Why Young People Should Race to Find College Fund-Raising Jobs

Amid the gloomy news about hiring freezes and shrinking job opportunities, John Burkhardt offers a hopeful note on the Future Leaders in Philanthropy blog.

Mr. Burkhardt, a professor of higher education at the University of Michigan, which has just started a new concentration for graduate students in college fund raising, says that jobs raising money for universities are “one of the fastest growing and most satisfying career opportunities in the nonprofit sector.”

While college fund raisers once worked mostly for elite, private institutions, now most public and community colleges are “getting into the game,” and overall the field is becoming more sophisticated, says Mr. Burkhardt.

Among the reasons why he thinks fund-raising jobs at colleges are so appealing:

• College towns are attractive places to live, and they are largely immune from economic downturns.

• University fund raisers have to be well-versed in a variety of academic pursuits, and they are working with professors who are, for the most part, passionate about their work.

• Salaries tend to be good, and the benefits are even better.

What do you think of Mr. Burkhardt’s perspective? Will college development offices do a lot of hiring in the bad times?