Education Administration as a Career Choice

Topic: Career
Words: 636 Pages: 2

Introduction

The primary purpose of education administration includes achieving the program objectives of a specific educational institution. Education administration mainly applies to the leadership in public and private learning institutions. Educational administrators are responsible for managing and laying optimistic visions and goals for the educational facilities they serve (Summey 20). Their primary role is to ensure that schools follow the regulations set by the federal, local and state authorities. Some of the basic qualifications for this career path include a bachelor’s degree in education, principal and teaching certifications, and a master’s degree in education administration. The desired skills for education administrators are practical communication and problem-solving and proper time management (Summey 3). The main reason for pursuing this career is the need to work more directly with students and families on their progress in school and discipline. Notably, collaboration with students and parents will be possible due to the formulation of certain principles that will help increase the educational excellence of students. In addition, education administration will provide an opportunity to shape all students’ education policies and processes.

Opportunities/Threats

There are various current opportunities for education administrators on the website of potential employers. For instance, several institutions of higher learning have exhibited an interest in school directors and deans of students. The upper and lower junior schools have also shown interest in school principals, superintendents, and admissions directors. Since the career mainly involves administration and leadership roles, it requires specific skills that will allow for the efficiency and effectiveness of the learning institutions (Summey 19). An effective educational administrator is expected to be adept in organizing and planning since they mainly make financial budgets for the schools. School administrators should also be knowledgeable about school policies affecting the operating budget. Good educational administrators should understand the aspects that revolve around good school policies.

In order to be good policymakers, they should have prior knowledge and understanding of how to deal with teachers and students. Mainly, such knowledge is gained from more experience in teaching jobs. Another ability of an educational administrator is being empathetic and friendly. An education administrator’s career primarily involves interacting with students and teachers. Hence the ability to be social and empathetic allows the administrators to communicate and understand the needs of teachers and students freely. The potential salary range of an educational administrator is $4,404 to $8,208 per month (Summey 20). Thus, this means that they earn a maximum of $98,500 in a year.

In the next one to three years, employment for post-secondary education administrators is expected to rise by 8%. Notably, 14,500 openings for university and college educational administrators have been projected annually (Summey 22). The growth rate of individuals joining school every year also translates that more schools being formed, increasing the need for education administrators. Some of the basic daily duties of educational administrators include communicating with students’ families, recruiting, hiring, and dismissing staff members, and evaluating teaching methodologies and strategies. If an opportunity arises for me to get an education administration job, I will relocate near the workplace. I will handle the relocation issue with much emphasis since it will describe how effective and efficient I will be in the job.

Conclusion

Education administration requires a lot of commitment and dedication since it mainly includes dealing with students and staff. Efficiency in this career is based on an individual’s leadership skills. For instance, an individual needs to have proper communication strategies to effectively operate the school activities. Another lesson from this career is the need for diversity in learning institutions. Educational administrators should understand that students, teachers, and non-teaching staffs are from different backgrounds. Therefore, they should formulate policies and strategies that meet the stakeholders’ standards. The administrators should also know that they are the backbone of any learning institution, and success is based on their effectiveness.

Work Cited

Summey, Emily F. “Special Education Administration: What Does it Take?” The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2017.