We all had that principal in school that had a lasting impression on us. Whether they helped us make a change in our lives that was for the better or they taught us valuable lessons, like the importance of showing up on time. Now, it's your turn to have a lasting impression on some kids' lives.
As principal, everyone is going to know who you are. You're the one that gets to enforce all of the rules, and make sure the teachers are following them, too! But you also get to go to fun conferences with your teachers and learn new ways to teach your kiddos.
The best part of being a principal is getting to watch your students go on to the next step. Whether that's middle school, high school, or college. Knowing that you had a hand in each students' education and future has to make you feel good at the end of the day.
How to Become a Principal
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a principal. For example, did you know that they make an average of $67.58 an hour? That's $140,569 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 11,200 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Principal Do
There are certain skills that many principals have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed decision-making skills, interpersonal skills and leadership skills.
How To Become a Principal
If you're interested in becoming a principal, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 63.4% of principals have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 22.4% of principals have master's degrees. Even though most principals have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a principal. When we researched the most common majors for a principal, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on principal resumes include doctoral degree degrees or associate degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a principal. In fact, many principal jobs require experience in a role such as teacher. Meanwhile, many principals also have previous career experience in roles such as assistant principal or vice president.
Principal Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a principal can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as vice president, progress to a title such as sales vice president and then eventually end up with the title senior vice president, sales.
Average Salary for a Principal
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for Principals
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
4. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
5. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
6. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
7. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
8. SUNY Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY • Private
9. New York University
New York, NY • Private
10. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
Top Skills For a Principal
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 6.9% of principals listed professional development on their resume, but soft skills such as decision-making skills and interpersonal skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Principal Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Principal templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Principal resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Principal Demographics
Principal Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among principals, 34.4% of them are women, while 65.6% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among principals is White, which makes up 69.3% of all principals.
- The most common foreign language among principals is Spanish at 41.1%.
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Best States For a Principal
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a principal. The best states for people in this position are Connecticut, New York, North Dakota, and Washington. Principals make the most in Connecticut with an average salary of $160,135. Whereas in New York and North Dakota, they would average $160,078 and $157,390, respectively. While principals would only make an average of $156,391 in Washington, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Washington
$156,391
Avg. Salary
2. New Hampshire
$152,105
Avg. Salary
3. New York
$160,078
Avg. Salary
How Do Principal Rate Their Jobs?
Top Principal Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ principals and discovered their number of principal opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Infosys Public Services was the best, especially with an average salary of $144,394. Discover Financial Services follows up with an average salary of $100,873, and then comes Amazon with an average of $164,240. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a principal. The employers include BNY Mellon, Medtronic, and Veeva Systems
Most Common Employers For Principal
| Rank  | Company  | Average Salary  | Hourly Rate  | Job Openings  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Consulting Group | $231,699 | $111.39 | 109 |
| 2 | A.T. Kearney | $223,348 | $107.38 | 52 |
| 3 | Pwc | $210,078 | $101.00 | 61 |
| 4 | Accenture | $202,674 | $97.44 | 50 |
| 5 | Amazon | $164,240 | $78.96 | 116 |
| 6 | CSC Holdings LLC | $157,610 | $75.77 | 56 |
| 7 | Microsoft | $151,808 | $72.98 | 54 |
| 8 | Glaxosmithkline | $150,462 | $72.34 | 42 |
| 9 | InfosysPublicService | $144,394 | $69.42 | 293 |
| 10 | American Management Association | $141,815 | $68.18 | 42 |
What are the best companies to work for a Principal?
Dr. Faye Deters
Associate Dean, Interim Chair, Educational Leadership & Counselor Education, Eastern Kentucky University
Graduates with degrees in Educational Leadership typically seek employment as leaders within public school districts and private or charter schools.Show more
Principal Videos
Becoming a Principal FAQs
How long does it take to become a Principal?
It takes 11 years of professional experience to become a principal. That is the time it takes to learn specific principal skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education. If you include the normal education requirements to complete a college degree, then it takes 14 to 16 years years to become a principal.
How many years does it take to become a principal?
It takes about six years to become a principal. Most principals secure their bachelor's degree, which takes approximately four years. From there, some may decide to continue their education, gaining their master's degree. However, some prospective principals may enter the education field as a teacher and continue gaining career traction that way.
How much does a principal earn a year?
A principal earns an average of $130,000 a year. A principal just starting in the field may make about $80,000 per year, while those in the top 10% make about $212,000 per year. Depending on the school district and institution, some principals may see bonuses or incentives to increase their base salary.
What degree does a principal need?
A principal needs a bachelor's degree, at minimum. Some principals may go for their master's degree, but this is not often a requirement to become a principal. Fewer principals secure the doctorate, as it is often unneeded or only needed for higher-level occupational responsibilities that many principals will not need to complete.