How To Become An Extension Educator: What It Is and Career Path

What is an extension educator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

An extension educator plays an important role in educating other people. They simplify educational programs for a specific audience. They educate people or communities outside the school campus so that these people can apply their knowledge to their everyday lives.

An extension educator interprets research findings, develops educational materials suited for the audience, and oversees the whole program from development to execution.

Even though most extension educators have college degrees, a person with a high school degree or GED can take on this position. What you need is passion and the desire to help educate other people beyond the school walls. You should also be knowledgeable in program development and implementation.

An extension educator can earn an average salary of $51,111 and can also become an executive director in the long run. Although more than half of the working population is comprised of female extension educators, other genders are welcome to apply in this position.

ScoreExtension EducatorUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $44,053

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

5.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.75%

Asian 6.96%

Black or African American 7.65%

Hispanic or Latino 13.00%

Unknown 4.02%

White 67.63%

Gender

female 70.72%

male 29.28%

Age - 44

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 - 44

Stress level

5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.7

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an extension educator

Explore extension educator education requirements

Most common extension educator degrees

Bachelor's

63.1 %

Master's

25.1 %

Associate

9.7 %

Start to develop specific extension educator skills

Skills	Percentages
Program Development	26.29%
Food Safety	11.97%
Natural Resources	6.62%
Needs Assessment	5.46%
Community Organizations	5.18%

Complete relevant extension educator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New extension educators 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 an extension educator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real extension educator resumes.

Research extension educator duties and responsibilities

Develop, implement and evaluate educational programs relating to commercial and consumer horticulture IPM including field demonstration trials.
Design and implement community trash disposal, recycling and composting project.

Prepare your extension educator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your extension educator 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 an extension educator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable extension educator resume templates

Build a professional extension educator 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 extension educator resume.