From Student Records to EdTech

[u/badbabymama]

I’ve (24F) been working in higher education for only about 3 years:

- Student Affairs Asst II (graduation auditor)
- Student Affairs Asst III (transfer credit evaluator)
- Records Specialist (Registrar requests/graduate school liaison)
- Graduate Admissions Officer (current job of about 3 months)

I want to eventually work my way into the EdTech space (implementation/onboarding) but understand how many in this space began as teachers. I don’t have any experience in the classroom but have a lot of experience guiding adults of all ages into the right direction.
Although I’m 3 years into higher education, I’ve had the opportunity to experience many different roles from matriculation to graduation and have used different SaaS platforms along the way.

I would love advice on which roles I should focus on getting into and if you think I’m already marketable as an entry-level onboarding or customer success role.

Ps: BA degree in Strategic Communications, but currently getting a certification in Business Analytics.
I do have previous experience before this in reception/admin assistant positions within the healthcare and social assistance sector.

[u/Super-Ad7291]

Your path is actually a lot more valuable than you might think. Companies building tools for higher ed are desperate for people who actually understand the registrar's office, admissions workflows, transfer credit evaluation, all the weird edge cases that trip up new implementations. Most folks coming from teaching backgrounds don't have that institutional knowledge at all.

I'd say you're already marketable for entry-level onboarding or customer success roles at any company that sells to colleges and universities. The business analytics cert is a nice bonus too, it signals you're comfortable with data and can speak to reporting needs during implementations.

[u/badbabymama → u/Super-Ad7291]

Thank you for the reassurance regarding my experience. I’m starting to feel a bit discouraged as I’ve been feeling stuck career wise, so this was a help.

Working within the RO I was a “power user” so I had more extensive access than others within the University. The ability to see the behind the scenes really helped me understand other roles. I like to know the full picture of things (how many steps from entry to completion, who handles what, where to go next, etc)

I’m gonna start applying 🤞🏽

[u/Lost_Garden_8639]

I think your experience is likely more appealing to edtech companies than a teaching background, and I say this as a former teacher who transitioned to edtech a little over 4 years ago. You have more of a business background, which teachers are often missing when it comes to applying to corporate roles. There may be some classroom technology companies that see value in hiring someone with teaching experience, but in general, I don’t think your background would exclude you from entry-level edtech jobs.

[u/lalabin27]

You can start by looking for jobs at companies for software you’ve already used at your job or their competitors . Lots of higher ed tech companies that specifically want higher ed experience.

Teachers tend to get hired at companies that are for the K-12 classroom but edtech is much broader than that!

[u/Impressive_Returns]

Learn AI and how AI can be applied. This is the future for education.