Teachers and prospective educators may ask themselves, “How much does a principal make?” This is because many of the dreams that educators have is to one day rise through the ranks and become the principal of a school. Not only does this provide an educator with a sharp rise in salary, but also allows them to oversee the school and ensure the students receive the best education possible. Obtaining this position can take a considerable amount of time and many who are principals started off as teachers or other educators.
Skills
Some of the skills a principal needs is to not only be dedicated to educating students, but also able to successfully complete administrative tasks. Once an educator reaches the level of principal, they may help plan the school’s curriculum, but have little to do with the actual educational process. A principal must also be able to work well with other educators and parents since a large portion of their time will be spent working with the school board and addressing parents’ concerns.
Education
A person looking to become a principal will first have to get their Bachelor’s degree. The most common degree for those looking to become teachers is an elementary, secondary, and special teaching degree. This degree enables them to obtain their teaching license and begin work in a variety of educational fields. Working in a high school or elementary school are not the only options for people with this degree. They can also begin by teaching classes at a variety of locations that are not traditionally considered educational institutions.
Training
Once an educator has all of their higher education completed, they can receive a lot of their training on the job. They can work as teacher’s assistants or substitute teachers and expand their experience of how the educational system works. They will also get hands on experience when it comes to running a classroom and creating effective strategies for learning.
Earnings
The average yearly salary for a principal of a school is between $95,000 and $100,000. This range will depend upon the area where the principal position is and the type of school. This is a large increase over the average teacher’s salary of $40,000 a year. The main distinction is that a principal runs the school and only very rarely will a principal act in a teaching capacity as they once did. For some people this makes the increase in salary simply not enough since their main goal in pursuing an educational degree was to educate and not administrate.
There are a lot of valid reasons people may want to work their way through the educational world and become a principal. A good principal can mean the difference between a school that performs with top marks, and one that parents dread sending their children to. When a person asks, “How much does a principal make,” they can be sure the vast amount of responsibility placed on a principal is compensated with a large salary.