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Career

Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary

Typical education: Master's degreeHigh pressure

What they do

Plan, direct, or coordinate the academic, administrative, or auxiliary activities of kindergarten, elementary, or secondary schools.

Kinds of work

  • Social: Helping, teaching, caring for and supporting other people.
  • Enterprising: Leading, persuading, selling and starting new projects or businesses.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.

High pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $105,870 Median per year Most earn $76,280–$167,770

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Counsel and provide guidance to students regarding personal, academic, vocational, or behavioral issues.
  • Collaborate with teachers to develop and maintain curriculum standards, develop mission statements, and set performance goals and objectives.
  • Set educational standards and goals, and help establish policies and procedures to carry them out.
  • Evaluate curricula, teaching methods, and programs to determine their effectiveness, efficiency, and use, and to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
  • Plan and develop instructional methods and content for educational, vocational, or student activity programs.
  • Teach classes or courses to students.

Job outlook

United States
About the same number of jobs by 2035, little or no change · about 20,600 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Elementary and secondary schools96.0%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Experience before this job: 2 to 4 years

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: Master's degreeExperience before this job: 2 to 4 years

Education administrators usually are not entry-level jobs. Most people first work as teachers for several years, then earn a master's degree and move into an administrative role, which often takes about 8 to 12 years in total.

  1. Bachelor's degree in education or a subject you want to teach

    4 years

    You learn teaching basics, how schools work, and you usually complete student teaching, which gives you your first real classroom experience.

  2. Elementary School Teacher

    2-4 years

    Working in a classroom shows you how schools run day to day, from scheduling and families to curriculum and testing, which is the kind of knowledge administrators need.

  3. Master's degree in educational leadership or school administration

    1-2 years

    A master's program teaches school law, budgeting, staff supervision, and leadership, and most education administrator jobs require this degree.

  4. Education Administrator, Kindergarten through Secondary

    Ongoing

    You plan, direct, and coordinate the academic and daily work of a school, such as a principal or assistant principal, and you lead teachers and staff.

Where it can lead

  1. Education Administrator, Postsecondary

    6-8 years of experience first

    You would move from running a K-12 school to running programs or departments at a college or university, which usually needs more administrative experience.

  2. Superintendent of Schools

    Several years as a principal or district leader of experience first

    A superintendent leads an entire school district, overseeing many schools, budgets, and the school board, and it usually requires years of proven school leadership.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take classes in English, math, and psychologyStrong reading, writing, and people skills help you communicate with students, parents, and staff, which all education leaders need.
  • Volunteer as a tutor or teacher's helperHelping younger students at a library, community center, or elementary school shows you what working with kids is really like.
  • Join student government or a leadership clubPlanning events and speaking for classmates builds the organizing and decision-making skills used in school administration.
  • Get a summer or part-time job working with childrenJobs like camp counselor or childcare helper teach patience, responsibility, and how to manage groups.
  • Ask your school counselor about education careersA counselor can connect you with teachers or administrators in your community and help you plan your high school courses.

In college

  • Major in education or a subject you want to teachA teaching degree is the usual first step, and it gives you the training and student teaching experience that schools require.
  • Complete student teaching or a field placementWorking in real classrooms during college gives you hands-on experience and helps you see whether school leadership is a good fit later.
  • Work as a teaching assistant, tutor, or camp leaderCampus or community jobs working with students build the experience that hiring committees look for.
  • Join an education club or student teachers' groupClubs for future teachers let you meet professors and practicing educators and learn about school policy and leadership.
  • Research master's programs in educational leadershipKnowing what these programs require early helps you plan your undergraduate courses and any work experience you need to apply.

Tips for getting started

  • Ask to lead small projects now, such as a club, a grade-level team, or a committee, because leadership experience is what schools look for in administrators.
  • Talk with a current principal or assistant principal about their daily work and what they wish they had known earlier. Many are glad to help a student who is curious.
  • Look up the pay for this career on the career page near you. The page also shows the full range and how it changes with experience.

Related jobs that often lead here

Related jobs a step up

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

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