Dean
Impact: Leadership and Strategic
Lead academic programs, oversee faculty and staff, and ensure the quality of curriculum and instruction within a college or university, while managing faculty research, scholarship, and fiscal responsibilities.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Extensive
- Team vs solo
- Team-oriented with significant solo strategic work
- Client facing
- Always
- Impact visibility
- High
- Travel
- Moderate
- Schedule flexibility
- Moderate
- Remote work
- Limited Remote
- Typical work hours
- 50-60
- Stress level
- High
At a glance
- Median salary
- $130,000
- Entry-level
- $90,000
- Senior
- $180,000
- Growth by 2033
- Average
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- High
- Typical student debt
- $100,000 - $200,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Budget Management
- Curriculum Development
- Academic Administration
Soft skills
- Leadership
- Communication
- Strategic Thinking
Technical complexity: High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Doctoral or Professional Degree
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 10
- Years to senior
- 15
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Professor
- Department Chair
- Associate Dean
- Dean
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- Low
- AI disruption risk
- Low
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 4/10
- Meaning
- 4/10
- Work-life balance
- 3.5/10
- Prestige
- 8.5/10
- Social perception
- Moderate