The education sector is full of career opportunities. There are a variety of jobs available in this industry apart from being an educator or a teacher. You can work in various roles at various levels like operational, technical, and managerial jobs.
However, managerial level jobs in the educational industry are one of the most popular and fulfilling career options. Where the teachers/ educators are responsible for educating students and helping them create a better future for themselves, people sitting at higher levels also play an important role. They are responsible for making policies that shape students’ experience in schools.
These are the professionals who lead and direct teachers, provide managerial support, guidance, and run the school efficiently. They ensure that the workforce is equipped with all necessary facilities.
Let’s first understand what is education management? Education management involves the administration of the overall education ecosystem. It includes the planning, creation and implementation of different management standards for schools. It combines educational leadership, oversight, and other important decision-making aspects like student services, academic affairs, and research.
If you are currently an educator or a teacher and want to advance your career, becoming a school principal or other educational management leader is the best step to take. You can not only help students by forming better education policies but can also enhance your role and help in the growth of the school/ organization.
Educational management is one of the most satisfying career choices if you want to work in the education industry. You will get the opportunity to work with a team, will be responsible for developing the curriculum, introducing technologies and resources, and implementing important policies for your institution.
Talking about the career prospects of education management professionals, the options are quite vast. It focuses on many areas in the realms of business and leadership. There are ample opportunities available for teachers who want to enhance their skills and broaden their career horizons. They can pursue higher education to meet the requirements to become a school principal or an education administrator.
The role of an education administrator or education management professional can be described as:
The qualification/ skills required to become a successful manager in the education industry:
Education administrators/ managers in the education industry act as support to the faculty members. They ensure that students get quality education and also work for student recruitment, and public relations roles. Project management and human resources management are also part of their jobs.
If you want to make your career in the education management field, you have plenty of options. Some of them are described below:
Assistant/Vice-Principal: They work in elementary, middle or high schools to handle student discipline issues. He/ she works closely with the school principal.
School Principal: A school principal hires school staff and coordinates with the work of school administrators and teachers. The job role of a school principal includes running various school operations, admissions, maintaining discipline, and more.
Superintendent: A superintendent administers the policies and vision of the school board. This professional is also involved in decisions making roles and is accountable to the district's school board.
School Dean: A dean focuses on student affairs, faculty development, and more. They put special emphasis on discipline, performance, and student services.
Chief Academic Officer: They are responsible for evaluating the academic programs for the institution and also ensuring that they meet the regulations and policies too.
These professionals generally work from 9 AM to 5 PM. However, some roles require weekend or evening work (very rarely). While universities tend to have set pay scales, schools may not have such a structure. However, on average, the salary of a management professional in the education industry lies between 5 LPA to 6 LPA (approximately). It widely depends on your role, level of responsibility, type of institution you're working for too. With the relevant experience, the salary gets higher.
There are plenty of pros to being a management professional working in the education industry. From a good salary to the control over the management, there are plenty of benefits of this role. However, where there are pros, there are some cons also to this role. Following are a few of the major advantages and drawbacks of the job of working as education management professionals:
Pros:
Cons:
What is an education management professional?
To run an academic organization smoothly and effectively, it’s necessary to have a dedicated group of professionals and those are called education management professionals. They could be anyone like CEOs, top managers, principals, deans, etc. They are responsible for managing the structure and flow of the organization.
What jobs are in the education industry?
SMT is known as School Management Teams. The team is responsible for quality education for students and their learning activities.
What does a management professional do?
A education management professional is responsible for: