What do they do?

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.

Also known as:

CEO (Chief Executive Officer), Chief Diversity Officer (CDO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Executive Director, Executive Officer, Executive Vice President (EVP), Finance Vice President (Finance VP), Operations Vice President (Operations VP), President

Typical Wages

Projected Growth Rate

Employment of Chief Executives is projected to Decline 8 percent from 2022 to 2032

Projected Employment in VA

No Data Available
  • -8.2%

    Change

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    15,300

    Job Openings

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Education Level

Percent of workers in this field with these degrees:

  • Bachelor's degree  (40%)
  • Master's degree  (25%)
  • Some college, no degree  (14%)
  • High school diploma equivalent  (8%)
  • Doctorate or Professional Degree  (7%)
  • Associate's degree  (5%)
  • Less than high school diploma  (2%)

Typical College Majors

Most Popular Majors that prepare Chief Executives

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People in this career often have these skills:

  • Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
  • Management of Financial Resources - Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
  • Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  • Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
  • Management of Material Resources - Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
  • Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.

People in this career often know a lot about:

  • Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
  • Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
  • Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

People in this career often have talent in:

  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

People in this career often do these activities:

  • Direct financial operations.
  • Confer with organizational members to accomplish work activities.
  • Prepare operational budgets.
  • Implement organizational process or policy changes.
  • Develop organizational policies or programs.
  • Direct organizational operations, projects, or services.
  • Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets.
  • Prepare operational progress or status reports.
  • Resolve employee or contractor problems.
  • Analyze data to assess operational or project effectiveness.
  • Direct sales, marketing, or customer service activities.
  • Manage human resources activities.
  • Prepare staff schedules or work assignments.
  • Communicate organizational policies and procedures.
  • Analyze data to inform operational decisions or activities.
  • Select staff, team members, or performers.
  • Negotiate contracts for transportation, distribution, or logistics services.
  • Establish organizational guidelines or policies.
  • Liaise between departments or other groups to improve function or communication.
  • Conduct hearings to investigate legal issues.
  • Testify at legal or legislative proceedings.
  • Present information to the public.
  • Draft legislation or regulations.
  • Coordinate with external parties to exchange information.
  • Analyze impact of legal or regulatory changes.
  • Advise others on legal or regulatory compliance matters.
  • Serve on institutional or departmental committees.
  • Direct administrative or support services.
  • Recommend organizational process or policy changes.
  • Conduct research on social issues.
  • Conduct research to gain information about products or processes.
  • Represent the organization in external relations.
  • Coordinate special events or programs.
  • Manage construction activities.
  • Promote products, services, or programs.

This page includes data from:

O*NET OnLine Career data: O*NET 28.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Logo Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics

careeronestop logo Videos: CareerOneStop, USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development

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