Eying an Administrative Position - Here's How to Work Towards It

In the face of state cutbacks and budget cuts, administration positions are also being hit, although not as hard as teaching positions. Rather than make a bold career move into administration, a more prudent strategy is to take on increasing responsibilities and administration functions so that you can slowly evolve into an administration position, should one arise. There are a number of key areas you can focus on today to improve the attractiveness of your candidacy.

Develop business skills
Schools require a broad range of administrative skills. Demand is high for business managers with experience in financial planning, cost cutting and restructuring. Tasks obvious to a business manager such as renegotiating insurance contracts have loosened up funds and allowed previously discontinued programs to be renewed. Many schools are grappling with budgets that are already running over school board limits while school boards are further cutting expense limits.

Improve student performance
Student achievement is a key focus for administrative positions. How can you help raise student performance in state rankings? A good place to start is your own classroom. Demonstrate that you are able to motivate your students to higher levels of performance, and then offer to develop this competency throughout the school.

Volunteer for administrative positions
Volunteering on committees is a good way to become more involved in your school's administration. As schools face deepening budget cuts, more of these opportunities are available at the school, board and district levels.

Education Administrator Offers Competitive Pay And Elevated Responsibility

Are you interested in the education field but feel that the classroom is not for you? In order for educational institutions to operate successfully, it takes competent administrators providing instructional leadership to manage the day-to-day activities in schools, colleges, and universities. If this awesome responsibility appeals to you, then you should consider a career as an Education Administrator.

Education Administrators are responsible for establishing educational goals and standards and the policies and procedures necessary to achieve them. They also develop academic programs and monitor progress as well as motivate teachers and other staff. As if that wasn't enough, Administrators in the educational field prepare budgets and act as public relations agents with parents, prospective students and the community at large.

There are all levels of administration in the field of education. For instance, someone who manages elementary, middle, and secondary schools is called a principal. For colleges and universities, however, there are department heads or chairpersons that specialize in particular fields such as English, Biology, or Mathematics to name a few.

As is true in many fields, the responsibility of administrators has increased in recent years and of course, so has the stress level. Part of this increased stress is having to deal with state and local policymakers as well as the increased accountability for their schools meeting the state and federal guidelines for student performance and teacher accreditations. Also, over 30% of education administrators work over 40 hours per week, often supervising night and weekend activities as well as working year round.

Educational requirements for administrators vary with the setting of the program and the state of employment. A bachelor's degree is required to oversee the administration of preschool programs in public schools, while college and university deans and chairpersons need a master's or doctoral degree. A Ph.D. or Ed.D. will be required for those looking to obtain a position in top student affairs.

While license requirements vary by state, nearly all require either a master's degree or some other graduate-level training. Most states expect principals to be licensed as school administrators, and some demand that candidates for licensure pass a test. Although completion of an accredited program is not a requirement, it may assist in fulfilling licensure requirements.

Behind The Scenes With Education Administration

Since the business in providing education has a bottom line to watch, it needs to be run as though a commercial organization. The usual worries of revenue and expenses, profit and loss constantly revolve around the administrator's head as he or she juggles to keep the establishment on its feet. To top things off, a long list of items keeps growing as they are added on faster than one can cross them off. Whether it is running an academic institution within a public or private sector, it is ideal to hire an administrator trained ineducation administration. Although experience speaks tons about one's capabilities, proper training is still a mainstay as bad practices are oft repeated and do not benefit the establishment as a whole. By understanding and employing correct principles, it is the target to keep the organization in a profit-generating mode with reasonable growth.

In order to be a leader, one has to be able to lead. This is not to say that one is given the green card to boss everyone around as a true leader is meant to serve others. Leading by example, the staff then adopts good practices thus ensuring a successful working relationship. Otherwise, dissension is bound to arise as man is easily driven by emotions. Some institutions practice the method of placing an academic, usually the department head or faculty dean, in the position of implementing education administration.

Despite good intentions, it can sometimes be the bane of the organization if it is not a good fit. It takes a rare individual to be able to juggle academic and administrative needs as the former is usually about innovation whereas the latter is more towards control. Perhaps it is likened to the art of kite flying whereby one releases the cord and pulls it back at opportune moments to keep it in the air. However, running an academic institution is usually a lot more complicated.