Leadership Jobs and MBA Programs in North Dakota

North Dakota is a great place to settle for operating officers as there are many educational and employment prospects. The job pool for operating officers in North Dakota is growing and currently sits at 960. A projected rise of 12 percent in employment opportunities will make the figure 1,110 jobs by 2016. Prospects are significantly better for operating officers in the state when compared to the national trend. 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.

North Dakota photo by Bobak Ha'Eri

Operating officers earn $68 per hour or $141,000 per year on average in North Dakota. Nationally, their income is $77 hourly or $160,000 per year on average.

Nicknamed the Flickertail State, North Dakota has a population of 646,844, which has grown by 0.7 percent in the last 10 years. The state capital is Bismarck. There were a total of 498,718 jobs in 2008 and people in North Dakota earned more than the previous year as the average annual income was $39,874, up from $36,678. The unemployment rate in North Dakota was 4.3 percent in 2009, which has grown by 1.1 percentage points since the previous year. Roughly 22.0 percent of North Dakota residents have college degrees, which is lower than the national average.

The top employing fields in North Dakota include farm product raw material merchant wholesalers, farm machinery merchant wholesalers, lawn equipment stores and farm supply stores.

One of the many things North Dakota is known for, Devils Lake is the largest natural body of water in North Dakota. Devils Lake derives its name from the Native American name Miniwaukan. Early explorers incorrectly translated the word to mean Bad Spirit. Bolstered by the many legends of drowned warriors and lake monsters the name evolved into Devils Lake. This very fertile prairie lake grows large numbers of the fish known as walleye, northern pike, and white bass. The lake has earned the reputation of being the Perch Capital of the World. North Dakota has many unique characteristics, but one fun fact in particular is Dakota Gasification Company in Beulah is the nation's only synthetic natural gas producer.

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.