How To Become An Education Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is an education director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Experts

Dr. Malissa Scheuring Leipold,

Marie Leahy

An education director plans and executes educational programs directed at members of the organization or the public. As an education director, you are to develop curriculum or content classes, conferences, lectures, and other educational materials for your student's progress. You are also in charge of overseeing all operations of credentialing organization certification programs by monitoring that all requirements regarding organization education programs are met. Your job doesn't require you to work alone; therefore, you are to manage a departmental sub-function to develop and implement specific objectives and goals for the department. Plus, you are to monitor all the affairs of your sub-function department by creating policies, procedures, and budgets to perform functional infrastructure for goals to be achieved. You must take permission and also report to the top management for each of your activities.

To be an educational director, you must have a minimum of five years of managerial experience, the ability to be patient to order several documents and policies, the ability to multitask effectively, and excellent organizational skills. An average of $64,895 is what an education director earns annually, and the minimum education requirement for this position is a bachelor's degree in Educational Field.

What general advice would you give to an Education Director?

Dr. Malissa Scheuring Leipold

Chair & Associate Professor, Iona College

General advice I would give to a graduate beginning their career is to take one day at a time. In my many years in education, I have always been able to map out a general plan of action to be implemented in the classroom, but the pandemic has changed everything. You need to be ready for the unexpected, and don't let it throw you. The field of education is never predictable, so the more comfortable one gets with uncertainty and being adaptable without being resentful or stubborn, the more you can embrace the beauty of changing children's lives for the better. I would also emphasize the importance of personal relationships. Reach out to those with whom you are working, call them by name, make it more than about work by asking how they are doing. Also, they should call parents on a consistent basis, especially when their child is doing well and simply say, "Hi, I am here for you and am with you in your desire to see your child succeed." This will go miles. Last, believe in yourself yet be selfless by always keeping the best interest of the students at heart and compassionate. If you do this, everything else will fall into place.

ScoreEducation DirectorUS Average

Salary

4.9

Avg. Salary $62,123

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.1

Growth Rate 7%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.70%

Asian 4.34%

Black or African American 11.81%

Hispanic or Latino 14.13%

Unknown 4.00%

White 65.03%

Gender

female 65.03%

male 34.97%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress Level

8.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.8

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an education director

Explore education director education requirements

Most common education director degrees

Bachelor's

59.8 %

Master's

24.1 %

Associate

8.5 %

Start to develop specific education director skills

Skills	Percentages
Educational Programs	10.32%
Curriculum Development	9.38%
Classroom Management	8.92%
Professional Development	7.00%
Oversight	6.60%

Complete relevant education director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New education directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an education director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real education director resumes.

Research education director duties and responsibilities

Lead numerous off site rock climbing and whitewater canoe trips.
Manage company and teach community CPR, first aide and disaster preparedness.
Initiate and manage an intensive ESL program, serving hundreds of students.
Schedule and/or lead staff training sessions and follow-ups regarding TL process, LRE, and RTI.

Get education director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become an education director. The most common roles before becoming an education director include teacher, instructor team lead and director.

Prepare your education director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your education director resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an education director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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