School Principal
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
Manages all operations within a school, providing leadership and management to teachers and other staff. Ensures that teaching staff have the resources they need to meet the state's curriculum requirements. May be required to attend parent consultations, taking parent suggestions and discussing the educational needs of individual students.
Job Outlook
There were 479 School Principal job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 14202 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Elementary and Secondary School Administrator industry, which includes the School Principal career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2012:
Salary
Many new School Principal jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $69,987.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $68,482.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for School Principal postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $44,672.
Education and Experience
Posted School Principal jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 27% |
| Master's Degree | 72% |
| Doctoral Degree | 1% |
| Other | 1% |
Posted School Principal jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 35% |
| 3 to 5 years | 55% |
| 6 to 8 years | 4% |
| 9+ years | 5% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills School Principal positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication Skills (40%)
- Teamwork / Collaboration (26%)
- Planning (26%)
- Physical Abilities (16%)
- Organizational Skills (16%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Teaching (57%)
- Budgeting (28%)
- Special Education (13%)
- Educational Programs (11%)
- Staff Development (9%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Staff Management (17%)
- Scheduling (15%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Curriculum Development (7%)
- Lesson Planning (6%)
- Managing Student Data (3%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed along with the marginal value: the average salary difference between postings that request that skill and those that do not.
- Maintaining Student Discpline (1%) – marginal value $6,520
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with School Principal skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Principal
- High School Principal
- Elementary Principal
- Middle School Principal
- Elementary School Principal
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Assistant School Principal
- Elementary and Secondary School Administrator
- Director of Special Education
- Superintendent (Education)
- Student Support Administrator
- School Athletic Director
- Physical Education Teacher
- Director of Instruction / Curriculum Specialist
- Dean of Students
- English / Language Arts Teacher
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most School Principal jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Guidepost Montessori (150)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (125)
- Northrop Grumman (91)
- Teach Iowa (66)
- Boston Public Schools (60)
North Carolina
- Wake County Schools (16)
- Alamance Burlington Schools (11)
- Johnston County Public Schools (11)
- Rowan Salisbury Schools (11)
- Chick-fil-A (8)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Educational Administration and Supervision Doctoral Degrees
- English – Secondary Education Master's Degrees
- Language Arts – Middle Grades Master's Degrees
- School Administration Master's Degrees
- Social Studies – Middle Grades Master's Degrees
- Social Studies – Secondary Education Master's Degrees
- Statistics Education Graduate Certificates
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.