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The differences between school principals and directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a school principal, becoming a director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a director has an average salary of $113,489, which is higher than the $97,138 average annual salary of a school principal.
The top three skills for a school principal include professional development, curriculum development and student achievement. The most important skills for a director are healthcare, customer service, and oversight.
| School Principal | Director | |
| Yearly salary | $97,138 | $113,489 |
| Hourly rate | $46.70 | $54.56 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 60,093 | 230,711 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 47 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A School Principal supervises and directs education and teaching programs within a school. They develop and implement policies, programs, curriculum activities, budgets, and more.
Directors work in show business, whether in a film, a television show, or a theatre production. They are responsible for bringing the material to life. They work with the writers to get a clear vision of how the production should look. They lead the production team in planning for the production, identifying filming or rehearsing schedules, casting for roles, and other aspects that need to be decided upon. Directors provide direction to the actors to ensure that the actors understand their role and will be able to effectively convey emotions to the audience. They also manage all other crew members and communicate their expectations clearly so that everyone on the set is working towards one vision.
School principals and directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| School Principal | Director | |
| Average salary | $97,138 | $113,489 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $131,000 | Between $66,000 And $192,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newark, NJ | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New York |
| Best paying company | Lexington School and Center for the Deaf | Mayo Clinic |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Finance |
There are a few differences between a school principal and a director in terms of educational background:
| School Principal | Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Educational Leadership | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between school principals' and directors' demographics:
| School Principal | Director | |
| Average age | 47 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.6% Female, 55.4% | Male, 53.2% Female, 46.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 4.4% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 14% |