Tips for women moving from clerical to professional jobs.

Picture a woman on your school's professional staff. Now picture one who's a secretary. Do they carry themselves differently? Read different books? Have different skills?

"We have images that come to mind when we think of classified vs. professional staff," said Dr. Susan V. Iverson, assistant professor of higher education administration and student personnel at Kent State University OH.

Conflicting images are just one of the barriers to women moving up from classified to professional positions on campus. Having interviewed 22 women who had made the transition at one public research university, she spoke at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) meeting in Chicago in April.

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Classified and exempt are federal categories defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Classified employees do routine mental, manual, mechanical or physical work for an hourly wage. Women make up the vast majority in desk jobs. Men are mostly in blue-collar jobs like maintenance.

Exempt employees (professional) are typically salaried. Their work requires advanced knowledge and the consistent exercise of judgment and discretion. Among the positions of the 22 women were director of human resources, student academic services coordinator, director of budget and business services, grant and contract administrator, assistant director of financial aid, associate director of student records, computer and network specialist, and senior assistant to the provost.

Contrary to the stereotype that women aren't good at math, almost all manage budgets and accounts. They range in age from early 30s to mid 60s and have been at the university from 7 to 45 years. All are white. All but two spoke of marriages, divorces and kids.