a few years doing that and moving around in that system, then you will be ready to enroll in the MA programs similar to the ones you listed upthread.
The K-12 social studies teacher option is also a good one as teachers have more flexibility with summers off and I would be able to take summer classes, take night classes, and study for admissions tests if I would like to move into administration later. However, the important thing is being able to get a job. I have the grades to get into very good schools but will this be enough to get a job? There are applicants for jobs who went to less prestigious schools but have more experience. Obviously with teaching and transferring to a new school is different as too much experience is not always good since hiring that teacher will COST more than hiring a newly graduated student with no experience.
You need to go do some research on what life is really like as a K-12 teacher if you think you will have summers off and can take night classes. You seem to be aiming for a life in NYC. There are much easier and lucrative ways to get an intellectually satisfying job that pays a living wage in NYC with your BA than what you have proposed. Think outside the box and go investigate those.
