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Job outlook for operations administrators in the United States
Operations administrator job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected operations administrator job growth rate is 5% from 2018-2028.
About 18,200 new jobs for operations administrators are projected over the next decade.
Operations administrator salaries have increased 9% for operations administrators in the last 5 years.
There are over 76,383 operations administrators currently employed in the United States.
There are 115,828 active operations administrator job openings in the US.
The average operations administrator salary is $50,962.
Are operations administrator jobs in demand?
Operations administrator job and salary trends over time
Operations administrator jobs over time
Operations administrator job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 76,383 | 0.02% |
| 2020 | 16,504 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 37,765 | 0.01% |
| 2018 | 76,734 | 0.02% |
| 2017 | 73,289 | 0.02% |
Average operations administrator salary over time
Operations administrator salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $50,962 | $24.50 | +3.4% |
| 2025 | $49,282 | $23.69 | +2.3% |
| 2024 | $48,167 | $23.16 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | $47,609 | $22.89 | +1.8% |
| 2022 | $46,787 | $22.49 | +2.4% |
Operations administrator jobs by state
Most common states for operations administrators
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 264 | 38% |
| 2 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 383 | 29% |
| 3 | Alaska | 739,795 | 197 | 27% |
| 4 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,365 | 24% |
| 5 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 454 | 24% |
| 6 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 207 | 24% |
| 7 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 138 | 24% |
| 8 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 243 | 23% |
| 9 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 2,131 | 21% |
| 10 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 357 | 21% |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 2,507 | 20% |
| 12 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 2,056 | 20% |
| 13 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 581 | 20% |
| 14 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 266 | 20% |
| 15 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 1,261 | 19% |
| 16 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 605 | 19% |
| 17 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 1,092 | 18% |
| 18 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 1,077 | 18% |
| 19 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 385 | 18% |
| 20 | Vermont | 623,657 | 114 | 18% |
Most common cities for operations administrators
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rockville | 3 | 4% | $59,354 |
| 2 | Orlando | 5 | 2% | $41,882 |
| 3 | Baltimore | 7 | 1% | $59,924 |
| 4 | Indianapolis | 5 | 1% | $47,362 |
| 5 | Boston | 4 | 1% | $71,596 |
| 6 | Denver | 4 | 1% | $46,635 |
| 7 | Miami | 4 | 1% | $41,623 |
| 8 | Plano | 4 | 1% | $52,042 |
| 9 | Washington | 4 | 1% | $70,623 |
| 10 | Atlanta | 3 | 1% | $48,214 |
| 11 | Aurora | 3 | 1% | $46,652 |
| 12 | Sacramento | 3 | 1% | $76,238 |
| 13 | Saint Paul | 3 | 1% | $54,104 |
| 14 | Phoenix | 5 | 0% | $52,872 |
| 15 | Chicago | 3 | 0% | $61,126 |
| 16 | San Francisco | 3 | 0% | $77,938 |
| 17 | San Jose | 3 | 0% | $76,778 |
| 18 | Seattle | 3 | 0% | $56,023 |
Operations Administrator job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of operations administrator experts
University of Nebraska - Omaha
University of Illinois at Chicago
Springfield College
American Jewish University
Walsh University
Louisiana Tech University
Davenport University
California Baptist University
Aquinas College
Fairleigh Dickinson University
University of Illinois - Chicago
Pennsylvania State University
Appalachian State University
What Operations Administrator skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Joseph Oluwole: Gain as much leadership experience as possible before taking your first job by volunteering for various roles, opportunities, and committees at your school. Additionally, pursuing a doctorate (whether an Ed.D. or Ph.D.) could be very helpful in maximizing your salary potential.
What will help Operations Administrators increase their earning potential?
Dr. Joseph Oluwole: My general advice is to seek out administrator and professor mentors who can provide a sounding board and encouragement through the emotional roller coaster that administration can be. I cannot overstate the importance of supportive mentors to the success of a new graduate beginning as an administrator. Even the State of New Jersey, for instance, recognizes the importance of mentoring and created a formal program for new assistant principals and principals to seek support from experienced mentors under the state's New Jersey Leaders to Leaders (NJL2L) program.
What general advice would you give to an Operations Administrator?
Janice Garnett Ed.D.: Negotiate based on research, develop a career development plan, focus on enhancing performance, professional growth, and continuous learning.
What Operations Administrator skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Janice Garnett Ed.D.: New leaders must balance their vision with the realities and priorities of the school and/or school district. In other words, begin by developing an entry plan to learn and understand existing budget(s), staffing, community, and other priority needs of the school and/or district. Include in the plan how you will focus on relationships to build trust and rapport with all stakeholders. A communication plan with transparent messages and ample active listening will be key. The educational landscape constantly evolves, calling for continuous learning through professional development, networking, and mentorship.
What will help Operations Administrators increase their earning potential?
Janice Garnett Ed.D.: Being a future-ready leader, Utilizing data-driven decision-making, Leading culturally responsive schools, Leading learning through instructional leadership, Championing Social-Emotional Learning (SEL).
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Operations Administrators?
