A director is a senior management professional responsible for providing oversight of an aspect, department, or departments of an organization. Their duties might vary from one position to another but they are generally in charge of a group of management-level employees and assist and direct them in the oversight of other employees and the general operations of departments and teams. Furthermore, they unite different elements for the purpose of achieving a singular goal, creation of strategies and policies, and the altering of company operations.
How To Become a Director
Summary. We reviewed real candidate profiles to learn the best path to become a director. We'll guide you through the education, experiences, and skills hiring managers look for in a director.
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Most companies require a director to have a bachelor's degree degree in a related field, such as business or psychology.
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It's important to have relevant work experience, with typical job requirements ranging from 4-6 years in related fields.
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Common job titles before becoming a director include manager, teacher, and internship.
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Hiring managers expect a director to have soft skills such as creativity, communication skills, and leadership skills.
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Once you have all the required skills and experience, it takes an average of less than 1 month of job training to become a director.
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Getting a certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP) will help you to earn more as a director.
We found that 63.8% of directors have graduated with a bachelor's degree and 17.8% of people in this position have earned their master's degrees. While most directors have a college degree, you may find it's also true that generally it's possible to be successful in this career with only a high school degree. In fact, our research shows that one out of every eight directors were not college graduates.
Those directors who do attend college, typically earn either a business degree or a psychology degree. Less commonly earned degrees for directors include a communication degree or a accounting degree.
How to become a Director in 7 steps:
- Step 1: Explore director education
- Step 2: Develop director skills
- Step 3: Complete relevent training/internship
- Step 4: Get director certifications
- Step 5: Research director duties
- Step 6: Prepare your resume
- Step 7: Get director experience
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Key Steps To Become a Director
Explore Director Education
If you're interested in becoming a director, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 63.8% of directors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 17.8% of directors have master's degrees. Even though most directors have a college degree, it's possible 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 director. When we researched the most common majors for a director, we found that they most commonly have business, psychology and communication.
Director Major Percentages Business 24.50% Psychology 7.70% Communication 6.00% Accounting 5.40% Other Degrees 56.30% Develop Director Skills
It'll be a good idea to develop director skills before applying for a job. Here are some skills commonly requested in director job descriptions:
Skills Percentages Healthcare 10.42% Customer Service 10.21% Oversight 7.16% Project Management 6.10% Human Resources 4.17% Complete Relevent Training/Internship
Directors spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. During this time, new directors learn the skills and techniques required for their specific job and employer. The chart below shows how much time it takes to gain competency as a director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real director resumes.
Average Amount Of Time At Training
Get Director Certifications
Certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for this position. They can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a certification, having one may help you stand out in an application. Plus, the process of getting a certification can teach you new skills that you can bring to your work. We determined the most common certifications for directors. The most common certification is Project Management Professional (PMP), but Certified Manager Certification (CM) is also frequently seen in directors resumes.
- Project Management Professional (PMP)
- Certified Manager Certification (CM)
- Certified Professional - Human Resource (IPMA-CP)
- IT Information Library Foundations Certification (ITIL)
- Six Sigma Green Belt
- Program Management Professional (PgMP)
- Basic Life Support for Healthcare and Public Safety (BLS)
- Certified Sales Professional (CSP)
Research Director Duties
When you decide to become a director, It's important to know what duties and responsibilities are required for this position. Some common responsibilities are a part of most director jobs. Here is a list of the main duties that define the role:
- Manage water metering programs for NYC and national portfolio.
- Collaborate with the CPA to manage financials and reporting / distribution to physicians.
- Manage OEM manufacturing partners for making bulk solutions, product fills and final packaging.
- Lead company's first deep-fill structural project, bring company into EPA compliance, establish effective QA-QC program.
- Develop company website entirely as well as wrote and manage the SEO and upkeep for overall site maintenance.
- Manage the company's hotel portfolio operations and assets, including renovation, new build, conversions, and rebranding.
Get Director Experience
Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a director. The most common roles before becoming a director include manager, teacher team lead and internship.
Prepare Your Resume
Finally, when you already have checked the skills and responsibilities for this role, you can start creating your resume. Everything that goes into creating a perfect resume can take hours, days, or even weeks. No worries, we created a resume builder to make this process as easy as possible with tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and a summary.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Director Resume templates
Build a professional 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 Director resume.Apply For a Director Job
Director Jobs
Becoming a Director FAQs
What Should I Study To Become A Director?
You should study film in order to become a director. While not always a requirement, most directors obtain a bachelor's degree in film prior to working as a director.
A bachelor's degree in film can prepare aspiring directors through the study of specialized skills related to filmmaking. Students will study script writing, cinematography, and audio production. While all of these skills are executed by specialists on a film set, it is important that film directors are familiar with how these specialized areas work together to create a film.
The benefits of film school can extend beyond the coursework. Film school offers aspiring filmmakers access to expensive equipment that they may otherwise not be able to afford. Sound equipment, film editing software, and professional lighting are a few of the advantages that students have access to as film students.
A very important part of filmmaking is developing connections that you have made within the industry. Film school provides opportunities to network with other film students and professionals in order to develop these relationships. While in film school, students, through networking and coursework, often find the specific area of film directing that they are most interested in such as documentary or television.
Have more questions? See all answers to common arts, entertainment, sports, and media questions.