Assistant Professors of Counselor Education: First and Second Year Experiences

Abstract

This article focuses on experiences of counselor education assistant professors during their first two years. Thirty-nine counselor education assistant professors rated their levels of satisfaction, connectedness, and stress at the end of both years. They also provided narrative data regarding experiences and circumstances that contributed to their satisfaction, connectedness, and stress. Findings revealed that initially high levels of job satisfaction diminished in the second year of employment as committee work and peer expectations mounted. Findings from this study strongly suggest the need for greater institutional care of new assistant professors beyond their first year.