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Business Management and Operations | Public Administrator (General)

Public Administrator (General)

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Public Administrator directs the work of a department or program in a municipality, state, province, or federal level.

Job Outlook

There were 76 Public Administrator (General) job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 5016 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the Public Administrator industry, which includes the Public Administrator (General) career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:

Salary

Many new Public Administrator (General) jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.

National

The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $205,238.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $197,317.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Public Administrator (General) postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $179,835.

Education and Experience

Posted Public Administrator (General) jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.

Education LevelPercentage
Associate's Degree0%
Bachelor's Degree56.38%
Master's Degree25.74%
Doctoral Degree12.42%
Other9.47%

Posted Public Administrator (General) jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.

Years of ExperiencePercentage
0 to 2 years35.21%
3 to 5 years35.93%
6 to 8 years14.97%
9+ years13.89%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Public Administrator (General) positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.

Baseline Skills

A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.

  • Communication (52.97%)
  • Management (48.41%)
  • Planning (35.43%)
  • Operations (34.05%)
  • Leadership (31%)
  • Writing (29.21%)
  • Coordinating (21.03%)
  • Research (20.18%)
  • Customer Service (18.28%)
  • Presentations (16.77%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

  • Public Administration (28.58%)
  • Public Works (36.04%)
  • Public Affairs (39.76%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

  • Media Relations (9.4%)
  • Public Relations (16.71%)
  • Procurement (5.15%)
  • Lobbying (2.7%)
  • Marketing (13.63%)
  • Press Releases (15.28%)
  • Journalism (8.44%)
  • Construction (17.53%)
  • Civil Engineering (11.12%)
  • Finance (9.09%)
  • Project Management (19.29%)
  • Public Policies (8.6%)

Salary Boosting Skills

A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.

  • Public Works (100%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Public Administrator (General) skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

  • Public Affairs Specialist
  • Public Works Director
  • Assistant Director of Public Works
  • City Administrator
  • Deputy Director of Public Works
  • Benefits Specialist
  • Communications and Public Affairs Specialist
  • Assistant Professor of Public Administration
  • Public Administrator
  • Public Affairs Manager

Similar Occupations

If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Public Administrator (General) jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

  • State of Washington (169)
  • United States Department of Defense (56)
  • Deloitte (54)
  • TTEC (52)
  • California State University (48)
  • United States Department of Veterans Affairs (48)
  • Pagerduty (45)
  • State Of Illinois (42)
  • League Of Minnesota Cities (37)
  • United States Department of the Treasury (37)

North Carolina

  • University of North Carolina (5)
  • Wake Forest University (5)
  • Appalachian State University (5)
  • United States Department of Veterans Affairs (4)
  • Centralsquare Technologies (3)
  • City Of Marion (3)
  • City Of Reidsville (3)
  • United States Department of Justice (3)
  • Environmental Protection Agency (2)
  • Splunk (2)

NC State Programs Relevant to this Career

If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!