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I haven’t worked in higher ed, but at the top 10 firm I work at, one of the learning team used to work in higher ed on the administration side (i.e., not a professor). She advised me not to consider it when I was talking about a career change. She said the pay is terrible and your raises are nonexistent, especially for publicly funded universities and colleges that depend on legislation to increase their funding (and even then they allocate any salary increases on the tenured teaching staff), and there is no room for advancement, just more responsibility with little to no additional pay. She also said that egos can be out of control, personalities difficult to manage, and unless you have a PhD, many of the other staff look down on you and are dismissive.
You are absolutely right. Been in higher ed for over a decade and you hit the nail on the head. It's also very easy to get burned out - quickly.
I've worked at three higher education institutions and recommend staying away. The pay isn't great and promotion opportunities are few and far between. You will be overworked and underappreciated.
I've had friends who worked for a local university and they don't have encouraging things to say about their jobs. It seems there's always a push to cut costs, and the support staff is always a target. And the whole atmosphere can be unsettling, you'll be pushed to the limit in terms of work and there isn't much room for advancement or salary bumps.
I'm sure it would depend on where you work. Transitioning to support higher-level executives would likely be the best bet for advancement.