Department of Education

Department of Education is a substantial state agency, employing 766 people statewide.

The most common title is Education Program Development Specialist 2 (13% of staff), followed by Education Program Development Specialist 3 and Planning Associate 2. Median pay is $118,678, about 40% above the statewide median. About 75% of its employees are mapped to a civil service title specification, lower than most state agencies because it employs more agency-specific or unclassified roles.

Median tenure is 8.4 years, shorter than the statewide median of 9.6 years. CWA represents the largest share of its unionized workforce (about 71%).

About Department of Education

The Department of Education oversees New Jersey's public school districts: academic standards, educator certification, school funding formulas, accountability and federal program administration. It also operates the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf.

This is a professional policy agency rather than a service delivery one, and its roster reflects that. Education program development specialists at graded levels design and monitor programs, and planning associates at three levels handle the analysis and grant work. Of the agencies with more than 500 employees, this one has the highest median salary, and the reason is what it does not employ: there is almost no entry-level clerical or facility tier here to pull the middle of the distribution down. Teaching assistants on ten-month contracts are the visible exception, tied to the school the department runs directly.

Who works here

These are the titles that carry the most people on this payroll. Each one links to its civil service specification, which sets out the duties, the minimum requirements and the salary range.

• Education Program Development Specialist 297 employees
  12.7% of staff · median $121,977 · CWA
• Education Program Development Specialist 352 employees
  6.8% of staff · median $143,176 · CWA
• Planning Associate 246 employees
  6.0% of staff · median $121,977 · CWA
• Planning Associate 141 employees
  5.4% of staff · median $107,301 · CWA
• Planning Associate 333 employees
  4.3% of staff · median $143,176 · CWA
• Government Representative 129 employees
  3.8% of staff · median $161,000
• Government Representative 224 employees
  3.1% of staff · median $166,635
• Teaching Assistant, 10 Months18 employees
  2.3% of staff · median $51,262 · CWA
• Manager 1, Education12 employees
  1.6% of staff · median $147,200
• Education Program Development Specialist 111 employees
  1.4% of staff · median $103,509 · CWA
• Regulatory Officer 19 employees
  1.2% of staff · median $114,886 · CWA
• Investigator 19 employees
  1.2% of staff · median $60,385 · IFPTE

84 further titles appear on this agency's payroll, 96 in all. Government Representative 1, Government Representative 2 are catch-all titles used for very different jobs across agencies, so the median pay shown against them covers a wide mix of roles and does not describe a single position.

Titles you will not find elsewhere

11 of this agency's titles are concentrated here rather than shared across departments, and for 6 of them every single position in the state sits on this payroll.

• Education Program Development Specialist 297 of 110 statewide
  88% of the statewide total
• Education Program Development Specialist 352 of 56 statewide
  93% of the statewide total
• Planning Associate 246 of 51 statewide
  90% of the statewide total
• Planning Associate 141 of 45 statewide
  91% of the statewide total
• Teaching Assistant, 10 Monthsall 18 statewide
  only at this agency
• Manager 1, Education12 of 13 statewide
  92% of the statewide total
• Planning Associate 1, School/Education Programsall 9 statewide
  only at this agency
• Examiner 1 Credentialsall 5 statewide
  only at this agency

Concentration is measured against the same payroll file, comparing this agency's headcount in a title with the statewide headcount in that title.

How pay is spread

Below are the quartile boundaries for this agency's salaries, with the statewide equivalents alongside them for reference.

The middle half of this agency's employees earn between $98,503 and $143,176, a ratio of 1.45 between the two quartiles. State government as a whole sits at 1.81, so this agency's pay is bunched more tightly than average, which tends to happen where one or two large titles carry most of the staff.

• Lowest recorded salary$39,681
• Lower quartile$98,503
  statewide $62,428
• Median salary$118,678
  statewide $84,796
• Upper quartile$143,176
  statewide $113,264
• Highest recorded salary$210,000

Based on 689 salaried records.

Union representation

Which contract covers a job decides its salary schedule, its step ladder and its grievance route. This is the union mix on this payroll.

• CWA545 employees
  71.1% of the agency
• IBEW26 employees
  3.4% of the agency
• IFPTE25 employees
  3.3% of the agency
• AFSCME3 employees
  0.4% of the agency

Union coverage is identifiable for 78% of this agency's payroll records. The remainder are unclassified, exempt or managerial positions that sit outside a bargaining unit.

How long people stay

Tenure tells you something a salary table cannot: whether this is a place people arrive at or a place they stay.

Half of this agency's employees have been on the state payroll longer than 8.4 years, well short of the statewide median of 9.6. 38% joined within the last five years, and 27% have twenty years or more behind them.

• Under 5 years277 employees
  37.8% of those with a hire date
• 5 to 10 years120 employees
  16.4% of those with a hire date
• 10 to 15 years92 employees
  12.6% of those with a hire date
• 15 to 20 years44 employees
  6.0% of those with a hire date
• 20 to 25 years98 employees
  13.4% of those with a hire date
• 25 years or more101 employees
  13.8% of those with a hire date

Hire dates are present for 732 of this agency's 766 payroll records.

Overtime

44 employees here recorded overtime, 5.7% of the agency, against 31.6% across state government. Little overtime usually means salaried professional work with no shift to fill.

Together they were paid $220,320 in overtime, averaging $5,007 for each employee who earned any. Overtime is not part of the salary figures elsewhere on this page, which report base pay.

• Employees with recorded overtime44
• Share of the agency5.7%
• Total overtime paid$220,320
• Average per employee earning it$5,007

Civil service coverage

75% of this agency's payroll records carry a title that matches a published civil service specification. The rest are unclassified, exempt or agency-specific positions filled outside the competitive examination process, so the standard exam and eligible list route covers most but not all of the jobs here.

• Records matched to a specification577
• Records with no matching specification189
• Distinct civil service titles on the roster96

Where it sits among state agencies

By headcount this is the 17th largest of the 39 payroll lines in New Jersey state government, holding 1.0% of the state workforce.

Its nearest neighbours by headcount, for readers who want a like-for-like comparison.

• Department of Community Affairs1,150 employees
  median $81,897
• Juvenile Justice Commission1,096 employees
  median $83,817
• New Jersey State Parole Board703 employees
  median $99,902
• Office of Information Technology577 employees
  median $111,094