Careers

Careers With an Online Master's in Education: 8 Jobs and What They Pay (2027)

Eight jobs in schools and colleges that an online master's in education leads to or moves you up in. Each guide gives the route in, the licensing rules to check, the ranked programs that feed it and pay from the federal wage survey.

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Education Careers Profiled

8

Highest Median Pay, School Principals

$105,870

Careers Where a Master's Is the Standard Way In

4

Which Careers Can an Online Master's in Education Lead To?

An online master's in education leads to eight careers we cover: four where a master's degree is the standard way in and four where it advances a career that usually starts with a bachelor's and a license. They are listed from the highest median pay to the lowest, using May 2025 federal wage figures.

How Does Pay Compare Across Careers an Online Master's in Education Leads To?

Pay across these education careers runs from a median of $61,540 for adult education and ESL teachers to $105,870 for school principals. A median is the midpoint of everyone in the job, including people twenty years in, so each guide also gives the 10th to 90th percentile spread. The bars below carry the usual entry education beside each figure.

Median annual pay for 8 education careers
Career Median pay Typical entry education
School Principal $105,870 Master's degree
Postsecondary Education Administrator $104,590 Master's degree
Instructional Coordinator $77,440 Master's degree
High School Teacher $72,040 Bachelor's degree
Special Education Teacher $65,120 Bachelor's degree
School Counselor $64,330 Master's degree
Elementary School Teacher $63,970 Bachelor's degree
Adult Education and ESL Teacher $61,540 Bachelor's degree
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Special education teachers are the kindergarten and elementary band.

Which Education Careers Require a Master's Degree?

School principals, postsecondary education administrators, instructional coordinators and school counselors require a master's degree in practice, and the degree is what leads to the state license or the hiring bar that comes with it. Principals and school counselors need a license on top of the degree. Postsecondary administrators do not need a state license, and instructional coordinators face rules that differ by state and district.

High school teachers, special education teachers, elementary school teachers and adult education and ESL teachers usually start with a bachelor's degree and a state license. For them an online master's does one of two jobs: it supplies initial licensure for someone whose degree is in another field, or it moves a working teacher to a higher lane on the district salary schedule. The licensure guide explains how each state treats a teacher who studied online.

Which Online Master's Rankings Feed Each Education Career?

Each career guide names the ranked online master's lists whose graduates move into the job. The list below shows where each career starts, with the number of fully online programs ranked on each list.

Where Do the Figures on These Education Career Pages Come From?