<p>If someone wanted to be the CEO of a company, would that be a finance or management major?</p>
<p>No. They would be college drop outs who have good ideas and can make things happen.</p>
<p>well I'm being serious because I'm interested in finance (wall street) but I know there will be more people in ugrad bschools wanted to be CEOs and I just want to know what their major would probably be</p>
<p>It can be any business major to be a CEO. You'll most likely want to get an MBA.</p>
<p>there is no ceo major. depends on what kind of company. If your into tech then a tech major will probably be better as you'll have more ideas and such. If your even asking this question your definitely not going to be a ceo</p>
<p>
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well I'm being serious
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So was he.</p>
<p>I don't want to be a CEO. thanks!</p>
<p>Its hard to say really, just wiki a bunch of CEOs of many different fields and see if there is a common major involved.</p>
<p>doesnt matter as long as you have your MBA (and you will)</p>
<p>I'd go with engineering.</p>
<p>Taibros.net</a> » So you want to be a CEO?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>21% of all CEOs have an engineering degree. The next highest was Business Administration at 15%. So if you want to eventually be a CEO, stick to either engineering or business, mainly engineering Id say. Dont be an accountant if you have CEO aspirations as only 5% have accounting degrees. </p></li>
<li><p>You dont have to goto an IVY league school to become a CEO. In fact, youre probably more likely to become a CEO going to a public school as the University of Wisconsin was tied with Harvard with 3% of CEOs being alumni from those respective schools. Also, 3% of CEOs were college dropouts too. So if youre truly smart, and have ambition, you dont need school to succeed, although dont come blaming me when youre working at McDonalds. I also believe a few years back, the University of Illinois had the distinction of being the top school with the most CEOs as alumni. So going IVY league isnt always the best route to go.</p></li>
<li><p>You gotta put in the work. The median age for CEOs was 56 years old while having a company tenure of 19 years. So for those of you fresh out of school dreaming of moving up the corporate ladder quickly, put those dreams on hold, and get to work. Many of these CEOs stayed at their company the entire time and worked their way up through the ranks. </p></li>
<li><p>Youll most likely need an advanced degree. 38% of CEOs hold MBAs. Another 29% of CEOs in the S&P 500 hold advanced degrees in fields other than one from an MBA. Thats 67% who hold a degree beyond their Bachelors. So if you have aspirations of one day becoming a CEO, stay in school and keep staying in school.</p></li>
<li><p>When you become CEO, dont expect to stay CEO for too long. For CEOs in the S&P 500, their median tenure was only 4 years. So when you become CEO, youll have around 4 years to show everyone how good a job you can do. After that, its onto another job or retirement.</p></li>
<li><p>Expect to do a lot of Finance, Marketing, or Operation work while as a CEO. Even those that had engineering degrees, found themselves doing more business work. So make sure youre atleast ok with the business side of things before you begin your work towards being a CEO.</p></li>
<li><p>It helps to have either military or international experience before accepting a position as a CEO. 15% of CEOs had military experience while 33% had international experience. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Well, for those aspiring CEOs out there, I hope this helps. While there are many ways to become a CEO, trends do occur for a reason. So pay attention and do what you can to help your cause</p>
<p>^ a lot of the stats mentioned really aren't relevant: ie harvard vs wisconsin (this is data which could be flawed for a variety of reasons)</p>
<p>Also, this data is skewed to the Fortune 500, and IMO looks a lot different than what you would see from non-fortune 500 corporations. Also, this data is primarily referencing a completely different generation (ie baby boomers). Today, more people attain degrees, and MBAs are more useful than they were in the past. While military experience can be very useful, I believe the percentage of people who serve in the military now is far less than in the past (due to draft etc).</p>
<p>Anyways, I would just take this data with a grain of salt. More CEOs of Fortune 500s do come from an operational background (many of which would have engineering degrees) but many also come from a finance background (ie former CFOs) and marketing backgrounds (ie former CMO). </p>
<p>The only way you will ever become a CEO is if you have a passion for what you do. There are many paths one can take, and hopefully you will figure out what you have a passion for.</p>