Academic affairs director vs career services director

The differences between academic affairs directors and career services directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an academic affairs director and a career services director. Additionally, an academic affairs director has an average salary of $112,527, which is higher than the $63,640 average annual salary of a career services director.

The top three skills for an academic affairs director include financial aid, colleges and academic programs. The most important skills for a career services director are alumni, career development, and career fairs.

Academic affairs director vs career services director overview

	Academic Affairs Director	Career Services Director
Yearly salary	$112,527	$63,640
Hourly rate	$54.10	$30.60
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	11,420	58,546
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

Academic affairs director vs career services director salary

Academic affairs directors and career services directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Academic Affairs Director	Career Services Director
Average salary	$112,527	$63,640
Salary range	Between $70,000 And $180,000	Between $45,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Toms River, NJ
Highest paying state	California	New Jersey
Best paying company	University of Maryland, Baltimore	Bain & Company
Best paying industry	Professional	Education

Differences between academic affairs director and career services director education

There are a few differences between an academic affairs director and a career services director in terms of educational background:

	Academic Affairs Director	Career Services Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Academic affairs director vs career services director demographics

Here are the differences between academic affairs directors' and career services directors' demographics:

	Academic Affairs Director	Career Services Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 48.0% Female, 52.0%	Male, 34.0% Female, 66.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 4.3% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 4.3% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between academic affairs director and career services director duties and responsibilities

Academic affairs director example responsibilities.

Manage and track individual sorority members monthly study hour requirements.
Experience in the support of transition and retention strategies for multicultural student populations to address differentials in attrition and retention.
Deliver training seminars to faculty, administrators and staff providing services to veterans.

Career services director example responsibilities.

Support and oversee students from colleges across the country as they organize and lead interfaith service programming on their own campuses.
Facilitate the connection between employers seeking graduating seniors and alumni who are interest in securing career employment.
Counsele law students and alumni regarding legal and alternate career opportunities and job search strategy including resume and cover letter preparation.
Perform agency contact, outreach, and follow up services for disadvantage TANF clients
Create PowerPoint presentations for training each aspect of career development.
Develop and present PowerPoint presentations for upcoming and current students.

Academic affairs director vs career services director skills

Common academic affairs director skills

Financial Aid, 10%
Colleges, 10%
Academic Programs, 7%
Student Services, 7%
Curriculum Development, 7%
Educational Programs, 6%

Common career services director skills

Alumni, 21%
Career Development, 14%
Career Fairs, 9%
Mock Interviews, 5%
Career Planning, 4%
Student Placement, 4%

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Academic Affairs Director
Academic Affairs Director vs Career Services Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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