Educational Administration

Are you looking to advance your career in education? Do you want to oversee a school, as well as the teachers and students? Enrolling in a graduate or doctoral degree program can prepare you for this type of leadership role in an educational setting. Read on to lean more about the future of this professional field and its continued expansion in the next several years.

Is Educational Administration for Me?

Strong organizational skills combined with a love of learning are an ideal combination for a career as an education administrator. Educational administration can include many duties but most are leadership positions. Careers in this field include school principals, directors, supervisors, department heads and various other administrative positions. No matter your job title, as an education administrator you may be tasked with the daily operation of schools or other education facilities, managing other educators and monitoring students.

In the coming years, there will continue to be excellent job prospects in the educational administration field. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there should be more positions due to fewer applicants in certain positions as well as the large expected number of coming retirements (www.bls.gov). Growth of the field will also account for some of the many available education administrator positions, which the BLS predicts will grow by eight percent from 2008-2018.

Education administrators often enjoy benefits in addition to their annual salary, including a month to five weeks of vacation per year, health and pension packages and free or discounted tuition for employees and their family members. Administrators' salaries tend to vary based on the type of education facility they're employed at as well as the education levels they are overseeing and the location of the school or education facility.

The BLS reported that administrators at preschool or child-care programs earned an average annual salary of $50,410 in 2010, while in the same year elementary and secondary school administrators earned $89,990 and postsecondary school administrators made an average of $96,680.

How Can I Become An Education Administrator?

You can begin your career as an education administrators through positions as teachers, professors or other education related personnel. For most educational administration positions the minimum qualification requirement is a master's degree, like the Master of Arts in Education Administration, as well as experience working in an education related professional capacity and having current state licensure for educational administration.

There are numerous colleges and universities across the country for you to choose from that offer options such as the Master of Education Administration and Doctor of Education in Administration programs. Many education administrators enter the field as vice-principals or directors to gain administrative experience before undertaking the role of a principal or other similar leadership positions.

In addition to meeting the formal education requirements, as an administrator, you may also need to meet state licensure requirements. The type of licensing you will need and the requirements vary primarily depending on the State where you will be working. Other factors with licensure requirements include the type of facility and the job duties included in your prospective position.

Directors of preschools or child-care programs, for example, aren't required to have a state license in educational administration, or even necessarily a post-secondary degree. However, several states do require specific preschool or child-care credentialing to legally work in these capacities. You will need to check with your state's education department to find the license or credential requirements for your future career in educational administration.

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