School Principal

Explore employment trends, required job duties and skills for this career. ASU offers a variety of degrees that can help you prepare for and meet your career goals. Visit ASU's Career and Professional Development Services to learn how to develop your career plan.

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Potential job titles in this career

Athletic Director, Elementary Principal, High School Principal, Middle School Principal, Principal, School Administrator, School Superintendent, Special Education Director, Superintendent, Vice Principal

* Additional schooling, certification, or degrees maybe be required for some of the potential careers that are listed.

What will I do?

Evaluate curricula, teaching methods, and programs to determine their effectiveness, efficiency, and use, and to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.

Observe teaching methods and examine learning materials to evaluate and standardize curricula and teaching techniques and to determine areas for improvement.

Counsel and provide guidance to students regarding personal, academic, vocational, or behavioral issues.

Collaborate with teachers to develop and maintain curriculum standards, develop mission statements, and set performance goals and objectives.

Direct and coordinate activities of teachers, administrators, and support staff at schools, public agencies, and institutions.

Recruit, hire, train, and evaluate primary and supplemental staff.

Confer with parents and staff to discuss educational activities, policies, and student behavior or learning problems.

Enforce discipline and attendance rules.

Create school improvement plans, using student performance data.

Set educational standards and goals, and help establish policies and procedures to carry them out.

In this career, it is important to know

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

It's useful to be good at

Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

Employment trends

Location	Pay period	2022
Location	Pay period	10%	25%	Median%	75%	90%
United States	Hourly
United States	Yearly	$64,690	$80,290	$101,320	$128,740	$158,770
Arizona	Hourly
Arizona	Yearly	$60,830	$67,200	$80,590	$100,230	$104,940

2022 Median%
United States	Hourly	$101,320 Yearly
Arizona	Hourly	$80,590 Yearly

Employment (2022)

300,400 employees

Projected growth (2022 - 2032)

Little or no change

Projected job openings (2022 - 2032)

20,200

* Data obtained from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).

What are accelerated programs?

Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree.

3 year programs

These programs allow students to fast-track their studies after admission and earn a bachelor's degree in three years or fewer while participating in the same high-quality educational experience of a 4-year option. Students should talk to their academic advisor to get started.

Accelerated master's

These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).

Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Acceptance to the graduate program requires a separate application. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master’s during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.

What are concurrent programs?

Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.

What are joint programs?

Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.

What constitutes a new program?

ASU adds new programs to Degree Search frequently. Come back often and look for the “New Programs” option.

What are online programs?

ASU Online offers programs in an entirely online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year. See https://asuonline.asu.edu/ for more information.

What is the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)?

The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) is a program in which residents of western states (other than Arizona) may be eligible for reduced nonresident tuition. See more information and eligibility requirements on the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program.