Should I be a director of education?

If you're working in education, this question might sound familiar...

"What's next for me?"

Maybe you've been teaching, designing, facilitating, or supporting learning.

People trust you, and now you wonder what really changes when someone moves from doing the work to leading the work?

Moving into a director or leadership role in education usually means a shift.

You spend less time doing the work yourself and more time deciding how the work gets done.

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

You're supporting and guiding others instead of jumping in, making decisions without having all the answers, and thinking beyond today's class or session.

Friendly truth: It's still about learning — just from a different distance.

On a day-to-day basis, this often looks like:

• Setting a clear vision for learning programs and educational quality.

• Supporting and guiding educators, designers, or facilitators.

• Making decisions about priorities, resources, and timelines, often without perfect information.

Instead of jumping in to teach directly, you're shaping the conditions that allow learning to succeed.

That is where the broader impact comes in.

Leadership impact often spreads indirectly, through systems and people.

Photo by Izzy Gibson on Unsplash

While the setting changes, the mindset often doesn’t.

The title may look different across organizations, but the core thinking behind the role often stays the same.

What changes most is where your attention goes, not whether leadership is required,

In Corporate or EdTech Environments

Director roles often focus on:

• Designing learning that supports career growth, upskilling, and internal mobility

• Moving quickly and adapting learning to rapidly changing needs

• Working across teams with different priorities

• Balancing speed and scale with learning quality

In Private or Nonprofit Organizations

Director roles involve:

• Supporting educators and facilitators closely in their day-to-day work

• Protecting learning quality while navigating limited resources

• Making thoughtful tradeoffs between mission, capacity, and impact

Average Pay (US & Canada)

Salaries vary widely by sector, organization size, and location.

• US: Ranges from $116,000-$170,000

• Canada: The average salary is about $76,466

Corporate or ed-tech directorships may come with higher pay or clearer financial growth. In private or non-profit organizations, director roles hold significant responsibility, often with slower compensation.

Some of the most important skills in the role include:

• Communication & decision-making: Directors listen closely and make thoughtful decisions, even when information is incomplete.

• Emotional intelligence: Understanding people is just as important as understanding content.

• Systems thinking: You'll analyze learning programs and design plans that minimize disruption while supporting sustainable change.

These skills show up every day.

Being a director of education isn’t about knowing everything. It’s about how you think, decide, and relate to people.

Here's a short leadership insight from Simon Sinek that reinforces why leadership is about influence and courage, not rank:

In education leadership, similar skills (communication, courage, and support) matter more than technical expertise.

As an educator, you already lead when you:

• Take ownership of projects or programs

• Set a clear vision for quality learning

• Ask the right questions during needs analysis

• Listen closely to learners’ challenges and adapt accordingly

To grow toward a director role, you can:

• Get involved in initiatives or committees beyond your core role

• Collaborate across teams and learn how decisions affect different stakeholders

• Seek out mentors and observe how experienced leaders think and act

Additional degrees or certificates may be required in some organizations, but they matter most when they help you apply new ways of thinking to your current work. Growth comes less from titles and more from intentional practice.

This is where things get honest.

One of the biggest shifts in education leadership isn’t about learning a new skill. It’s about distance.

As a leader, you may no longer be the person designing the lesson, teaching the class, or jumping in to fix the problem yourself.

Instead, your impact often comes through other people.

So pause for a moment and think about a real situation. When was the last time you delegated something important? How did you feel?

Now check in with yourself:

• Are you comfortable influencing learning without touching every detail?

• Can you trust others to carry the work forward in their own way?

If you're not sure, this might not be the job for you — at least right now.

Small steps still count.

Deciding whether to move into a director role in education isn’t about proving you’re ready. It’s about noticing what kind of work helps you grow, and what quietly drains you.

Before you decide whether a director role is right for you, check in with yourself: