How To Become A Service Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a service director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A service director is an individual responsible for overseeing the delivery of services to clients or customers. They are typically found in organizations such as healthcare, hospitality, and customer service. A service director is responsible for managing staff, ensuring high-quality service delivery, and monitoring customer satisfaction. They work closely with other departments to ensure that services are delivered efficiently and effectively. A successful service director must have excellent leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.

ScoreService DirectorUS Average

Salary

8.0

Avg. Salary $114,981

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 7.61%

Black or African American 11.17%

Hispanic or Latino 14.44%

Unknown 4.27%

White 61.80%

Gender

female 42.77%

male 57.23%

Age - 47

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 - 47

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a service director?

Pros

Competitive salary
Opportunity to make a positive impact on the organization and customers
Ability to work with a variety of people and departments
Room for advancement within the organization
Access to networking opportunities

Cons

High stress levels at times due to customer complaints or employee conflicts
Long hours may be required, including weekends and holidays
Responsibility for meeting performance metrics and revenue goals is challenging
Training and managing employees is time-consuming
Limited flexibility in decision-making due to organizational hierarchy or policies

Key steps to become a service director

Explore service director education requirements

Most common service director degrees

Bachelor's

58.9 %

Master's

17.9 %

Associate

13.9 %

Start to develop specific service director skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	11.64%
Healthcare	10.29%
Patient Care	9.87%
Customer Service	9.36%
Oversight	4.60%

Complete relevant service director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New service directors 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 a service director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real service director resumes.

Gain additional service director certifications

Service director certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific service director certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for service directors include Certified Dietary Manager (CDM) and Basic Life Support for Healthcare and Public Safety (BLS).

More About Certifications

Research service director duties and responsibilities

Lead and manage implementation and customization of SharePoint to replace legacy document approval system and document filing system.
Lead the training program for child psychiatry residents.
Manage social medias (Weibo, Facebook and etc . )
Assist in managing client accounts by managing HVAC alignments and ensuring contractual requirements are meet.

Get service director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a service director. The most common roles before becoming a service director include service manager, staff nurse team lead and manager.

Prepare your service director resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable service director resume templates

Build a professional service 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 service director resume.