Chief Executives
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Overview
Determine and formulate policies and provide overall direction of companies or private and public sector organizations within guidelines set up by a board of directors or similar governing body. Plan, direct, or coordinate operational activities at the highest level of management with the help of subordinate executives and staff managers.
This career appears to require experience.
Highlights
Undergraduate program resulting in the highest median salary ($125K): Mechanical Engineering
Largest undergraduate program (9.0% of workers): Business Management and Administration
Explore Pathways
Titles for this career often contain these words
DirectorSustainabilityCommissionerChiefExecutiveManagerOfficerPresidentSuperintendentCorporateVicePublicCouncilEnvironmentalFinancialCityInsuranceEnergyStateServicesBusinessWardenRevenueAgencyDeputyDistrictCustomsEmploymentResearchInstitutionResponsibilityDivisionHealthLaborLiquorWorksReportsAeronauticsCommissionAgriculturalArtsHumanitiesBankBureauDevelopmentAdministrativeDiversityCDOCommitmentCECOCEOCFOGreenCGOInformationCIOInnovationNursingOperatingCOOTechnicalCTOAdministratorClassificationTreatmentInternalConsumerAffairsProcessCorrectionalOnAgingProgramsSustainableDesignTechnologyVitalStatisticsPlanningCyberLeaderEVPFieldRepresentativesFinanceFisheryFoundationGlobalGovernmentServiceHighwayStandardsLawEnforcementLicensingRegistrationStoresAgenciesSupervisorMediaMedicalFacilitiesSectionMusicNonprofitOperationsParkPrisonPrivateSectorRailroadRecreationRegulatoryRelocationRoadSafetySchoolAssessedPropertiesInstructionSchoolsStrategyProgramAdvocacyTaxTranslationUnemploymentSocialVPCSRWaterWelfare
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Responsibilities and activities

Top executives typically do the following:

  • Establish and carry out departmental or organizational goals, policies, and procedures
  • Direct and oversee an organization’s financial and budgetary activities
  • Manage general activities related to making products and providing services
  • Consult with other executives, staff, and board members about general operations
  • Negotiate or approve contracts and agreements
  • Appoint department heads and managers
  • Analyze financial statements, sales reports, and other performance indicators
  • Identify places to cut costs and to improve performance, policies, and programs

The responsibilities of top executives largely depend on an organization’s size. In small organizations, such as an independent retail store, an owner or manager often is responsible for hiring, training, quality control, and day-to-day supervisory duties. In large organizations, chief executives typically focus on formulating policies and planning strategies, while general and operations managers direct day-to-day operations.

The following are examples of types of top executives:

Chief executive officers (CEOs), who are also known by titles such as executive director, managing director, or president, provide overall direction for companies and organizations. CEOs manage company operations, formulate and implement policies, and ensure that goals are met. They collaborate with and direct the work of other top executives and typically report to a board of directors.

There may be other types of chief executives—such as chief operating officers (COOs), chief financial officers (CFOs), or chief human resources officers—who manage a specific part of the organization. The knowledge, skills, and job duties that these executives have differ, depending on which department they oversee.

General and operations managers oversee activities that are too diverse to be classified into one area of management or administration. Responsibilities may include formulating policies, directing daily operations, and planning the use of materials and human resources. These managers make staff schedules, assign work, and ensure that projects are completed. In some organizations, the tasks of chief executive officers may overlap with those of general and operations managers.

Mayors, city managers, county administrators, and governors are chief executive officers of governments. They usually oversee budgets, programs, and the use of resources. Mayors and governors must be elected to office, whereas managers and administrators are typically appointed.

School superintendents and college or university presidents are chief executive officers of school districts and postsecondary schools. They manage issues such as student achievement, budgets and resources, general operations, and relations with government agencies and other stakeholders.

Salary
Median salary: $185,950 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $114,530 and #.
Note: The salaries for chief executives have been top-coded by the BLS; in 2019, all annual salaries larger than # are recorded as #.
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
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Salary growth for chief executives and legislators
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
$104K$102K$102K$102K$82K$102K$93K$36K$61K$0$50K$100K$150K$200K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
Number employed
050K100K150K200K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
About Chief Executives
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of chief executives who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
  • Time Pressure (68%)
  • High Conflict Frequency (55%)
  • Responsible for Others' Health (40%)
  • Consequence of Error (35%)
SOURCES:
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Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Chief Executives? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Communication skills
Top executives must be able to convey information clearly and persuasively. They must discuss issues and negotiate with others, direct staff, and explain policies and decisions to people within and outside the organization.
Decision-making skills
When setting policies and managing an organization, top executives must be able to assess different options and choose the best course of action.
Leadership skills
Top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources.
Problem-solving skills
Top executives need to identify and resolve issues within an organization. They must be able to recognize shortcomings and carry out solutions.
Time-management skills
Top executives do many tasks concurrently to ensure that their work gets done and that the organization meets its goals.
Injury and Illness
About 43 chief executives become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, making this job more dangerous than 65% of other careers. The most common specific illnesses or injuries are detailed following.
Fractures
All multiple traumatic injuries
Sprains, strains, tears
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by chief executives
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), chief executives typically hold a bachelor's degree.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as chief executives and legislators as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for chief executives

