There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a director of programs and operations. For example, did you know that they make an average of $34.23 an hour? That's $71,196 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 150,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many directors of programs and operations 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 management skills, leadership skills and problem-solving skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a director of programs and operations, we found that a lot of resumes listed 16.4% of directors of programs and operations included project management, while 10.3% of resumes included oversight, and 7.5% of resumes included program operations. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the director of programs and operations job title. But what industry to start with? Most directors of programs and operations actually find jobs in the non profits and technology industries.
If you're interested in becoming a director of programs and operations, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 43.0% of directors of programs and operations have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 36.8% of directors of programs and operations have master's degrees. Even though most directors of programs and operations 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 of programs and operations. When we researched the most common majors for a director of programs and operations, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on director of programs and operations resumes include associate degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a director of programs and operations. In fact, many director of programs and operations jobs require experience in a role such as program director. Meanwhile, many directors of programs and operations also have previous career experience in roles such as program manager or director.
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In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of executive director you might progress to a role such as chief executive officer eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title chief executive officer.
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
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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, 16.4% of directors of programs and operations listed project management on their resume, but soft skills such as management skills and leadership skills are important as well.
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a director of programs and operations. The best states for people in this position are Rhode Island, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and California. Directors of programs and operations make the most in Rhode Island with an average salary of $103,613. Whereas in Virginia and Pennsylvania, they would average $93,502 and $93,206, respectively. While directors of programs and operations would only make an average of $87,063 in California, 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. Rhode Island
$103,613
Avg. Salary
2. New York
$86,542
Avg. Salary
3. Pennsylvania
$93,206
Avg. Salary