Leadership Jobs and MBA Programs in Iowa

Operating officers can find success in Iowa as the state has plenty of educational and employment prospects. There are currently 2,620 jobs for operating officers in Iowa and that number is growing. A projected rise of four percent in employment opportunities will make the figure 4,340 jobs by 2016. This increase goes against 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.

Iowa photo by Bill Whittaker

Operating officers earn $69 per hour or $143,000 per year on average in Iowa. Nationally, their income is $77 hourly or $160,000 per year on average.

Nicknamed the Hawkeye State, Iowa has a population of 3,007,856, which has grown by 2.8 percent in the last 10 years. Des Moines is the state capital. There were a total of 2,025,350 jobs in 2008 and people in Iowa earned more than the previous year as the average annual income was $37,509, up from $35,755. The unemployment rate in Iowa was 6.0 percent in 2009, which has grown by 1.6 percentage points since the previous year. Roughly 21.2 percent of Iowa residents have college degrees, which is lower than the national average.

Machinery manufacturing, mining machinery manufacturing, grain milling and farm supplies merchant wholesalers are the top employing fields in Iowa.

One of the many things Iowa is known for, Strawberry Point is the home of the world's largest strawberry. Iowa has many unique characteristics, but one fun fact in particular is The Saint Francis Xavier Basilica in Dyersville is the only basilica in the United States situated outside a major metropolitan area.

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.