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General Educational Leadership

Types of Degrees General Educational Leadership Majors Are Earning

Those studying General Educational Leadership may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	2
Bachelor’s Degree	262
Master’s Degree	22,951
Doctor’s Degree	6,591

What General Educational Leadership Majors Need to Know

Coursework for General Educational Leadership develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that General Educational Leadership graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in General Educational Leadership emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a General Educational Leadership program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to General Educational Leadership careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, General Educational Leadership graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.6 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.6 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7
Developing and Building Teams	4.3 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.2 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.2 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.2 / 7
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by General Educational Leadership professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
ParentSquare	Desktop communications software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Publisher	Desktop publishing software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Human resource management software HRMS	Human resources software	—
SAS	Analytical or scientific software	—
Common Curriculum	Computer based training software	—
Google Drive	Cloud-based data access and sharing software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for General Educational Leadership graduates include:

• Testing Director
• Education Director
• Student Services Director
• Education Supervisor
• Extension Work Director
• Vice Principal
• Principal
• Educational Program Director
• Assessment Coordinator
• Student Services Coordinator
• High School Principal (HS Principal)
• Elementary School Principal
• School Principal
• Mother Superior
• K-12 School Principal (Kindergarten Through Twelfth Grade School Principal)

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to General Educational Leadership graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	46.0%
Bachelor’s degree	15.4%
Doctoral degree	14.2%
Post-master’s certificate	7.1%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	5.2%
High school diploma or equivalent	4.2%
Some college courses	3.2%
Post-doctoral training	2.7%
Postsecondary certificate	1.0%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.0%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in General Educational Leadership?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 72.8% of General Educational Leadership degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	21,698	72.8%
Men	8,108	27.2%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of General Educational Leadership graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	17,513	58.8%
Asian	653	2.2%
Hispanic or Latino	3,353	11.2%
Black or African American	5,353	18.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native	207	0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	51	0.2%
Two or More Races	780	2.6%
Race Unknown	1,429	4.8%
International Students	467	1.6%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General Educational Leadership Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of General Educational Leadership 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 General Educational Leadership Programs

Fully online options are documented by IPEDS for General Educational Leadership. 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
Bachelor’s	3	3
Master’s	251	145
Doctoral (Research)	91	60

^{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 General Educational Leadership Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, General Educational Leadership 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
Early Childhood Program Administration	13.0414
Education Entrepreneurship	13.0413
Educational Administration and Supervision, Other	13.0499
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.