Beyond good enough: investigating perceptions of careers for administrators in post-secondary

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of post-secondary administrator's experience and perceptions of their career. Administrators are vital to the smooth operations of post-secondary institutions and make up a quarter of the staff in these large organizations (Gander, 2018), but are often seen as the "invisible" workforce (Bossu, et al., 2018) and don't often have a clear career path. I conducted qualitative interviews with five Simon Fraser University (SFU) administrators. Results indicated that all administrators experienced intra-organizational and inter-organizational mobility at some point in their career journeys and reflected on the importance of supportive supervisors and an extended professional network to their career mobility. This research provides insights into how post-secondary administrators navigate their careers and offers guidance on fostering environments that support mobility and professional growth, ensuring continued engagement and commitment within the post-secondary environment.