Maybe you started your career as a regular school teacher, but you found yourself unsatisfied by the environment and resources available to the average educator. So, you returned to school to pursue higher education, and now you are considering earning a PhD in Education to cap your academic achievement.

Yet, you might be plagued by an important question: Then what? Usually, the typical grade school teacher does not have a PhD, and even school administrators do not usually have such advanced education. So, if you do invest in a doctorate degree, what are you supposed to do in your career?

Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities for those with education doctorates. Here a few options for those in the education field with such advanced education credentials:

College President

Presidents are the leaders of colleges or universities, tasked with developing and executing a school’s strategic vision — which often involves fundraising, addressing stakeholders (like donors, lawmakers, faculty and students), and attending various student events. Most importantly, college presidents work with senior faculty and administrators to invest in tools and systems to maintain and improve academic standards. Though the average college president earns an annual income around $270,000, some institutions will award presidents impressive seven-figure salaries.

Provost

Before you are qualified to work as a college president, you might spend some of your career in the position of provost, or vice president. Often the second-in-command at colleges and universities, the provost tends to work more closely with deans and department heads, understanding different priorities and initiatives within the institution. Then, the provost can work alongside the college president to allocate resources to better benefit the school. A provost will make on average $150,000 in salary.

Academic Dean

Deans are senior administrators at colleges and universities. Most institutions have many different types of deans, who will have different responsibilities — and different levels of pay. Some typical dean roles include:

● Admissions: Deans develop recruitment initiatives and establish qualifications for student admissions.
● Research: Deans oversee faculty researchers and help secure funding, create budgets and establish industry partnerships.
● Student affairs: Deans focus on non-academic programs, like residence life, athletics, student support services and more.
● Advancement: Deans develop strategies for securing funding from a variety of potential donors.

Chief Learning Officer

The c-suite is expanding with new and innovative roles to help organizations thrive. Companies that operate within the education industry are more often making space for a Chief Learning Officer (CLO), who is tasked with coordinating educational and business goals and strategies. Sometimes, CLOs facilitate training and professional development of staff as well as the integration of the latest edtech, such as online learning platforms. For their effort, CLOs take home an average annual pay of about $150,000.

Professor

A large number of education PhDs move straight from arguing their dissertation to leading college classrooms. As high-level educators, professors share many of the same responsibilities as teachers in primary and secondary education: developing course curricula, instructing students, assessing student progress, etc. Professors might also conduct research, write scholarly papers and attend conferences. Earnings for professors vary widely based on the level of experience a professor has and the institution they work for, so salaries can range from around $50,000 to over $110,000 per year.

Executive Director of Education

There are many non-profit organizations operating within the education industry, and many benefit greatly from the insight and experience of an education PhD. Often, PhDs will find roles in non-profits as executive directors, who make daily operational decisions regarding the organization, to include hiring and managing staff, overseeing budgets, developing policies and programs and generally guiding the mission and purpose. Education nonprofits have the potential to effect great change, but you should not expect to earn a large salary, as executive directors take home average annual pay around $70,000.

School Principal

Then again, many return to school to pursue advanced education degrees with the intention of improving circumstances at their local learning institutions. With a PhD, you are outstandingly qualified to function as a principal at an elementary, middle or high school, where you will be responsible for hiring staff and developing programs to improve student learning outcomes — among more routine tasks like enforcing discipline and managing the budget. There is consistently great need for great principals, and you can earn between $80,000 and $90,000 per year for your work.