James R. Thompson Ph.D.: The coronavirus pandemic has made apparent the vital role the government plays in addressing society's larger problems. It will attract new people to the field of public administration and strengthen the commitment of those already in the field to their careers.
What general advice would you give to an Operations Administrator?
Eileen Cyr Ed.D.: Use every resource at their disposal to increase their understanding of SEL and FACE. Build a resume that provides evidence of their ability to thrive in both a virtual and face to face classroom. Be prepared to engage with online platforms like Zoom, Nearpod, Jamboard, Padlet, and google slides.
Breathe - the airline advice of putting on your oxygen mask before assisting others is 100% applicable to today's teachers.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Operations Administrators in the next 3-5 years?
David Groshoff: Robust virtual meeting technology, such as Zoom, will become increasingly crucial for workforce productivity. While Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other platforms have provided much-needed capabilities during this time, they-and WiFi providers-could not fully keep up with the demands. Over the coming years, the technology will likely develop to engage in virtual meetings just as fully via mobile technology via desktop, including screen share functionality.
What type of skills will young Operations Administrators need?
Dr. Julie Szendrey: Hard skills: Those graduates skilled in digital marketing and analytics will have an advantage in the workforce. Using analytics tools such as Google Analytics, Tableau, and marketing automation will be a differentiator. And of course, being savvy in Excel is a big plus.
Soft skills: Emotional Intelligence (EQ), or the ability to manage your own emotions and the emotions of others, is essential. It's good to know how your role fits into the function of the overall organization.
Additionally, handling and navigating ambiguity is beneficial - knowing how to figure things out and when to ask questions.
Patrick Scott Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of EconomicsLouisiana Tech University
Economics and Finance Department
What type of skills will young Operations Administrators need?
Patrick Scott Ph.D.: I think the importance of critical thinking and reasoning skills cannot be overstated enough. In this area, economics shines. Additionally, analytical and quantitative skills are more important than ever. Businesses continue to make the shift towards data-driven decision making. The ability to quickly analyze data and correctly assign an interpretation or meaning to that data is an important job market skill. With just a little bit of economic intuition, combined data science skills, business economics majors are uniquely positioned for success in the job market of tomorrow.
How do you envision technology impacting Operations Administrators in the next 5 years?
Patrick Scott Ph.D.: I'm so glad you asked this question. COVID-19 has structurally changed the economy we knew. Technology will continue to drive these changes at a faster rate than we have seen in previous generations. While the cost of analyzing data and making fast business decisions will likely drop in the coming years, due to increased efficiency, the need to have someone interpret what the numbers mean to business leaders and policymakers will continue to remain strong. Business economics majors are poised to be able to capitalize on these opportunities for the foreseeable future.
How do you envision technology impacting Operations Administrators in the next 5 years?
Marjolijn Van der Velde Ph.D.: Strange as it sounds, the one constant we can count on changes. While we may not know exactly what tech skills will be necessary, knowing that we need to be continuous learners will help us keep up with the rapid rate of change we can expect over the next five years.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Operations Administrators to find work opportunities?
Wayne Fletcher: As a mid-sized university operating in the Southern California market, my answer incorporates a geographic bias. Although the pandemic has certainly dampened immediate opportunities for some students, aggregately, the Southern California market provides a multitude of new graduate opportunities. California has the largest economy within the U.S., and if it was a sovereign nation, it would be ranked the fifth largest economy in the world. Therefore, opportunities are ample. That said, one constant in securing the best opportunities relates back to networking. People like to hire people they know. To that end, the Jabs School of Business, working with our Career Center, intentionally creates opportunities for students to network in our community through events, job fairs, and internships. However, it still is incumbent on students to engage those opportunities.
How do you envision technology impacting Operations Administrators in the next 5 years?
Wayne Fletcher: Business is ubiquitous and touches every sector of our economy. As such, technological developments will impact all business graduates as they pursue their respective careers. The guidance I would give students is two-fold. First, never stop learning. Read a variety of publications from different perspectives and on different subjects. By becoming an intelligent consumer of information, young professionals can intentionally seek to develop themselves in order to maintain currency within their areas of interest. Second, expect change.
Life, business, and professions are not linear. We cannot plan for tomorrow simply by observing what occurred yesterday. Those professionals that hunker into one area of their profession, anticipating that they can cruise through until retirement, are the least prepared to engage new norms - which are often driven by new technology. Most businesses and professions are not on the cutting edge of change and technology, which may lead to employee complacency. Those that thrive as things change are the professionals that anticipate and embrace directed and intelligent change. Those that resist change become obsolete.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Operations Administrators?
Dana Hebreard: Given the scope of the pandemic and its effect on everyday life, students who graduated this year and head to the job market should expect to get questions in a job interview about how they adjusted. I have been telling everyone to think strategically. How did you use your time effectively? Did you volunteer in the local community? Take a part-time position? Learn a new skill? Responses have a strong indicator of character and how a student stayed motivated during challenging circumstances.
Domenick Celentano
LecturerFairleigh Dickinson University
Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Operations Administrators?
Domenick Celentano: The Coronavirus Pandemic was a shock to everyone's life, and students were no exception. Students have been impacted in many ways.
