Senior School Principal. The main part of my job is staff support, student issues, families, school operations and academic planning.

Education. That changed a little once I had more experience.

About 18 years at this point.

My responsibilities change by project, but staff support, student issues, families, school operations and academic planning is the consistent part.

Basically, the organization needs someone responsible for this area so problems don't just get passed around.

I make things easier for the people before and after me in the process. It depends on the project, though.

I check what needs attention first, then spend most of the day on staff support, student issues, families, school operations and academic planning. I usually have a couple meetings mixed in.

Some tasks are routine. The projects are what keep it from feeling like the exact same day over and over. Some coworkers would probably answer differently.

Deadlines are just part of it. The stressful ones usually happen when several things land at once. It depends on the project, though.

I work remotely, with occasional in-person days.

Most days I have school information systems, email, spreadsheets and scheduling tools open or nearby.

More independent than group work, although I check in with people throughout the day. It took me a while to get used to that.

Education-wise, teaching experience plus administration credentials.

Not necessarily for every employer. Licensing is different though; if the role legally requires one, that's non-negotiable.

Knowing the technical basics matters, but so does being able to explain a problem clearly.

Normal business hours for me, with occasional longer days. It can be different at other places.

Not very flexible during the day, but I can usually plan ahead. That's how it works on my team.

Most weeks are fine. Busy periods can be rough.

Clients and coworkers, pretty evenly. It's not something I thought about before I started.

There are several ways to advance. Management is one, but becoming a stronger specialist is another. It depends a lot on who you're working with.

You usually start with smaller assignments, then get trusted with more complicated ones. Some coworkers would probably answer differently.

There are related roles on both the technical and business sides. The exact mix changes from week to week.

Demand is pretty healthy for people with experience. I didn't really understand that until I started working.

The hard part is usually balancing speed, cost and quality. That's been pretty consistent for me.

I expect demand to stay decent, especially for people who keep learning. At my workplace, at least.

Automation will take pieces of the job. The people who know the field well enough to check the automated work will still be needed. I didn't really understand that until I started working.

I'd use current government salary data plus local postings for this one. At my workplace, at least.

For employees, healthcare and retirement are common. Self-employed people have to cover those themselves. That's the part I notice most.

Practice writing and presenting your work. People underestimate how useful that is.

An internship helped me because I finally saw what the work looked like outside school.

A family friend introduced me to the field. I didn't know much about it before that.

I like that I still run into problems I haven't seen before.

Scheduling. I spend more time coordinating calendars than I expected.

The stereotype is that you work alone. I talk to people constantly. It depends a lot on who you're working with.

People who are curious and don't mind asking questions. It depends on the project, though.

If you hate the normal daily tasks, the salary won't fix that. That's the part I notice most.

The number of meetings surprised me. That changed a little once I had more experience.

I'd spend less time worrying about picking the perfect career and more time trying things. That changed a little once I had more experience.

Career progress is slower than social media makes it look. It depends a lot on who you're working with.

There was a difficult deadline we met without cutting corners. I was proud of the whole team. That's the part I notice most.

The biggest change is that people now come to me for answers I used to ask somebody else for. I learned that pretty quickly.

No regular weekends or on-call work in my current position. It's not something I thought about before I started.