Education Administrators (K-12)

Career Overview

Elementary, middle, and high school principals oversee all school operations, including daily school activities.

Education

A master’s degree in educational leadership or administration is generally required to obtain this position. In some districts, a specialist degree or doctorate may be required. A master's degree typically takes about two-three years to earn after first earning a four-year bachelor's degree. A specialist degree may take an additional one-two years after the master’s degree, while a doctorate may take an additional two-three years after the master's degree is earned, depending on the specific program.

Future Outlook

Employment of elementary, middle, and high school principals is projected to grow 4 percent from 2019 to 2029, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Employment growth will be affected by student enrollment and the number of educational institutions.

Work Environment

Education administrators work in all levels of schooling including elementary, secondary, and postsecondary (colleges, universities).

Recommended High School Courses

Chemistry
Biology
Psychology
Public Speaking
Communication
Education
Music
History
Foreign Languages
English
Mathematics
Physical education

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Management of Financial Resources - Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Management of Material Resources - Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Time Sharing - The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Determine operational compliance with regulations or standards.
Evaluate program effectiveness.
Support the professional development of others.
Advise others on career or personal development.
Develop educational goals, standards, policies, or procedures.
Supervise employees.
Conduct employee training programs.
Hire personnel.
Recruit personnel.
Analyze data to inform operational decisions or activities.
Evaluate student work.
Develop organizational policies or programs.
Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets.
Prepare proposals or grant applications to obtain project funding.
Advise others on business or operational matters.
Prepare forms or applications.
Recommend organizational process or policy changes.
Develop operating strategies, plans, or procedures.
Develop safety standards, policies, or procedures.
Establish interpersonal business relationships to facilitate work activities.
Coordinate special events or programs.
Approve expenditures.
Prepare operational budgets.
Direct facility maintenance or repair activities.
Manage outreach activities.
Direct organizational operations, projects, or services.
Promote products, services, or programs.
Maintain personnel records.
Prepare operational progress or status reports.
Teach classes in area of specialization.
Coordinate operational activities with external stakeholders.
Maintain knowledge of current developments in area of expertise.
Analyze forecasting data to improve business decisions.
Conduct opinion surveys or needs assessments.
Develop promotional materials.

Schools

Adams State University

Adelphi University

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Potential Scholarships

5 Strong Scholarship

Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...

- Traditional Fulbright P...

Approx Salary Expectation

Currency:

Low End:

$63,070.00 /yr

Avg/Med:

$96,400.00 /yr

High End:

$148,630.00 /yr

Related Careers

General Office Clerk

Teacher (Kindergarten & Elementary)

Real Estate Broker

Special Education Teacher

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.