How To Become A Continuing Education Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a continuing education director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Ryan Allen,

Stephanie Lorenze

The average continuing education director salary is $71,939. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an business major. It usually takes 4-6 years of experience to become a continuing education director. Continuing education directors with a Certified Professional - Human Resource (IPMA-CP) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 15,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a continuing education director?

Ryan Allen

Assistant Professor of Comparative and International Education and Leadership, Soka University of America

Education goes beyond teaching in a classroom or school. Often people hear 'Educational Leadership' and they think of some kind of school principal or other administrator. These are certainly important careers for the space, but they are only a part of a broader range of possibilities. There are a range of careers in the EdTech space, for instance, that need good people who understand various aspects of what happens in classrooms. Likewise, educational development and the NGO world are full of amazing opportunities that offer exciting careers that are rewarding. These jobs might see a lot of travel and broader global connections that you don't often see in the traditional K-12 space.

ScoreContinuing Education DirectorUS Average

Salary

5.6

Avg. Salary $71,939

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.1

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.70%

Asian 4.34%

Black or African American 10.91%

Hispanic or Latino 14.12%

Unknown 4.00%

White 65.93%

Gender

female 66.03%

male 33.97%

Age - 47

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 - 47

Stress level

8.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.8

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a continuing education director

Explore continuing education director education requirements

Most common continuing education director degrees

Bachelor's

61.5 %

Master's

25.2 %

Doctorate

5.4 %

Start to develop specific continuing education director skills

Skills	Percentages
Education Programs	17.60%
Medical Education	9.05%
CME	8.20%
Curriculum Development	6.78%
Accme	6.76%

Complete relevant continuing education director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New continuing education 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 continuing education director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real continuing education director resumes.

Research continuing education director duties and responsibilities

Lead and develop education and eLearning programs ensuring establish financial goals and customer satisfaction.
Design and consult on the construction of new videoconferencing classrooms and auditoriums.
Total responsibility for all educational/administrative aspects of CME office.
Maintain awareness of adult learning theory and methods of evaluating educational impacts of grant-fund CME sessions.

Get continuing education director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a continuing education director. The most common roles before becoming a continuing education director include director, instructor team lead and executive director.

Prepare your continuing education director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your continuing education director resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a continuing education director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable continuing education director resume templates

Build a professional continuing education director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your continuing education director resume.