Also called: Department Head, Division Chair
A senior professor who runs an academic department, hiring faculty, setting schedules, and managing budgets.
Department chairs still teach a class or two, but most of the day is meetings: hiring new professors, fixing course schedules, handling student complaints, and arguing for more budget with the dean.
Estimate; chairs usually earn a stipend on top of professor pay.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 15 years after high school. Ph.D. plus years as a tenured professor.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Any academic field.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years). Tracks overall growth of postsecondary administration.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps with scheduling and budget reports; hiring faculty, handling complaints and negotiating with the dean stay human.
Classes: AP courses in your field, 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.