instructor

educational assistant

administrative assistant

public safety officer

tutor

Milwaukee-Area-Technical-College

What was once a rewarding place to work, has quickly become a building full of zombies just waiting for their chance to get out.
Priorities have swung from employee focused success in order to further the success of students and the college, to mind-numbing academic and bureaucratic busy work, knee jerk initiatives, more work in the same number of hours and scrutiny like you can't believe from folks truly not qualified to render such opinions (there's high level management that barely have AAS degrees!).
You fill out forms that nobody looks at, get locked in meetings (doors get locked!!) where they take attendance (true stories!), are threatened or reprimanded for the smallest things (like being a few hours late on your own time sheet so YOU don't get paid on time!!, or not watching some sort of 'training' video that are just thrown at you willy-nilly) and are expected to do the work of 2 or 3 others because current inept college leadership would rather pay HUGE bucks to add questionably needed administrators (180k for a VP of some new focus important to someone??) than add to the positions that really do the work.
The President is academically astute, but common sense challenged.
The Board lazily digests whatever administration gives them vs. really looking into issues from staff presented to them.

All that said, the mission is so very important.  And there is much to be proud of as a member of an institution that trains the next generation of nurses and welders and police officers and chefs and photographers and video cameramen and graphic designers and dental assistants and IT specialists.  The quality of education remains high despite administration's ineffectiveness and that is a tribute to the student who understands that with work, they can improve their lot in life, and to the staff who go overboard, both out of commitment as well as being forced into very difficult situations, to ensure student success.

If you are looking to work here, anticipate a low-ball offer (unless you are an administrator) and conditions that will burn you out in no time-  you'll be following a path of so many that are increasingly heading for the door.
Take your few years of experience from working in a large, urban, oddly funded college and do what MATC expects of its students: make a change to improve your life, leaving this place as soon as you can.

The people in charge try to run this technical college based on inappropriate and poorly executed K-12 school theories, programs and policies. It should be obvious that adult college and vocational students can't be treated like school children and college professors and expert work trainers can't be treated like school teachers.  Like the school superintendent and school board of a failing public grade school system their only priority is being in charge.  There is a huge disconnect between the people up top and the front line workers.  The deans, associate deans (a position they are eliminating) are quite good, the professors, instructors and counselors vary but are by and large excellent though collectively often quite ineffective due to the failure of leadership.  The grammatically twisted incomprehensible mission and vision statements tell the story.  There is no organizational commitment to actual quality education, just specious attempts to present that image, a very thin veneer indeed.  It's a demoralizing place to work, administration adds on piles of stupid-work to supersede teaching students.  Instructors are too busy with burdensome Soviet style bureaucracy to keep up with our respective fields let alone be innovative.  When I started 14 years ago our pay was pretty competitive but instead of raises over the past decade or so we've had repeated net reductions in take home pay with more and more work to take home. They've removed our system for raises (class and step is pretty standard in real colleges) so it's unlikely I'll ever get another raise before retirement, which really couldn't come too soon -- I am counting the days. It's a pretty frustrating place to work.  Jobs are tight in academia but if you've got any choice at all, and if you're highly qualified (real doctorate) find a real college.  This isn't a bad place to work if you're under-qualified and some of the instructors here have degrees from fake colleges.  Staff positions pay well for the area, but you have to be the kind of person who can survive a low morale environment where good ideas and efficacious workers are smacked down, hard.  Lower your expectations and have an exit strategy.

Working in a union shop was challenging. My tasks changed over the years. I began as an opening Supervisor- setting up equipment, checking and finalizing staff levels and supervising and training staff, filing in for absent employees,setting up cash drawers, ordering food and inventory, managing the shift and closing out the shift.
My next assignment was as the closing supervisor. I managed the shift, oversaw the breakdown and cleaning of the operation, and end of day cash handling as wellas ordering food.
My next assignment involved preparing and operating capital and operating budgets, interviewing and hiring staff,preparing reports for the v.p. of finance, securing permits, setting up computer register operating systems.
The next assignment involved being the project manager for the construction and insulation of four campus convenience stores. I ordered all the equipment and supplies, worked with the construction
department and vendors.
After the stores were finished I staffed and supervised the operation of all four with the help of senior employees.
While operating the stores and doing budgets I was assigned to the college's bookstore as the interim manager where I oversaw the operation and staff of four stores for six months.
My co-workers were very competent and professional. The hardest part of the job was supervising eight remote stores, and eight budgets at one time. The most enjoyable part of the job was enter acting with custoers, students, and staff.
I learned how to operate a computer and a number of programs, how to develop budgets, purchasing, book store operations, and scratch cooking.

