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

What is a volunteer director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average volunteer director salary is $79,475. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an business major. It usually takes 4-6 years of experience to become a volunteer director. Volunteer directors with a Certified Professional - Human Resource (IPMA-CP) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 20,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreVolunteer DirectorUS Average

Salary

6.2

Avg. Salary $79,475

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.7

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.88%

Asian 5.11%

Black or African American 10.88%

Hispanic or Latino 14.16%

Unknown 5.36%

White 63.60%

Gender

female 67.62%

male 32.38%

Age - 45

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 - 45

Stress level

9.7

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a volunteer director

Explore volunteer director education requirements

Most common volunteer director degrees

Bachelor's

68.9 %

Master's

11.9 %

Associate

11.7 %

Start to develop specific volunteer director skills

Skills	Percentages
Community Outreach	12.45%
Volunteer Recruitment	9.58%
Community Services	6.07%
Public Speaking	5.84%
Training Materials	4.86%

Complete relevant volunteer director training and internships

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

Research volunteer director duties and responsibilities

Educate provider offices on Medicare and Medicaid incentives relative to achieving meaningful use.
Assist the pastor in the ministry by leading the youth to restoration, evangelism, and discipleship.
Develop and implement grassroots marketing to increase awareness, including developing the annual marketing plan.
Work closely with a child life specialist to comfort patients during hospitalization by alleviating stress through playroom interaction.

Get volunteer director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a volunteer director. The most common roles before becoming a volunteer director include volunteer, internship team lead and administrative assistant.

Apply for volunteer director jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a volunteer director job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams