What Does a Career Services Director Do?
Almost every college has a career promise that is made during recruitment and judged after graduation. It rests on the internships, employer contacts, and job offers that make a graduate's first search shorter and less stressful. Career services directors run the office that keeps that promise.
Also known as: Assistant Director of Career Services, Associate Director, MBA Career Management Center, Director of Employer Relations, Student Employment Manager, Associate Director of Career Services
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as Academic Affairs Vice President (Academic Affairs VP), Academic Dean, Admissions Director, College President, Dean, Financial Aid Director, Institutional Research Director, Provost.
Career Services Director Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a career services director include:
- Set the career center's annual goals, budget and staffing plan with senior student affairs leaders.
- Build partnerships with employers that recruit on campus, host interns or sponsor career fairs.
- Supervise career counselors, employer relations staff and student workers, including hiring and reviews.
- Run the first-destination survey that reports where graduates work or study after finishing.
- Manage the Handshake account, employer approval rules and the job posting policy.
- Present outcome data to deans, trustees and admissions staff who quote it to prospective families.
- Plan major recruiting events, including career fairs, employer information sessions and interview weeks.
- Work with academic departments to add internships and career courses to degree programs.
- Raise funds from alumni and corporate donors for paid internship grants and center programs.
- Review advising, resume and interview services each term against student usage and survey results.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a career services director, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Leadership of a professional counseling and employer relations staff
- Budget planning and fundraising experience
- Handshake or a similar career services platform
- Relationship building with employers across industries
- Survey design and outcome reporting in Excel or Tableau
- Public speaking to trustees, parents and employers
- Knowledge of NACE standards for reporting graduate outcomes
- Diplomacy with employers, faculty and students
Education and Training
To become a career services director, in many colleges you will need a master's degree in counseling, higher education or business to qualify for the top post. Most directors progress from career counselor to associate director or employer relations manager first. Some come from corporate recruiting.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $80,870 - $144,370 per year, with a median of $104,590.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Education Administrators, Postsecondary.
BLS projects employment of postsecondary education administrators, a group that also covers deans, registrars and admissions directors, to grow about 2 percent from 2025 to 2035. That works out to roughly 14,500 openings a year across the whole group. Budgets for career centers often are tied to enrollment, but colleges always will need someone accountable for graduate outcomes as families compare schools by where their graduates end up.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Education administrators, postsecondary.
Career Services Director Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $64,560 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $80,870 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $104,590 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $144,370 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $215,620 |
Highest-Paying States for Career Services Directors
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are New York ($139,640), New Jersey ($131,570), Massachusetts ($128,970), Delaware ($128,570), Wyoming ($127,960). Pay is lowest in Florida ($83,840), Hawaii ($81,020), Arkansas ($78,240).
Median pay in all 51 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $100,030 |
| Alaska | $103,080 |
| Arizona | $103,280 |
| Arkansas | $78,240 |
| California | $125,460 |
| Colorado | $118,440 |
| Connecticut | $123,190 |
| Delaware | $128,570 |
| District of Columbia | $107,390 |
| Florida | $83,840 |
| Georgia | $110,200 |
| Hawaii | $81,020 |
| Idaho | $101,200 |
| Illinois | $99,770 |
| Indiana | $98,000 |
| Iowa | $89,320 |
| Kansas | $110,020 |
| Kentucky | $114,310 |
| Louisiana | $98,840 |
| Maine | $88,180 |
| Maryland | $118,550 |
| Massachusetts | $128,970 |
| Michigan | $108,500 |
| Minnesota | $104,740 |
| Mississippi | $86,590 |
| Missouri | $104,560 |
| Montana | $102,980 |
| Nebraska | $96,030 |
| Nevada | $88,810 |
| New Hampshire | $104,190 |
| New Jersey | $131,570 |
| New Mexico | $109,480 |
| New York | $139,640 |
| North Carolina | $101,060 |
| North Dakota | $101,600 |
| Ohio | $87,370 |
| Oklahoma | $105,830 |
| Oregon | $120,110 |
| Pennsylvania | $103,740 |
| Rhode Island | $106,520 |
| South Carolina | $95,570 |
| South Dakota | $126,160 |
| Tennessee | $100,850 |
| Texas | $104,390 |
| Utah | $100,420 |
| Vermont | $104,450 |
| Virginia | $120,840 |
| Washington | $127,630 |
| West Virginia | $84,660 |
| Wisconsin | $124,960 |
| Wyoming | $127,960 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as education administrators, postsecondary about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 93% use email every day
- 88% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 83% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
- 77% usually work more than 40 hours a week
- 76% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
- 73% are on the phone every day
- 68% spend more than half the workday sitting
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Master's degree | 48% |
| Doctoral degree | 37% |
| Bachelor's degree | 8% |
| Post-doctoral training | 7% |
Tools and Software Career Services Directors Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy helping, teaching or caring for people as well as leading, persuading and making business decisions.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Writing, Speaking, Monitoring.
Knowledge areas used most: English Language, Administration and Management, Education and Training, Customer and Personal Service, Personnel and Human Resources.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 5 of 5, which means extensive preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
Applying for a Career Services Director Job
- Academic cover letter sample
- Resume or CV: which to send
- How to describe your work experience
- Job interview tips
- Interview thank-you note
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Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 11-9033.00 (Education Administrators, Postsecondary). View on O*NET OnLine.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The Job Explorer has modified some of the information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.