Students pivoted over spring break 2020 from traditional on-campus face to face courses to courses delivered 100% to the remote learning modality. In my discussions with students, remote learning online was new to most students, along with a substantial learning curve in transitioning to self-directed study; for many, it was a difficult transition given the short notice over spring break. Many faced difficulties in their home lives, with parents also dealing with interruptions in their careers and incomes. Many students took advantage of the technology offered by the university to support on-campus classes, but the same technology was not immediately available to them at home; fast Internet access and reliable WiFi are but two examples.
The enduring impacts for the future:
-Students are recognizing that "adapting" will become part of their life and profession.
-Resiliency goes hand-in-hand with adaptation because there will not be a straight-line path to ways to deal with future life and work scenarios.
-The ability to learn methods and techniques to successfully work remotely, as many corporations realize employees find an appeal to remote work and the reduction/elimination of their commute. Corporations will have a segment of their workforce working remotely, either full or part-time.
-Collaborating with colleagues remotely will be a necessary skill set to succeed in a future career.
How do you envision technology impacting Operations Administrators in the next 5 years?
Domenick Celentano: Remote work will become the norm for most organizations. Currently, we are relying on synchronous video (Zoom, for example) for team collaboration, which is limited in replicating in-person collaboration. Advances in both Artificial/Augmented Reality will lessen the need for in-person collaboration of all sorts because the technology will provide the look and, most importantly, the feel of face-to-face contact. Additionally, 5G technology will allow broad access to high-speed video and data that far exceeds what remote workers currently have via cable and telecom providers.
How do you envision technology impacting Operations Administrators in the next 5 years?
Christopher Westland: We will continue to see the evolution of trends that we only started paying attention to during the dot-com boom. Information technologies will increasingly substitute for the physical plant in chemistry, biology, medicine, aerospace, and manufacturing. This will make work both transportable and increasingly indistinguishable from what we, today, would call information systems and computer science.
Computer speed, data storage, and network bandwidth are all growing exponentially, every passing year, opening up new fields for virtual modeling and transcending geography. My predictions: in the coming five years, we will begin to see the wholesale replacement of blue-collar jobs by robotics (e.g., truck and taxi drivers, retail salespersons, and security, surveillance, and law enforcement). Universities will see an urgent new demand for programs, but will need to be on their toes.
As the workplace changes, universities will need to add programs that are "fast and filling," allowing students to study hard for short periods, enter into the workforce, and come back for "top-ups" (e.g., executive programs, certificate programs, short degree programs) perhaps every five years as the world and the workplace change. Many of these new offerings will be online, perhaps in an immersive "gaming" format, and will be vastly different from the "lecture hall" courses that have defined university classes in the past.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Operations Administrators?
Christopher Westland: There will be, but it won't result in immediate and dramatic change; rather, it will accelerate changes that are currently being debated -- in particular, the value of a physical workspace. The informed opinion exists on both sides: Reed Hastings of Netflix feels that workplaces are needed for productivity, innovation, and community; Jack Dorsey of Twitter and Square feels that they are overrated and is willing to let his employees work at home forever (among them, my daughter, who is a senior engineer at Square and U of I graduate).
The most successful US firms (the FANGs) are team and project-based, rather than being organized into traditional Sloan-type stovepipes. As labor markets become more and more efficient, it is likely that actual work will coalesce around expertise, previously successful teams, and teams and individuals with reputations. People will change employers often, and periodically take sabbaticals. Maternity and lifestyle leave will be expected. As long as universities recognize this evolution of workplace and career opportunities in their program offerings, a university degree will continue to be an important asset for commanding the best jobs.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Operations Administrators to find work opportunities?
Michelle Gordon: The good news is that business is everywhere! Students graduating in business can build solid careers wherever they choose, as opposed to some sectors such as BioTech or Software Development, where jobs tend to be clustered around certain centers of innovation. Realtors are reporting a trend of individuals and families moving out of big cities into less-densely populated areas. This means that business graduates have great geographic flexibility in their job search efforts.
How do you envision technology impacting Operations Administrators in the next 5 years?
David Marlett Ph.D.: The impact of technology is going to be massive in insurance like all other professions. Risk identification is going to be more accurate because of the new sources of data and better analytics. Claims will be handled faster using AI, remote working, and drones. Jobs are going to change; skill sets will need to be updated. It will be easier for the current students and recent graduates, in my opinion. We are racing to keep our curriculum current and doing our best to prepare students. They are also just more naturally comfortable with technology and not as upset about moving away from the traditional system.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Operations Administrators?
David Marlett Ph.D.: Unfortunately, there will be an enduring impact on graduates. First, most of the internships last summer were either canceled or shifted to an online format. Most of our students typically have a robust, engaging experience in an office or the field. They missed out on this experience, and possible job offers afterward.
Also, we cannot travel, so they are not attending professional conferences like we usually do. Our international study abroad programs have been canceled as well, so they miss out on that experience. Lastly, the online teaching format is functional, but not as rich an experience as in person. The higher-end and committed students are doing fine, but the rest are struggling. This is a time when it is particularly crucial for students to be motivated and willing to go the extra mile.