research assistant

police officer

assistant professor

adjunct faculty

graduate researcher

Loyola University Chicago

Leadership puts on a really good show, but unfortunately, they do not walk the talk. I was surprised that leadership would sometimes create undue tension by taking actions of both supervisees (AND even students) the wrong way, getting offended or upset. There were also a few, but very impactful, incidents in which my director was not supportive and would not take responsibility for actions the department did to its employees. At an institutional level, leadership also plays favorites among employees.

There is consistent talk of being "student-centered," but I found that such a focus was not present in the most important and inclusive ways. Leadership does not always do well to critically consider how identity intersects with their engagement of students. Students who are favored/rewarded are the stereotypical or privileged student, not students with various underrepresented identities.

A silver lining to these critiques is that the valuable lesson of learning how to governance works at a university. The adherence to organizational structures is quite rigid here, which may possibly be the one of the reasons for some of the aforementioned critiques. While some situations were toxic or frustrating, learning how to navigate these waters was invaluable.

As the Alternative Transportation Intern, I assisted Loyola with development of student awareness of transportation options in the City of Chicago.  With a world-class transit system, intercampus shuttle transportation, and an '8-ride' nightly van service available for students, Loyola is an extremely active University in terms of alternative transportation options.

Further, with the pairing of my role with the rental bike program at Loyola, I was able to pair my passion for biking with the transportation intern role to promote an active student lifestyle at the University.  With inexpensive rentals through the bike-share program, students were able to rent bicycles on a daily basis for recreational and transportation use.

I worked most directly with the students at Loyola, but also had to bridge the gap between the student level and the University Administration level as I reported directly to the University's Department of Community Relations office.  

The most difficult part of the job was balancing my academic workload with the responsibilities of the internship.  The most enjoyable aspect of the position was my ability to combine my passion for bicycling and alternative transportation with an impactful role at the University.

A typical LUCES event is held to showcase women of color, and are very stress free. I learned a lot about specific aspects of privilege within my own diversity—aspects that I never would have even considered as part of my identity. Management is very strong and forthcoming, but she also pushes us to be respectful and diligent in what we contribute to LUCES. Many of the other mentees, although of different backgrounds, have a love for being within diverse environments, and so we all have different stories to tell about our experiences as women of color. The most difficult part about being a mentee was during the period where we were helping to plan big events like the LUCES Art Show and Gala. That took a significant amount of time—time that had to be balanced with our regular college classes/studies—but it was worth it in the end. The rewards that come from all of those events, alongside being able to be amongst likeminded people, is the most rewarding part of being a LUCES mentee.

Loyola has a great external reputation, but internally needs lots of work. Of course each department is different and unfortunately, I work for a department with extremely poor management. The VP has very little regard for anything but their own reputation and everyone else can/will/has been thrown under the bus. They have no respect for the needs of their employees to succeed. For example, taking WEEKS to respond to emails or review materials that need approval; putting the employees reputation at risk as they try to manage expectations. Or, completely derailing meetings by rambling about an unrelated subject (usually themselves) for over half the meeting, then rushing to cover what needs to be discussed. This person also leads by chastising and shaming as opposed to coaching... Using terms like 'you should know better.' They are so unaware at how fearful and miserable their team is that it's sad to watch. And, like all VP, report directly to the President so who do you turn to for help? So many more examples of poor leadership throughout the university.

Found the work to be fulfilling working with students. However, it gets old after a while dealing with entitled students and parents who think they have a right to treat staff like garbage. Of course, there are wonderful and kind students, as well. Terrible job by upper management of listening to staff's needs for flexibility on remote work, etc.--which has caused a huge increase in turnover. This has resulted in major losses of institutional knowledge, which ultimately hurts students. But the president and other highly-payed management don't seem to care as long as their pockets are lined. In some offices, staff are treated more like misbehaving children than competent adults. Of course, there are also many kind staff (and middle managers) and there is a general sense of community among staff. They have a lot of work to do still on DEI.

Employed FT for over 10 years at Loyola University Chicago, I was given the opportunity to work with some of the most outstanding individuals I will ever know. Helping students develop a greater sense of who they are, identify their strengths, and develop self-efficacy while facing a significant academic challenge was a privilege. In the process, I discovered a passion. My day typically began responding to student emails; over the course of the day I supported students in person, over the phone, internet and through email. I also designed and delivered workshops to facilitate their career goals. Jesuit values and ideals allowed me to create a nurturing culture, that was service-oriented and student-centered. I was able to support students at a pivotal time in their lives, seeing them successfully through on a path to achieve their dreams. For me, the position was beyond my dreams and expectations.

I got this job right out of college and was immediately disappointed. Shifts are 12 hours (7 AM to 7 PM) only. You basically sit at a computer screen for 12 hours and attempt to stop patient’s from ambulating. The pay here is also incredibly low, you’d be lucky to even get $19 dollars an hour out of this department. An average day at this job is a 15 minute huddle session, which is always redundant information. After you are done, you’ll head to your assigned station and click on the computer screen every two weeks for 12 hours straight. If you do not click on the computer screen a message will pop up and eventually an alarm will set off. You have to wait until a lead is available to always you to use the bathroom and every five minutes you are asked, “are you okay”. Leads generally take their time to respond to your request to get up. Overall, if you are okay will staring at a computer screen for 12 hours and clicking on your mouse every two minutes (Yes, it’s timed) then you should be fine. 

Teaching the students was fantastic, the students here were mostly eager to learn and very respectful of my time and energy. However, the pay is low, there are no benefits, and there isn't a lot of job security from year to year. Your first year teaching you have to sit through another instructor's class and help them teach, which you are not paid for. You're paid by the section you teach, and the section can have as many as 24 students in it (more if it's virtual because of the pandemic) and the assignments you have to assign weekly take a long time to grade. My first year, I probably worked about 30-35 hours a week teaching two sections of 24 students because I was in class for ~9 hours a week, I had to make a new PowerPoint presentation every week, grade 48 assignments, write quizzes, write exams, hold office hours, and answer the students' emails. 

Absolutely loved the students. Absolutely loved my hard-working colleagues. Loved all faculty I had contact with. Overall University administrators at ALL levels were less than desirable though. Very hierarchical with tons of "YES Men and Women"  who lack the guts (and many times knowledge/experience) to advocate for the right thing and/or industry standard practices. This results in VERY high turnover, especially in student-facing areas. Lots of unhappy folks who stay until they can find something better. Upper administration does not listen to staff or faculty, nor do they even offer open forums or opportunities to voice such ideas and concerns. Granted, higher ed instructions have problems, but this place has an abnormally high amount of issues that are seldom addressed and almost never resolved . I can't recommend working here as staff at all.

I would rate the position of Academic History Tutor at Loyola University Chicago to be an overall positive experience. It allows for those who wish to pursue a career in teaching to learn about how they best teach, which methods are effective and which are not and permits students to employ their field of study. That being said, there is not much work to be had for a tutor outside of STEM fields, an unfortunate but understandable state of affairs considering the current demographics of the school. I suppose it's just the usual state of affairs for those in the liberal arts: you always must be willing to work outside of your field

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Research assistant 5 salaries reported	$17.55 per hour
Police officer 6 salaries reported	$27.67 per hour
Assistant professor 5 salaries reported	$106,600 per year
Adjunct faculty 1 salary reported	$35.00 per hour
Graduate researcher 1 salary reported	$36,101 per year

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