Also called: Childcare Center Directors
Education and Childcare Administrators build social perceptiveness, judgment and decision making and instructing skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Training and Development Managers (86%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Training and Development Managers | 86% | $133,000 | +124% | None |
| 2 | Training and Development Specialists | 82% | $69,280 | +17% | None |
| 3 | Instructional Coordinators | 82% | $77,440 | +31% | Graduate degree |
| 4 | Special Education Teachers, Secondary School | 81% | $74,260 | +25% | None |
| 5 | Health Education Specialists | 80% | $64,070 | +8% | None |
| 6 | Human Resources Managers | 80% | $149,280 | +152% | None |
| 7 | Human Resources Specialists | 78% | $75,940 | +28% | None |
| 8 | Directors, Religious Activities and Education | 78% | $52,100 | −12% | None |
| 9 | Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education | 76% | $62,680 | +6% | None |
| 10 | Credit Counselors | 76% | $52,230 | −12% | None |
Compared with Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare, median $59,300. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as education and childcare administrators (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
86% skill match · $133,000 · +124% pay
Operations Analysis · Persuasion · Management of Financial Resources
82% skill match · $69,280 · +17% pay
Operations Analysis · Instructing · Operations Monitoring
82% skill match · $77,440 · +31% pay
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Training and Development Managers (86% skill match, median $133,000), Training and Development Specialists (82% skill match, median $69,280) and Instructional Coordinators (82% skill match, median $77,440), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 23 pay more than education and childcare administrators at the median. The biggest increases: Financial Managers (+181%, $166,570), Human Resources Managers (+152%, $149,280) and Compensation and Benefits Managers (+152%, $149,230).
23 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones. 2 usually need a graduate degree: Instructional Coordinators and Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.