Despite strides toward acknowledging and uplifting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals on college campuses, the career journeys of LGBTQ professionals in higher education remain an understudied phenomenon (Smith, 2013; Robinson & Seyforth, 2018). While many campuses have increased LGBTQ inclusion efforts, public concern has ignited nationally over the firing of LGBTQ professionals, de-funding of LGBTQ centers, and anti-LGBTQ statements and policies enacted by the current presidential administration (Boehnke, 2016; Bauer-Wolf, 2017; Locker, 2017; Savage, 2017; U.S. Department of Education, 2017; BBC News, 2018; The White House, 2018). With LGBTQ millennials increasing in population at a faster rate than LGBTQ adults, future generations of LGBTQ professionals in the workforce need illuminated pathways for what to expect throughout their careers as they arrive, survive, thrive, & archive throughout the years to come (Gallup, 2017; Bosch, 2018). This research study stretched across 26 states and the District of Columbia to include qualitative interviews of 33 open and out LGBTQ professionals with five or more years of experience working in higher education. Using a hybrid of purposeful selection and snowball sampling through professional associations and social media, participants shared which experiences and factors they perceive to have helped or hindered their career journeys in higher education. Participants also shared their perceptions on efforts that institutions can and have employed to recruit, support, and retain LGBTQ professionals. Participants’ descriptions of their experiences, advice, and career journeys will help pave the way for future generations of LGBTQ professionals to be prepared with what to anticipate or consider as they continue or advance in higher education.