career counselor

education specialist

program supervisor

career coach

launch specialist

iJAG

I have personally loved my experience working with iJAG. As an Education Specialist, my day is spent teaching valuable life skills (all the things you WISH you knew in high school) to a group of approximately 50 students spread across 4 class periods every day. In the time that I am not teaching, I am reaching out to employers, making community connections, and supporting students in any way they need (personal, professional, academic). I struggled with work/life balance initially as this is a very emotionally tasking job, but it gets better (not necessarily easier) over time. It's easy to take work (specifically stress) home with you. I think the organization could work on a more equitable pay structure. Compensation is pretty on par with other teachers, but keep in mind that you will work summers. Benefits are good!
As of recently, iJAG has began offering more advancement opportunities within the organization. Management can be hit and miss, depending on the manager. Unfortunately there has been a lot of turnover/manager transfer during my experience. I currently have an incredible manager who is very supportive and helpful, but it has not always been that way. Overall, it helps if your manager has specialist experience (and has been promoted within). As far as job culture goes, I believe it truly depends on what school you work in. If your administration is supportive of the program, you will be significantly more satisfied with the job. If not, you will have to rely heavily on your manager for support. At the end of the day, I think that the organization has room to grow. Sometimes there feels like there is a disconnect between leadership and specialists, but I believe that is getting better as specialists have the ability to be promoted within. Overall I recommend this organization as an opportunity to serve students who truly need it. It all comes down to the students that we serve and help overcome barriers. The work can be overwhelming at times, but it is worth it. If you are creative, hard working, determined, and willing to ask for help when you need it, this job is for you! It truly is what you make it. 

The idea is five stars but the company acts like a greedy corporation and not a non-profit like it claims to be. Management is always going out of state for trainings, there's a mandatory staff retreat every summer for three days at a resort and new-hires also are required to stay in a hotel in Des Moines for a few days of training then thrown right into the classroom with ZERO support! They claim to be trauma-informed but never taught it in training. There's data required every single day so an Education Specialist is a classroom teacher plus a Data Entry Clerk for a measly starting wage of around $40,000. I honestly felt like I was working for free most days with how much iJAG asks for such little pay. There's always a sense of urgency of last minute requests and being put in uncomfortable situations (I was once asked by management if I could just go knock on a student's door)! Our education system is broken and iJAG has the right idea of bringing non-traditional Project Based Learning to schools but micromanaging Education Specialists who are dealing with very heavy topics that students are going through just adds more rocks to the backpack. I would be rich if I had a nickel for everytime someone in management or HR said, "Be sure to use PTO for that" or asked, "Did you use PTO?". You DO NOT get summers off like teachers do! Overall, the turnover is HIGH because how staff are treated (I was also told that everyone is required to make small sacrifices - what?) and way too many cooks in the kitchen when it comes to management. I'll end with one activity that I had my students do: Write down on a piece of paper your desires (things that you enjoy doing) and your dreads (things that you avoid). Now, if you dread cooking, would you ever want to be a chef? Of course, not. I desire educating our youth but I dread how I felt working for iJAG.

Though iJAG has been trying to change for a few years, it is still as TOXIC as it has ever been. 

There is constant turnover in management, state HQ administrative support staff, and education specialists. Many specialists quit within the first year or two. Some make it past 5 years. You can count on one hand (that’s missing fingers) those who make it past 10 years. IJAG is a shiny, polished revolving door that does some good, but at your personal expense. 

Additionally, some of its curriculum is biased toward an urban liberal worldview.. This exacerbates the disconnect within the cultural divide. The aforementioned issues have caused some school districts to drop IJAG. 

You’re supposed to have two bosses, IJAG and the school, in this 50/50 pay deal. IJAG privately pushed to be preeminent though. Upon receiving millions more in funding from the state in 2022/23, IJAG added additional layers of bureaucratic management. Now the amount of bosses making demands on your limited time has increased. IJAG is not conducive to family life. 

The local community, the school and the kids are generally great. Of course, there are some really great people in IJAG too, but the overall organizational culture is dysfunctional. Just search online and you will see that the vast majority of iJAG reviews are horrendous. This is especially true the last few years while IJAG has been working so hard to make improvements. 

You are likely to get  a bad case of vocational indigestion and buyer’s remorse  on this deal.

