---
title: "Chief Executive"
description: "Determine and formulate policies and provide overall direction of companies or private and public sector organizations within guidelines set up by a…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/chief-executive"
last-updated: "2026-08-23T15:56:39.581Z"
---

# Chief Executive

**Category:** Management · **SOC code:** 11-1011 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 11-1011.00

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 advertised as: CEO (Chief Executive Officer); Chief Diversity Officer (CDO); Chief Financial Officer (CFO); Chief Information Officer (CIO); Chief Operating Officer (COO); Chief Technical Officer (CTO); Executive Director; Executive Vice President (EVP).

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $213,990 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $102.88/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $75,700 to $507,730, with the middle half between $129,540 and $356,200
- **Total US employment:** 204,350
- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's
- **Preparation required:** Considerable preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +4.3% over 2024–2034 (BLS EP, 2024–2034)
- **Annual job openings:** 22,200 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 41/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 204,350 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $75,700 |
| 25th | $129,540 |
| 50th (median) | $213,990 |
| 75th | $356,200 |
| 90th | $507,730 |
| Mean (average) | $269,630 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| OR | $341,630 | $330,521 | 910 |
| WA | $339,810 | $317,541 | 3,170 |
| IL | $331,920 | $332,059 | 4,620 |
| NC | $314,290 | $333,196 | 1,930 |
| VA | $310,740 | $307,347 | 4,870 |
| NJ | $310,440 | $285,318 | 2,430 |
| CT | $295,120 | $284,837 | 1,660 |
| HI | $281,640 | $256,150 | 470 |
| SD | $280,900 | $317,093 | 510 |
| NY | $257,980 | $239,045 | 8,430 |
| TX | $257,850 | $265,669 | 8,780 |
| MI | $255,560 | $265,608 | 4,950 |
| IN | $254,180 | $272,348 | 1,820 |
| MD | $248,660 | $236,912 | 3,180 |
| RI | $235,360 | $230,113 | 460 |

33 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 48 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/chief-executive/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/chief-executive.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 309,400 in the 2024–2034 base year to 322,700 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 13,300 jobs, or +4.3%. Faster than average: 4.3% against 3.1% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 22,200 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2024–2034.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Considerable preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** 5 years or more.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** None.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Master's Degree | 45.9% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 32.3% |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 5.2% |
| Doctoral Degree | 4.9% |
| High School Diploma | 4.5% |
| Post-Master's Certificate | 3.9% |

## What the work involves

- Analyze operations to evaluate performance of a company or its staff in meeting objectives or to determine areas of potential cost reduction, program improvement, or policy change.
- Direct, plan, or implement policies, objectives, or activities of organizations or businesses to ensure continuing operations, to maximize returns on investments, or to increase productivity.
- Interpret and explain policies, rules, regulations, or laws to organizations, government or corporate officials, or individuals.
- Review reports submitted by staff members to recommend approval or to suggest changes.
- Prepare budgets for approval, including those for funding or implementation of programs.
- Appoint department heads or managers and assign or delegate responsibilities to them.
- Prepare or present reports concerning activities, expenses, budgets, government statutes or rulings, or other items affecting businesses or program services.
- Deliver speeches, write articles, or present information at meetings or conventions to promote services, exchange ideas, or accomplish objectives.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Critical Thinking — importance 4.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 4.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 4.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Evaluation — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Management of Financial Resources — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Management of Personnel Resources — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Negotiation — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Administration and Management — importance 4.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Personnel and Human Resources — importance 4.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 4.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 4.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Economics and Accounting — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Comprehension — importance 4.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 4.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speech Clarity — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Expression — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Enterprising (E), Conventional (C), Social (S).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| E — Enterprising | 6.96 |
| C — Conventional | 4.97 |
| S — Social | 3.54 |
| I — Investigative | 3.05 |
| A — Artistic | 2.16 |
| R — Realistic | 1.26 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ESTJ | 70.4 |
| ESFJ | 70.4 |
| ENTJ | 68.8 |
| ENFJ | 66.4 |
| ESTP | 57.4 |

Best-fitting types: ESTJ, ESFJ, ENTJ, ENFJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [General and Operations Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/general-and-operations-manager) — median $105,770
- [Management Analyst](https://nuecareer.com/careers/management-analyst) — median $101,860
- [Treasurer and Controller](https://nuecareer.com/careers/treasurer-and-controller) — median $166,570
- [Social and Community Service Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/social-and-community-service-manager) — median $80,390
- [Public Relations Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/public-relations-manager) — median $146,910
- [Compliance Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/compliance-manager) — median $141,900
- [Education Administrator, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/education-administrator-postsecondary) — median $104,590
- [Legislator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/legislator) — median Not published by BLS
- [Financial Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/financial-manager) — median $166,570
- [Chief Sustainability Officer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/chief-sustainability-officer) — median $213,990

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 30.3 Database, May 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2024–2034. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/chief-executive