Post job

What is a career center director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read

As a career center director, one gets to take part in people's career decision process, which greatly shapes their future. Career center directors can earn an average annual salary of $56,972.

The most common minimum education requirement for the position of a career center director is a master's degree. To be a top career center director, one needs to hone many skills.

A career center director needs to create a connection with alumni, employers, and faculty to increase chances of graduates getting and developing jobs and to form departmental plans to ensure the success of the whole career services department. The director plans and administers employment assistance and career development programs for the college to provide personalized career coaching to students.

ScoreCareer Center DirectorUS Average
Salary
3.9

Avg. Salary $50,201

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
9.0

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.0
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62%

Asian 3.74%

Black or African American 10.64%

Hispanic or Latino 14.20%

Unknown 3.76%

White 67.03%

Gender

female 64.02%

male 35.98%

Age - 41
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41
Stress level
9.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
9.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
5.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Career center director career paths

Key steps to become a career center director

  1. Explore career center director education requirements

    Most common career center director degrees

    Bachelor's

    67.4 %

    Master's

    14.2 %

    Associate

    9.9 %
  2. Start to develop specific career center director skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Customer Service70.35%
    Support Services16.17%
    Professional Development5.48%
    Career Services2.68%
    Open Positions1.30%
  3. Complete relevant career center director training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New career center directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a career center director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real career center director resumes.
  4. Research career center director duties and responsibilities

    • Counsele law students and alumni regarding legal and alternate career opportunities and job search strategy including resume and cover letter preparation.
    • Conduct instructional/informational PowerPoint presentations to prepare and train graduates for employment.
  5. Get career center director experience

  6. Apply for career center director jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a career center director job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first career center director job

Zippi

Are you a career center director?

Share your story for a free salary report.

Average career center director salary

The average career center director salary in the United States is $50,201 per year or $24 per hour. Career center director salaries range between $28,000 and $89,000 per year.

Average career center director salary
$50,201 Yearly
$24.14 hourly

What am I worth?

salary-calculator

How do career center directors rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Career center director reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020
Pros

Helping students develop strategies for their futures and supporting career outcomes is very rewarding. Launching students into careers is very satisfying if you are altruistic and have a helper mentality.

Cons

As a Director at a state institution, I am involved in a lot of administrative duties: budgeting, hiring, training and developing, strategic planning, evaluating programming. These duties are demanding and are necessary for successful outcomes, but they are not as fun as supporting and helping students.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2019
Pros

Interaction with motivated people. Helping people who want to work.

Cons

Negative people who want a job but dont want to work.


Working as a career center director? Share your experience anonymously.
Overall rating*
Career growth
Work/Life balance
Pay/Salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Browse community and social services jobs