The amount of money I had to spend in supplies, parking, printing (because I did not have an office to which in-house printing could be delivered) and time that had to be spent on grading, entering grades, setting up BB, etc. was not compensated accordingly.  The part-time office is shared by all part-time employees and did not even have a computer and printer for support.  The mail boxes were located so far away from the classrooms you needed to arrive a half an hour early just to wonder the building in time to try to set up your lesson in the possible 10 minutes between classes.

At the beginning of each semester, classroom assignments were a nightmare.  For example, you were assigned a room for which you did not have keys and was likely completely irrelevant to your subject matter.  If you had a night assignment, you had to call security to open the room door.  How unprofessional does that make you appear?  

If you don't mind dragging your materials back and forth, parking in a free lot 2 blocks away (particularly challenging in the winter), paying at least half of your salary for health insurance and generally like being disrespected then this is the job for you!  

Most enjoyable part of the job...many of the students I had the privilege to meet, hear their stories and hopefully, provide the encouragement to continue!

I thought that MACT would be an extremely progressive employer and was disappointed to find that it's nothing but a beaurocratic mess run by people with extremely antiquated thinking. MATC is great at focusing on the students that it serves. However it does not act like it cares about the employees at all. Policies are not employee focused whatsoever. MATC is moving past the pandemic and not taking any lessons from 2020 in terms of employee flexibility and satisfaction. It is going back to the old way of business and will lose a lot of good employees because of these actions. Perks and benefits are being stripped and taken away slowly but surely. The culture is extremely difficult to work in. It's a formal, uncomfortable atmosphere (think SUITS at a TECHNICAL college!!!) and the many employees have bad attitudes and don't care. Enthusiasm for  change and the future that comes from the leadership seems forced and robotic. This place is a real mess in terms of student success, employee happiness, and satisfaction in general. It's a really difficult place to work. 

This school burns out hard workers. Due to supervisors being stretched thin, there are unofficial “managers” within departments that create an environment of gatekeeping and blurred responsibilities. I am amazed by the bare minimum some people do and the unpaid labor others take on. Part-time faculty are not fairly compensated for the amount of work that they spend outside of the classroom. And as a part-time ed assistant, I’ve had to volunteer time to get things done at points. 

At an operational level it is difficult to get things fixed because it is not clear whose responsibility it is (and many are unwilling or stretched thin). 

Also, the entitlement from administrative folk is unmatched. We work at a tech college, not an Ivy League. Have some humility. 

I will say that there are plenty of learning opportunities here that can be an asset elsewhere. If you accept a job at MATC, use it as a launching pad. 

Do not expect any form of support from upper management.  Very retaliatory behaviors displayed across the campus.  No room for advancement as MATC does not follow it's own hiring procedures. No performance based raises, which leads many to become complacent in their work Terrible response time by most MATC staff and faculty. Communication among departments is poor. Very low morale campus wide. 
Over all, not a place to stay for life, unless you are ok with never advancing and learning the play the games that they play. 
it is a good place to get your feet wet in higher education and decide if it is a good path for you. Pay and benefits are great while you're trying to figure things out. Does offer the ability to network with outside agencies with possibilities of making connections there.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Great support from my administrator in my supervisor, great teamwork and great communication I love my job is a great place to be and more things to learn as the company grows

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
I have no stress at my job. Everyone has a different meaning of stress. I treat everyone the same because the customer a student may be having a bad day so I try to make the day happy and I don’t let the stress intervene with the grades are their presence, and continue in the education, I love Matc 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
We are cheating chowder the same there’s no color, no recent creed or anything we just love everyone for who they are that’s how I feel

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Pretty busy, but I love it I love the fast pace, working with all the departments getting the help that I will students need

My typical day includes overseeing the administrative operations in in the Counseling & Advising Department, to include monitoring and directing traffic flow of students, supervising clerical staff (3), and assisting Director of department as needed. I am responsible for scheduling and facilitating meetings, taking minutes, and keeping track of vacation days (for coverage purposes).

I have also taken on the responsibility of working with the President's Diversity Council to make MATC a more inclusive, and just college.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The pay and benefits are very good.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
There are too many administrators.  Way too much bureaucracy to be efficient and too many administrators unnecessary needed for approval to get anything done.  

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Too much emphasis on equity, diversity, and inclusion to the point that the focus on education and training for employment are lost.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Wasted time and effort navigating the bureaucracy.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Instructor 41 salaries reported	$53.95 per hour
Educational assistant 24 salaries reported	$23.31 per hour
Administrative assistant 14 salaries reported	$20.88 per hour
Public safety officer 18 salaries reported	$26.61 per hour
Tutor 3 salaries reported	$14.67 per hour

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