Also called: Chief state school officer
Leads a state's department of education, overseeing all its public schools, standards, and testing.
Commissioners set statewide policy, manage billions in funding, testify to legislators, and decide on standards and accountability. Some are elected; others are appointed.
Estimate; varies by state.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 20 years after high school. Usually a master's or doctorate and long education leadership experience.
Ways in: Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Education, Public Policy.
Growing about average. Only 50 positions plus territories.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps analyze statewide data and draft rules; testifying, politics and leading billions in spending stay human.
Classes: Government, Economics, Speech or debate.
Official data: O*NET occupation 11-1011.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.