Working for iJAG seemed good at first, but the training was completely out of whack and they kept messing it up. They severely lack training for being in the actual classroom. Manager communication is terrible and communication in bad situations does not exist. They ignore you. The events of the program are sporadic and notification of such events to the employees is poor and doesn't do well with single parents. You, many times, don't know your schedule because it goes by the school you work in, not iJAG. Some schools are terrible about communicating this and then you have requirements to be present for with the school and iJAG. There are also two different expectations for the job by the school and iJAG. It's like working for two separate entities and trying to please both, but it is not fitting for those with families at home. The management blows off reported concerns. They are more concerned having someone fill the position than the actual well being of the employee or even if the employee is being treated well. You pay for many things out of pocket and being reimbursed sometimes takes a while. What is just most bothersome is the program focuses on the well being of the students, but ignoring reports of concerns and mistreatment of the employee. The students can see this happening and are aware, regardless of anyone talking to them about it. The students concern for their teacher/education specialist says a lot. If you take a job here, be sure you can stick through those difficulties because leaving the students is hard on you and them.

I do not rec. IJAG to anyone. While the premise is great and working with students is the highlight, that is where the positives end. Central office staff and managers do not communicate with each other. Diversity is lacking. Training is all over the place. It is difficult to get any answers. Mandatory trainings are planned with little advance notice and even less respect for employee schedules.  Turn over is high because of ridiculous expectations.  There is no real PTO...your time off is in tune with your school calendar. The job is a year-round position.  Sick time is 11 days a year but using it during the school year is highly frowned upon. Anyone who has ever worked in a school knows what a cess pool of germs they become.  They have numerous schools with numerous start dates in numerous states and yet scheduled activities occur without taking in to account or knowing said school start dates. This results in people heading straight from training into their classroom with no downtime and limited prep time. Highly disrespectful to employees. Organization does not like to be made aware of their errors and there is zero accountability on their part when it comes to their mistakes.  Save yourself the stress of this organization and look elsewhere.

Executive "leadership" create an environment of fear where the definition of leadership is seen as control, power, self-interest, and dominance over others. Organizational mission is purposeful but people (staff and students) can be viewed as commodities to be used up in the pursuit of organizational advancement or economic development. Education Specialist staff are generally very mission driven and talented. Middle management hit or miss depending on motive and response to unhealthy, inpatient, and easily angered "leadership". High turnover and unwarranted/unnecessary/impulsive terminations with no warning/opportunity to correct perceived or real shortcomings. Psychological safety is low leading to less productive and effective staff. Public image/façade does not reflect private operations. Student events can be beneficial in helping students get clarity on career choices and fit for their gifts/skills/abilities. 


I had high hopes based on the slick marketing and job description. However, management showed up late and frazzled for my interview, and, well, when people show you who they are - believe them the first time.  
There have just been too many instances - from new hire training at the central office to interacting with regional management - where I perceived a push to make things look good on the surface  without a corresponding investment in delivering high quality services to all enrollees. 
A typical day at work involves half a day doing programmatic work such as outreach to local employers and educational institutions, prepping activities from the provided daily curriculum, and entering data about student activities and half a day teaching the iJAG elective class. 

JAG has a great mission for the students it serves. Student voice and choice is real, but upper level management understanding of what specialists do each day is non existent. Specialists hold the world on their shoulders and most work so hard for their students. Management is poorly trained and expected to know all without guidance. The culture of iJAG has a long ways to go for staff to truly be happy where they are. There is zero trust on any level. Zero communication. Zero understanding. You will
Never be trusted to do your job - and you will never fully know what your job is as it changes daily. 

Enjoyed the impact made to young people and the ability to support their interests and needs through the iJAG curriculum. Ineffective on-boarding experience with rushed training and no training on classroom management in preparation to work with students with multiple barriers. Job demands exceed the compensation that should be given especially between work demands by organization, school partner, and students with high needs. Earning is much less than your typical certified teacher and does not increase over a period of years. High turn over rate and low moral among teaching staff is a bad sign to be aware of.  Many issues for the demands and requirements of the job that were not worth staying around for.  

The onboarding is a little disorganized and fast, but they are learning and adapting. The mission speaks for itself and the education specialist are just amazing. Balancing ijag work and school requests is tough but manageable. Low subs are a real issue in all the schools right now. The change in how to learn is great and the impact on iowa graduates is huge. Growing fast so things are a little disorganized but everyone is willing to learn and improve. Some executive team members need to learn to trust but also listen to their employees. Some don't seem to want to change and be better. But the others are seeking it and will bring change. They seem to be hiring the right people now. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Career counselor 38 salaries reported	$50,628 per year
Education specialist 1 salary reported	$49,620 per year
Program supervisor 4 salaries reported	$63,125 per year
Career coach 3 salaries reported	$50,500 per year
Launch specialist 1 salary reported	$50,250 per year

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