General Educational Leadership

Types of Degrees General Educational Leadership Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general educational leadership and administration graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	20,176
Graduate Certificate	6,207
Doctor’s Degree	5,789
Bachelor’s Degree	355
Basic Certificate	300
Undergraduate Certificate	6
Associate Degree	4

What General Educational Leadership Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, educational leadership and administration majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Educational Leadership and Administration Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in educational leadership and administration should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Skills for Educational Leadership and Administration Majors

A major in educational leadership and administration prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities for Educational Leadership and Administration Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a educational leadership and administration student include the following:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a General Educational Leadership Major?

People with a educational leadership and administration degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Distance Learning Coordinators	10.7%	$82,850
Education Administrators, Elementary and Secondary School	7.9%	$95,310
Education Administrators, Preschool and Childcare Center/Program	10.8%	$47,940
Fitness and Wellness Coordinators	10.7%	$82,850
Postsecondary Education Administrators	10.1%	$94,340

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in General Educational Leadership?

The major attracts more women than men. About 97% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of educational leadership and administration majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	7
Black or African American	80
Hispanic or Latino	33
White	154
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	81

How Much Do General Educational Leadership Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Educational Leadership and Administration majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $53,990 to $98,750 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to General Educational Leadership

Some degrees associated with educational leadership and administration may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to educational leadership and administration have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	6.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.2%
Some College Courses	3.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	6.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	22.3%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	2.0%
Master’s Degree	36.2%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	8.0%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.6%
Doctoral Degree	11.6%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.1%

Online General Educational Leadership Programs

In 2020-2021, 784 schools offered a educational leadership and administration program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	9	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	2	0
Bachelor’s Degree	121	35
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	647	188
Post-Master’s	243	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	324	69
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	28	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	26	5

Is a Degree in General Educational Leadership Worth It?

The median salary for a educational leadership and administration grad is $89,570 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 124% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $993,400 after 20 years!

Majors Related to General Educational Leadership

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to educational leadership and administration.

Major	Number of Grads
Higher Education/Higher Education Administration	4,709
Other Educational Administration & Supervision	2,247
Educational, Instructional, & Curriculum Supervision	1,727
Elementary & Middle School Administration/Principalship	1,572
Superintendency & Educational System Administration	1,107
Urban Education & Leadership	736
Adult & Continuing Education Administration	462
Secondary School Administration/Principalship	452
Community College Education	354
Administration of Special Education	186
Early Childhood Program Administration	70
International School Administration/Leadership	10
Education Entrepreneurship	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Shai-WMIL under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.