At the Top: The CEO
Chief executive officers, also known by the more familiar title of CEO (chief operations officer) direct the day to day high level operations of a company, as well as establishing its policies and procedures. In many ways, they are the captains of the corporate ship, responsible for the livelihood of the many employees working in the company, as well as the stakes of many shareholders. Chief executive officers report to the board of directors, a body of high level stockholders responsible for determining the long-term management goals of the company.
Other Executive level jobs
Below the CEO are several tiers of executive level jobs. Most of these executives are responsible for managing overall areas of the company, such as finances, research and development, production and human resources:
Chief information officers: These executives handle all technological decisions for the company. They manage overall initiatives such as management and project budgeting, staff training and major purchasing decisions. They are also responsible for making sure the organization's technology (computers, hardware, factories, etc) are kept up to date.
Chief Financial officers: These executives manage the organizations finances, setting monetary goals, investments and budgets. They also raise capital, deal with risk management, and handle mergers and acquisitions.
Chief Executive Sales Officers: These executives are responsible for managing the sales direction of the company, overseeing sales initiatives, managing regional sales managers who in turn oversee the sales staff. Executive sales managers who handle the largest and most important of an organization's accounts report directly to the chief executive sales officer.
Chief Executives: These executives handle the direct operations of the organization. They oversee budgets, set project goals and manage department heads in charge of specific areas of the company (such as production or human resources). They also handle recruiting candidates for other executive level jobs.
Working Conditions
Executive level officers have large offices and large support staff to go with them. This is because chief executives are responsible for so many aspects of a large company that they need the staffing to cover all the bases. Executive level jobs may look easy in the movies, but they typically involve long hours, constant travel to all areas of the company's operations, and endless meetings with people all over the company. If the organization is large enough, transfers between its subsidiaries and outlying divisions may require a rising executive to move several times in a few years. Combined with long hours, constant travel and work-related stress, many executives have trouble maintaining family and community connections.
High financial goals and challenging initiatives are all part of the executive job profile. The stress of executive jobs can be intense, and underperforming executives often find their jobs at stake in the process.
Qualifications
Most executive level jobs require a minimum bachelor's degree in business, finances or other related fields. These courses of study can be learned in most colleges or universities. A Masters in Business Administration (MBA) is considered to be a major asset, but not necessarily required, as many executive level jobs are filled from within by managers who have specialized experience in the areas they hope to be promoted into.
Earnings
High level chief executives are probably some of the highest paid workers in the United States. Salaries typically run into six digits, although the actual amounts vary by position, location and the size of the organization. There are also additional benefits such as stock options, performance bonuses, club memberships and access to company cars, jets and suites. (In light of current economic events, many of these bonuses may be somewhat reduced.)
Employment Outlook
Through 2004-2014, available executive level jobs are expected to grow at a rate equal to that of most other occupations, although this projected growth may be impacted by recent changes in the financial and corporate markets since 2006. As executive positions are key to the operations of all large organizations, these positions are relatively safe against downsizing.
How to Find Jobs
Many executive jobs are filled internally from ranks of experienced lower managers. However, there are a large number of search and ''headhunting'' firms specializing in locating top executive talent and matching it with the needs of organizations.