You might not think a career in education is a particularly lucrative choice, but if teaching is your passion, it is definitely possible to make a very good living. Check out these 10 examples of financially rewarding jobs in education. Some might take a bit of time to get there, but if you have your eye on the prize and a career path in mind, you can take the steps necessary to reach the upper levels of the profession.
1. Law Professor
Sure, you’ll have to go to law school first, and have some experience in the field, but once you get all those things—plus some teaching experience, you’ll be set to make six figures by the middle of your career, with junior positions coming in at an average of about $68,000 per year. There’s stiff competition for this career path, of course, but it is possible to land a gig.
2. Chief Executive of a University
If you can work your way up to head honcho of a top-tier college or university, whether you’re the chancellor or president or provost, you can make anywhere from $100,000 to $3 million (!)—especially if you’re good at bringing in the money for endowments and capital funds for campus ventures. The downside: this is not a very high growth field, and jobs are scarce. Once people get them, they tend to hold on tight!
3. Dean
If you can’t get to executive level in the academic world, you could try working your way up to Dean level. You’ll want an advanced degree in the subject, plus some years as a tenured professor in your field, but then you can start earning some serious money—an average of about $83,000 per year.
4. Engineering Professor
If you got a fancy education in engineering, you could always go the academic route. Get a little experience in your field, then go back to teaching and research. You could earn up to $100,000 per year in a top tier school. This field is growing rather nicely.
5. School Superintendent
The high administrator of the area public school system makes anywhere from $130,000 to $196,000 per year. You’ll want a doctorate in education, plus a healthy base of teaching experience and some leadership experience to pursue this job.
6. Principal
Want to be more involved in the day-to-day and less in the macro-level budgeting and overseeing? School principals can make anywhere between $86,000 and $130,000 per year working closely with both teachers and students. A master’s in education is a plus here, as well as some teaching experience.
7. Curriculum Developer
Start out as a classroom teacher, then get your master’s and start working on instructional design. Help determine what students should be learning and how they should be evaluated most effectively. Train your fellow teachers to teach better, and make up to $75,000 per year.
8. Registrar or Financial Aid Counselor
Step back into the admin side for a while and work in the front office of secondary and post-secondary schools. Help guide students through the stressful administrative stuff they have to take care of for their studies, and make up to $90,000 per year.
9. Health/Allied Health Professor
Teaching would-be health care professionals is serious and stringent work. You’ll need to build up to this with a degree of your own in a medical field, plus years of practical experience and teaching experience, but the job prospects and growth rates are great and you can make almost $100,000 per year.
10. Economics Professor
If you’re an expert in economic theory and want to research and teach, take your experience as an analyst, policy maker, or researcher back into an academic institution and make about $90,000 per year. The better your credentials, the better your chances of landing a job in this competitive field.
