Leadership Jobs and MBA Programs in Illinois

The education and job opportunities are plentiful for operating officers in Illinois. For operating officers in Illinois, the job pool is currently 16,280 and climbing. A two percent bump in the number of jobs is projected to put the figure at 16,190 by 2016. This increase is opposite the national trend for operating officers. National projections show a decline of one percent over the next 10 years. Operating officers recognize and create policies for the overall direction of companies or private and public sector organizations.

Illinois photo by Hary Han

The income for operating officers is $74 per hour or $153,000 per year on average in Illinois. Nationally, their income is $77 hourly or $160,000 per year on average.

Illinois, nicknamed the Land of Lincoln, has seen its population grow 4.0 percent to 12,910,409 over the last decade. The capital is Springfield. In 2008, the total number of jobs was 7,657,328 and the average annual income in Illinois was $42,540, which is up from $41,720 the previous year. Unemployment increased to 10.1 percent in 2009, a jump of 3.7 percentage points from the previous year. The number of residents with a college degree is 26.1 percent, which is under the national average.

In Illinois, the top employers are in construction machinery merchant wholesalers, distilled alcoholic beverage merchant wholesalers, nonchocolate confectionery manufacturing and other prepared sauce manufacturing.

Having known landmarks is a staple for Illinois. The Sears Tower, Chicago is the tallest building on the North American continent. While being known for many things, one of the most noteworthy, Carlyle is the home of the largest man-made lake in Illinois.

Leadership

Operating officers recognize and create policies for the overall direction of companies or private and public sector organizations.

They regularly present data at meetings or conventions to promote services and accomplish objectives and direct business or departmental efforts concerned with the production or distribution of products.

They are required to evaluate and judge the efficacy of solutions and manage and maintain budgets and other financial resources.

Operating officers should be able to think through problems and come up with general rules and piece together evidence to, in some sense, diagnose what is going on in a situation.

In order to be successful in the workplace, operating officers must have exceptional integrity and want to innovate to meet new challenges.