How to become a kindergarten through Secondary Education Administrator

Official title: Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary

Also called: Athletic Director, Curriculum and Instruction Superintendent, Curriculum Director, Elementary Principal, K-12 Principal (Kindergarten Through Twelfth Grade Principal), MS Principal (Middle School Principal), School Administrator (School Admin), School Superintendent, SPED Director (Special Education Director), Superintendent

Plan, direct, or coordinate the academic, administrative, or auxiliary activities of kindergarten, elementary, or secondary schools.

Main tasks

• Counsel and provide guidance to students regarding personal, academic, vocational, or behavioral issues.
• Confer with parents and staff to discuss educational activities, policies, and student behavior or learning problems.
• Observe teaching methods and examine learning materials to evaluate and standardize curricula and teaching techniques and to determine areas for improvement.
• Determine the scope of educational program offerings, and prepare drafts of course schedules and descriptions to estimate staffing and facility requirements.
• Enforce discipline and attendance rules.
• Recruit, hire, train, and evaluate primary and supplemental staff.
• Collaborate with teachers to develop and maintain curriculum standards, develop mission statements, and set performance goals and objectives.
• Set educational standards and goals, and help establish policies and procedures to carry them out.

How to become one

Principals typically need a master's degree in education administration or leadership. In addition, they need teaching experience.

Typical education to start: Master's degree

Read the full guide from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: K-12 Principal.
• College: Education & Teaching degrees, Offered by 35 universities in the US
• Licence: A licence is required in 35 states.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $105,870 a year The middle half earn $86,040 to $134,630.
• About 343,800 people work in this job now, and about 342,700 are projected by 2035. (-0.3%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Related jobs

• Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare
• Education Administrators, Postsecondary
• Medical and Health Services Managers
• Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers
• Construction Managers
• Architectural and Engineering Managers

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Questions people ask

How do I become a kindergarten through Secondary Education Administrator?

Principals typically need a master's degree in education administration or leadership. In addition, they need teaching experience.

How much does a kindergarten through Secondary Education Administrator earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $105,870 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $86,040 to $134,630.

Is a kindergarten through Secondary Education Administrator a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 343,800 people now and 342,700 later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a kindergarten through Secondary Education Administrator?

Usually. 83% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a kindergarten through Secondary Education Administrator?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

• Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025-35 edition (published 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS); photographs excluded, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.