Many top executives have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in an area related to their field of work. Top executives in the public sector may have a degree in business administration, public administration, law, or the liberal arts. Top executives of large corporations may have a master’s degree in business administration (MBA).

College presidents and school superintendents are typically required to have a master’s degree, although a doctorate is often preferred.

Although many mayors, governors, and other public sector executives have at least a bachelor’s degree, these positions typically do not have any specific education requirements.

Details: Licensing and certification recommended for chief executives

Some top executive positions may require the applicant to have a license or certification relevant to their area of management. For example, some employers may require their chief executive officer to be a certified public accountant (CPA).

Education level of Chief executives and legislators
About 71% of chief executives and legislators have at least a bachelor's degree.
Education attained by chief executives and legislators
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
Top college degrees
Here are the top college degrees held by the 67% of people in this job who have at least a bachelor's degree. Some of degrees may link to multiple programs due to the way Census classifies college majors. Click on a program to learn more about career opportunities for people who major in that field.
  1. Business Management and Administration
  2. Business/Commerce
  3. Accounting
  4. Finance
  5. Economics
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College majors held by chief executives and legislators
This table shows the college majors held by people working as chief executives and legislators. If you see "**" before the name of a degree/program, that means this field is one that the Department of Education believes is preparatory for this career. However, you can see from this list that those recommendations are far from your only path to this job!
Salary comparison for bachelor's only
Higher
Similar
Lower
Career salary (tail) versus Career/Major salary (dot)
Does the bachelor's-only salary rise or fall with this major?
$62K$145K
Salary for bachelor's-only
For people with this career and major
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
Salary for all workers
For people with this career and major
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
Education for Career and Major
Bachelor's
Master's
Professional
Doctorate
Workers with this career/major
Percentage in this career with this major
Not so much?
The link between degrees and this career
With the following sankey diagram, you can follow the top ten bachelor's degrees held by people working as chief executives and legislators, and then, in turn, you can see the 10 occupations that hire the most of each degree's graduates. We hope this provides ideas for similar jobs and similar fields of study.
Expand degrees
Business Management ...General BusinessAccountingFinanceEconomicsPolitical Science an...MarketingPsychologyCommunicationsMechanical Engineeri...All other degreesThis jobTop 10 majors
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Chief executives and legislators per 1,000 workers (ACS)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
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Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most chief executives? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as chief executives. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where chief executives earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
  • In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for chief executives and legislators compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
  • Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for chief executives and legislators.
We hope the ratio allows perspective about how salaries may compare to the regional cost-of-living.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which chief executives and legislators earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Chief executives and legislators (ACS for all specialties)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
Employment
5% of Chief executives and legislators are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 5% part-time workers, this occupation has a lower percentage of part-time workers than 77% of careers.
5%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
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Distribution: Salaries of chief executives and legislators by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
$97K$107K$108K$54K$92K$97K$75K$97K$38K$0$50,000$100,000$150,000$200,000Working without paySelf-employed not incorporatedSelf-employed incorporatedFederal governmentState governmentLocal governmentPrivate not-for-profitPrivate for-profitAll
Gender
Chief executives and legislators and gender
With 25% women, this occupation has a lower percentage of women than 61% of careers.
Gender of Chief executives and legislators
Men (75%)
Women (25%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
$89K$101K$0$100K$200K$300KWomenMen
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
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Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
25%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Context: Salary inequity
The median salary for all full-time male workers in the US exceeds the full-time median salary for women by 19%. The situation is a little better for chief executives and legislators, with the median salary for men 14% higher than the median salary for women.
14%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Chief executives and legislators
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Chief executives and legislators.
Race/origin of chief executives and legislators
White (88% )
Asian (6% )
Black (4% )
Multiracial (2% )
Other (1% )
American Indian (0% )
Hispanic (0% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
$67K$70K$81K$87K$96K$100K$101K$0$50K$100K$150K$200KOtherAmerican IndianBlackMultiracialAsianWhiteHispanic
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.