Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of employers in five service industries as to the employability of six different archetypes of school administrators. The six archetypes of school administrators included were the District Superintendent, the Assistant Superintendent, Personnel, the Business Manager, the Director, Compensatory Education, the Principal and the Coordinator, Staff Development. The five service industries studied were the health care, banking, human services, insurance and retail industries. Methodology. This descriptive causal/comparative study utilized the survey analysis method. A survey was developed and mailed to one hundred fifty-nine companies representing the industries studied. Data received were statistically analyzed to determine significant differences among the administrators and the industries. The statistical tests utilized were the Chi Square, the Analysis of Variance, the Tukey-HSD, and the Multiple Analysis of Variance. Findings. There was a 70 percent response rate to the survey. There were significant differences among the administrators as to their desirability for a management position. The Business Manager and the Assistant Superintendent, Personnel are viewed as the most desirable, while the Principal is viewed as the least desirable of the archetypes. The health care and human services industries rated the archetypes of administrators as highest overall on desirability, while the banking and insurance industries rated them the lowest overall. More than one-third of the respondents eliminated any or all of the administrators from consideration because the background of the administrator was in education. Conclusions. School administrators who are currently employed in personnel or business capacities are the ones who possess the skills considered desirable by industry. If a career change to a service industry is desired by other types of school administrators, they would do best to attempt to obtain a position with a health care or human service organization. The transition to industry will be a difficult process for school administrators. Recommendations. School administrators wishing to make a career change should follow a career path in education that includes experience in business or personnel management. They should pursue education in a field related to business. Professional organizations should attempt to counter the negative image of school administrators.