ABSTRACT
The early career administrators also highlight three commonalities in the beginnings of their careers in the academy: low salaries, being socialized into the profession, and the desire to pay it forward. As educators, we need significantly more attention directed toward the influence of social class on the experiences of marginalized groups in the academy. All identifying as people of color, they mention how the combination of racial, ethnic, and social class identities intertwines in their lives and the messages they received both explicitly and implicitly from society, religious institutions, and their families about social class. The pieces on socialization and professionalism are rife with classism; it is the field’s attempt to indoctrinate people into the academy’s middle- and upper class milieu. Although informing folks of the cultural and social expectations of a profession can be helpful, it becomes suspect when we expect people to assimilate to ways of being, or at least presenting, that are contrary to who they are.
