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College Administrator Job Overview

Colleges and educational institutions need college administrators in order to function successfully. They provide leadership and manage the educational institutions on a daily basis. Education is the cornerstone for the successful development of a sharp and capable individual and many new educational institutions are coming up every year..

College Administrators Schools and Degrees

To become a college administrator a bachelors degree is required. Usually a background in teaching for a considerable number of years is required. A degree in education or a PhD is necessary and computer literacy is desired. An advanced degree in administration in education also helps. Proficiency in accounts and finance invariably proves helpful in handling finance related work and handling records.

Job Requirements

Most states requires a license in order to become a college administrator, although the requirements for licensure vary from state to state. Training is also recommended and sometimes necessary.

To ensure that college administrators update their skills at regular intervals, continuing education is also required. The Child Development Associate credential, which is sponsored by the Council for Professional Recognition, is required by the directors of the institutions.

Apart from possessing the academic qualifications , an aspirant also needs to have determination, strong management and interpersonal skills and operational knowledge of computers. Decision making ability and the ability to organize and co-ordinate are essential skills required in order to become a successful college administrator.

Nature of Work

College administrators in educational institutions have many responsibilities. They make decisions regarding tenures, arrive at figures for budgets, lay down programs and policies for academics, appoint faculties and instruct and co-ordinate activities of each college. Departments heads also interview and hire new recruits for teaching positions, propose budgets, assess the performance of faculty members and perform other functions.

College administrators not only have to look after the administration of the institution, but also interact with the teachers, parents and students. A college administrator has to work for forty hours a week on average. They also have to see that their institutions meet the guidelines set by the government for teacher and student performance.

College Administrators Jobs and Outlook

There is growing competition in this profession and the responsibilities have increased, but the rewards are also more lucrative than ever before. Research indicates that jobs in this sector are estimated to grow by 12% in the next decade.

The mean hourly wage for college administrators in the US is about $41.29, while the mean annual wages are around $85,870.

Job Numbers and Growth

About 131,000 college administrators can be found working in the US. A very low unemployment level has been the case recently. Employees without jobs were about 2%.

Area Job Conditions

Finding college administrators is easiest in Ithaca (New York), Raleigh (North Carolina), and Brockton (Massachusetts), and by comparison more challenging in York (Pennsylvania), West Palm Beach (Florida), and Tampa (Florida).

The pay is best in Albuquerque (New Mexico), Lubbock (Texas), and Hartford (Connecticut) and worst in Erie (Pennsylvania), Asheville (North Carolina), and Rockford (Illinois).

Training and Education

You'll generally want a bachelor's or higher degree, plus work experience for this career path. Of current college administrators, 78% graduated from college with degrees. Some 15% of workers attened college but did not go on to get a bachelor's degree. A high school education was sufficient for 6% of employees. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

College administrators working part-time accounted for 8% of those employed in 2008. Self-employed workers represent an estimated 3% of the total.

College Administrators by Metropolitan Area (city and its surroundings)

In the table below, a Job Density near 0% means the area has an average number of people in this occupation, for its population. A higher or lower Job Density (e.g., +22% or -45%) tells you there are that many more or fewer workers of that type there than in the average US metro area. So, the higher the number, the more common the occupation.

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin