Management · Holland code SEC

Education Administrators, Postsecondary

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.

Also called: Academic Affairs Vice President (Academic Affairs VP), Academic Dean, Dean, Registrar, Admissions Director, College President, Financial Aid Director, Institutional Research Director.

O*NET 11-9033.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $104,590; Middle half earn $80,870 to $144,370. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Master's Degree; 48% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +2% · Slower than average; 226,600 jobs in 2024, projected 230,500. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Postsecondary education administrators".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Direct activities of administrative departments, such as admissions, registration, and career services.
Appoint individuals to faculty positions, and evaluate their performance.
Develop curricula, and recommend curricula revisions and additions.
Design or use assessments to monitor student learning outcomes.
Recruit, hire, train, and terminate departmental personnel.
Direct, coordinate, and evaluate the activities of personnel, including support staff engaged in administering academic institutions, departments, or alumni organizations.
Consult with government regulatory and licensing agencies to ensure the institution's conformance with applicable standards.
Advise students on issues such as course selection, progress toward graduation, and career decisions.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.1 / 5
Critical Thinking4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Writing4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Monitoring4.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

English Language4.3 / 5
Administration and Management4.2 / 5
Education and Training4.1 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.1 / 5
Personnel and Human Resources3.4 / 5
Administrative3.3 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic0
Investigative47
Artistic30
Social77
Enterprising72
Conventional65

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

dean of faculty · DE Fakultätsdekan/Fakultätsdekanin · FR président d'université/présidente d'université
university department head · DE Institutsleiter/Institutsleiterin · FR directeur de département d'université/directrice de département d'université
education programme coordinator · DE Koordinator von Bildungsprogrammen/Koordinatorin von Bildungsprogrammen · FR coordinateur pédagogique/coordinatrice pédagogique
further education principal · DE Leiter einer Erwachsenenbildungseinrichtung/Leiterin einer Erwachsenenbildungseinrichtung · FR directeur d'établissement d'enseignement post-secondaire/directrice d'établissement d'enseignement post-secondaire
head of higher education institutions · DE Leiter einer höheren Lehranstalt/Leiterin einer höheren Lehranstalt · FR directeur d'établissement d'enseignement supérieur/directrice d'établissement d'enseignement supérieur
curriculum administrator · DE Lehrplanforscher/Lehrplanforscherin · FR administrateur de programme d'études/administratrice de programme d'études

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Education advisers and school inspectors (2323)39,000 employed
Head teachers and principals (2321)46,000 employed
Company secretaries and administrators (4214)24,800 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Managers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Managers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€96,629
Italy	€96,052
Germany	€90,192
Austria	€82,936
Netherlands	€69,857
Sweden	€60,369
France	€58,740
Ireland	€55,854
Spain	€54,121
Portugal	€39,189
Poland	€19,596

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.46. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (11-9033).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test