Also called: President, Managing Director
The top boss of a company, responsible for its strategy, its leadership team and its results.
Your calendar is booked in 30-minute blocks: a budget review, a call with a big customer, a meeting with the board about a possible acquisition, and a town hall where 2,000 employees ask you hard questions. Many decisions only reach you because nobody else could make them.
BLS caps reported wages near $239k; CEOs of big public companies earn millions through stock, while small-company CEOs may earn under $100k.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 20 years after high school. Bachelor's degree plus 15-25 years of experience; many have an MBA.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Business Administration (MBA), Economics, Engineering, Finance.
Shrinking (about -3% over 10 years). Chief executives are projected to shrink slightly as companies flatten; all top executives together grow about 4%.
Low risk for 10 years. AI drafts analyses and forecasts for every decision; setting strategy, leading people and answering to the board stays human.
Classes: Speech and debate, AP Microeconomics, English Language Arts, AP Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 11-1011.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.