What Can You Do With a Higher Education Degree? Jobs (2026)

Key takeaway: A higher education administration degree leads to campus operations roles and to the training, advising, and program-management work next to them. Education administrators, postsecondary, earned a median annual wage of $104,590; educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors $64,330; instructional coordinators $77,440; training and development specialists $69,280 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Campus hiring depends heavily on internal experience, and the largest volume of openings sits in the front-line advising and training occupations rather than in administration.

This degree is administrative, not instructional. It prepares you to run admissions, the registrar, advising, residence life, student conduct, career services, institutional research, and the offices above them. It is not a teaching credential, it does not license you for K-12 school leadership, and it is not a course-design degree – for that, see instructional design.

Jobs you can get with a higher education administration degree

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS national medians. Median means half of workers in the occupation earned more and half earned less. Wages vary widely by institution type, region, and level of responsibility.

Education administrators, postsecondary. The core occupation: deans, provosts, registrars, directors of admissions and enrollment, student affairs directors, deans of students, and presidents. The national median annual wage was $104,590, with the 10th percentile at $64,560 and the 90th percentile at $215,620 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Read that spread carefully. It stretches from a first coordinator job to a research university presidency, so the median describes the category rather than any particular career stage. Employment was 226,600 in 2024, projected to change 1.7 percent by 2034, with 15,100 openings per year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). Openings come mostly from turnover, not growth, and the strongest predictor of getting one is having worked in the office or the sector already.

Educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors. Academic advisors, career services staff, transfer and success coaches, and K-12 school counselors are all counted here. The national median annual wage was $64,330, with the 10th percentile at $45,020 and the 90th at $104,770 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Employment was 376,300 in 2024, projected to change 3.5 percent by 2034, with 31,000 openings per year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). This is where most campus openings actually are. Be clear on one split: college academic advising is generally open with a bachelor’s or a master’s in this field, while K-12 school counseling requires a counseling degree and a state license, covered on how to become a school counselor.

Instructional coordinators. Curriculum, assessment, faculty development, and academic program administration. The national median annual wage was $77,440, with the 10th percentile at $47,980 and the 90th at $121,670; employment was 232,600 in 2024, projected to change 1.3 percent by 2034, with 21,900 openings per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). Centers for teaching and learning, online program offices, and accreditation and assessment units hire from this pool.

Training and development specialists. The corporate and government version of the same skill set: designing and running training programs, onboarding, and professional development. The national median annual wage was $69,280, with the 10th percentile at $38,760 and the 90th at $123,250 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Employment was 452,300 in 2024, projected to change 10.8 percent by 2034, with 43,900 openings per year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). This is the fastest-growing occupation associated with the degree and the largest source of openings, and it is the realistic answer for graduates who cannot relocate for a campus job.

Education administrators, all other. Administrative roles in education settings outside the standard categories, including system offices, testing organizations, and education nonprofits. Median annual wage $95,200, with the 10th percentile at $51,910 and the 90th at $161,010; employment 60,200 in 2024, projected to change 2.5 percent by 2034, with 4,100 openings per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034).

Social and community service managers and human resources specialists. Two adjacent destinations. Social and community service managers, common in education nonprofits and workforce programs, earned a median of $80,390, with employment projected to change 6.4 percent and 18,600 openings per year. Human resources specialists earned a median of $75,940, with 81,800 openings per year, the largest number on this page (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). Graduates land here through the training, policy, and supervision half of the curriculum.

Education teachers, postsecondary. Faculty who teach in education and higher education programs, including the departments that award this degree. Median annual wage $75,350, with employment of 74,900 projected to change 2.1 percent and 5,600 openings per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). This route needs a doctorate, usually a PhD, and a research record.

Where these jobs actually sit

Institution type changes the work more than the title suggests. At a community college, one director may own admissions, records, and orientation at once, and the job is broad and operational. At a large public university, the same functions are split across separate offices with their own directors, and the work is narrower and more specialized. Private institutions with tuition-dependent budgets put more weight on enrollment and retention roles, because the enrollment number is the budget. State system and coordinating board offices hire for policy, reporting, and compliance work rather than for student contact.

Sector also determines who your colleagues are. In a small college, administrators work directly with faculty committees and the president. In a system office, the work is closer to public administration than to student services, which is why some graduates move between this field and public administration without much friction.

What the work is actually like

Two things surprise people who arrive from outside the sector.

The first is the calendar. Higher education runs on cycles, and the cycles do not care about your week. Admissions has application deadlines and yield season. Residence life has opening and closing. The registrar has registration and commencement. Institutional research has reporting deadlines set by external agencies. Administrative jobs are steady for long stretches and then extremely busy for short ones, and the busy stretches include evenings and weekends.

The second is that authority is distributed. Faculty governance, board policy, accreditor requirements, and state rules all constrain what an administrator can decide alone. Getting something changed usually means building agreement across offices rather than issuing a decision. The governance and law coursework in the master’s is training for exactly that, which is why it looks abstract until the first time you need it.

What the degree level changes

Nothing in college administration is licensed, so the question is which postings will screen you in.

The bachelor’s route plus campus work reaches coordinator, counselor, advisor, and records roles. That is a genuine entry point, and many long careers start there without a graduate degree.

The master’s in higher education administration is the credential that appears in the required line of most assistant director and director postings, and it is what lets you switch function without starting over. The EdD or PhD becomes relevant at the dean, vice president, and provost level, where the 90th percentile wage of $215,620 for postsecondary administrators sits (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS).

Common questions

What jobs can you get with a higher education administration degree?

Admissions and enrollment roles, academic advising, registrar and records administration, residence life and student conduct, career services, institutional research and assessment, and the director, dean, and vice president roles above them. Off campus, graduates work in corporate training and development, education nonprofits, testing and credentialing organizations, and human resources.

How much do higher education administrators make?

Education administrators, postsecondary, earned a national median annual wage of $104,590, with the 10th percentile at $64,560 and the 90th at $215,620 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). The spread reflects a category that runs from entry-level coordinators to campus presidents.

Which of these careers has the most openings?

Human resources specialists at 81,800 openings per year, then training and development specialists at 43,900 and educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors at 31,000 (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). Education administrators, postsecondary, has 15,100 openings per year. The highest-paying occupation is not the most open door.

Can I work in college administration without the degree?

Yes, at the entry level. Admissions counselors, advisors at many institutions, residence life coordinators, and records staff are routinely hired with a bachelor’s degree. The master’s is what most director-level postings require, and campuses promote internal candidates often enough that a first job matters more than the credential does.

Is a higher education administration degree worth it?

It is worth it if you want to advance inside a college or university, or to change function within one. It is a weaker choice if you are not already near the sector and cannot relocate, since campus openings are driven by turnover and are projected to change only 1.7 percent from 2024 to 2034 (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). The is it worth it page walks through the trade-offs.

Keep exploring

• Start at the higher education administration program hub, then compare levels: the bachelor’s route and the online master’s.
• Walk through how to become a college administrator, or weigh the trade-offs on is it worth it.
• Find programs near you at the state index.
• Compare related fields: education, counseling, organizational leadership, public administration, and instructional design.

Data verified: September 5, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.

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