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Career

Education Administrators, Postsecondary

Typical education: Master's degreeModerate pressure

What they do

Plan, direct, or coordinate student instruction, administration, and services, as well as other research and educational activities, at postsecondary institutions, including universities, colleges, and junior and community colleges.

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.

Moderate 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 $104,590 Median per year · $50.29/hr Most earn $64,560–$215,620

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Establish operational policies and procedures and make any necessary modifications, based on analysis of operations, demographics, and other research information.
  • Provide assistance to faculty and staff in duties such as teaching classes, conducting orientation programs, issuing transcripts, and scheduling events.
  • Appoint individuals to faculty positions, and evaluate their performance.
  • Review registration statistics, and consult with faculty officials to develop registration policies.
  • Develop curricula, and recommend curricula revisions and additions.
  • Participate in student recruitment, selection, and admission, making admissions recommendations when required to do so.

Job outlook

United States
2% more jobs by 2035, slower than average · about 14,500 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

  • Colleges, universities, and professional schools80.8%
  • Junior colleges12.8%
  • Self-employed (their own business)2.5%

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

Experience before this job: 6 to 8 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: 6 to 8 years

This is not an entry-level job. Most people need a master's degree and about 6 to 8 years of related work experience, often in student services or academic roles, before they step into it, so the full path usually takes roughly 12 to 15 years from starting college.

  1. Bachelor's degree (any field, ideally education, counseling, or student affairs)

    4 years

    A bachelor's degree gives you the base you need and lets you start working with students on campus while you keep learning.

  2. Academic Advisor

    2-4 years

    Working directly with students on course plans, graduation requirements, and problems they face teaches you how a college actually runs, which is key for administration.

  3. Master's degree in higher education administration or a related field

    About 2 years (often done while working)

    The master's is the usual credential for this job, and many people earn it while they keep working in a campus role.

  4. Education Administrator, Postsecondary

    6-8 years of total related experience before this job

    You plan and coordinate student services, programs, or academic operations at a college or university, using the experience and degree built in the earlier steps.

Where it can lead

  1. Dean of Students

    5-10 years in administration of experience first

    You lead student life, conduct, and support across a campus, taking on wider responsibility for staff and budgets.

  2. Vice President for Student Affairs

    10+ years in senior campus leadership of experience first

    This is a top leadership role where you set the vision for all student services and report to the college president.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take English, social studies, and math classesStrong writing, reasoning, and communication skills are used every day in college administration.
  • Join student government or a leadership clubPlanning events and speaking for other students gives you real practice running programs.
  • Volunteer as a peer tutor or mentorHelping younger students shows you what it feels like to support others through school.
  • Get a starter job that involves peopleA job in a store, library, or front desk teaches patience, organization, and customer care.
  • Visit a few college campusesTalking to admissions and student services staff on a visit shows you the work behind the scenes.

In college

  • Major in education, counseling, sociology, or public administrationThese majors build knowledge of how schools, students, and organizations work, which is useful for a master's program later.
  • Work in a student services officeJobs as a resident assistant, orientation leader, or front-desk worker give you hands-on experience with campus operations.
  • Join a student organization and take a leadership roleServing as an officer shows you how to manage budgets, schedules, and people, skills this career requires.
  • Seek an internship in admissions, advising, or student affairsAn internship lets you see the job from the inside and build references for future applications.
  • Build strong writing and data skillsReports, budgets, and planning documents are a regular part of administrative work, so practice them in your classes.

Tips for getting started

  • Look for a part-time or student job in an advising, tutoring, residence life, or admissions office now, since these are the kinds of entry roles that lead toward this career.
  • Pay attention to how your school's administrators run things. Ask a staff member for a 20-minute informational interview about their path; most are glad to help a student.
  • Plan early for the master's degree. Many programs let people work full time, so you can start researching options during your junior or senior year.

Related jobs that often lead here

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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