Also called: Dean of a college, Provost, Vice President of Academic Affairs
Senior academic leader who oversees faculty, departments, and degree programs.
Deans approve hiring and tenure, manage budgets, launch new programs, settle disputes between departments, and raise money. Provosts oversee all the deans.
Estimate; BLS postsecondary administrators median (~$104k) includes many lower-level roles.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 20 years after high school. PhD and a strong record as a professor, then department chair or associate dean.
Ways in: Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Any academic field.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years). BLS projects ~3% growth for postsecondary education administrators.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps with program reviews and budgeting; tenure decisions, faculty disputes and academic leadership stay human.
Classes: AP courses in a field you love, Speech or debate, Government.
Official data: O*NET occupation 11-9033.
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.