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early childhood program administration

Types of Degrees early childhood program administration Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing early childhood program administration have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Associate’s Degree	54
Bachelor’s Degree	34
Master’s Degree	16

What early childhood program administration Majors Need to Know

Coursework for early childhood program administration develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that early childhood program administration graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in early childhood program administration emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a early childhood program administration program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to early childhood program administration careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, early childhood program administration graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.7 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.7 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.6 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.5 / 7
Developing and Building Teams	4.5 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.4 / 7
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.4 / 7
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by early childhood program administration professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Publisher	Desktop publishing software	—
ParentSquare	Desktop communications software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Bloomz	Desktop communications software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
ACS Technologies HeadMaster	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Thinc Technologies Virtual School	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Google Classroom	Project management software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for early childhood program administration graduates include:

• Assessment Coordinator
• Vice Principal
• Principal
• Testing Director
• Educational Program Director
• Pupil Personnel Program Director
• Athletic Director
• Curriculum Director
• School Business Manager
• Headmaster
• Education Supervisor
• Superintendent
• Junior High School Principal
• Secondary School Principal
• School Coordinator

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to early childhood program administration graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	44.8%
Bachelor’s degree	20.2%
Post-master’s certificate	11.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	8.4%
High school diploma or equivalent	6.8%
Some college courses	5.2%
Postsecondary certificate	1.6%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.6%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in early childhood program administration?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 89.4% of early childhood program administration degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	93	89.4%
Men	11	10.6%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of early childhood program administration graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	49	47.1%
Asian	4	3.8%
Hispanic or Latino	8	7.7%
Black or African American	33	31.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1	1.0%
Two or More Races	4	3.8%
Race Unknown	3	2.9%
International Students	2	1.9%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do early childhood program administration Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of early childhood program administration graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$65,211
4 years	$67,022
5 years	$74,441

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $74,441 — roughly 14% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online early childhood program administration Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for early childhood program administration. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	1	0
Bachelor’s	2	0
Master’s	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in early childhood program administration Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, early childhood program administration graduates earn a median of $67,022 four years after completion — roughly 76% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Educational Administration and Supervision	13.04
Administration of Special Education	13.0402
Adult and Continuing Education Administration	13.0403
Community College Administration	13.0407
Education Entrepreneurship	13.0413
Educational Administration and Supervision, Other	13.0499
Educational Leadership and Administration, General	13.0401
Educational, Instructional, and Curriculum Supervision	13.0404
Elementary and Middle School Administration/Principalship	13.0408
Higher Education/Higher Education Administration	13.0406
International School Administration/Leadership	13.0412
Secondary School Administration/Principalship	13.0409

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.