A Day in the Life of an Educational Administrator

When thinking of jobs in higher education, many people think of coaches, professors, and teacher’s aides and stop there. Of course, there are many different jobs in the educational field. Some of the most important people in any learning facility are those in educational administration jobs. But what is an education administrator?


An educational administrator can fill any one of many jobs, including dean, registrar, or admissions officer. Whatever their position, people in administrative education jobs usually oversee student services, academics, or research. Training staff, preparing budgets, monitoring students’ educational progress and various other bookkeeping duties are also very common. Educational administrators can be asked to promote good relationships with alumni, parents, students, and the community, so good interpersonal skills are crucial to success in this career.

Because of the wide range of responsibilities, many educational administrators work a minimum of 40 hours a week, all year long. They may be asked to organize, staff, and supervise events during nights and weekends.

Many administrative professionals are promoted into their jobs from professorships, or from lower-level administrative jobs following the completion of a graduate degree. Some administrators can be promoted from educational administration jobs to even higher-level policy-making jobs such as superintendent or school president.

Most educational administrative jobs require a work experience in a related field. Many jobs in educational administration call for a graduate degree, often a PhD or EdD when working the highest student affairs positions.

Due to increases in enrollments, postsecondary educational administration jobs are expected to grow 15% between 2012 and 2022. In May 2008, the median annual pay for an educational administrator was $80,670. The lowest-paid 10% earned below $45,050, the middle 50% made between $58,940 and $113,860 and the highest-paid 10% earned well over $160,500.

If you are an organizationally-minded individual who works well with others and does not mind a sometimes-heavy workload, perhaps a career in educational administration is right for you. Great references here.

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