As far as professions go, aiming to become a CEO is about as good as it gets for those with a mind that bends to business. CEOs are not only some of the richest people in the World but they are also among the most powerful and who doesn’t love power and money! Unless you have a mind blowing idea that will light up the World à la Zuckerburg then the path to becoming a Chief Executive is tough and one where you will have to excel in every step. To reach the top, you will need to follow in the footsteps of successful CEOs like Patrick Imbardelli and work from the bottom up. If you have the desire and the skills that it requires then here is the path that you need to follow in order to reach the top and become a CEO.
Education
Your path to being a CEO starts early and you need to ensure that you not only possess the right education, but also graduate with strong results. An absolute minimum that is required to become a CEO is a bachelors degree, from there your best course of action is to complete a masters degree by way of an MBA (Masters of Business Administration). The height of your grades at high school and college will dictate which college you are accepted into to complete your masters and it goes without saying that the better reputation school you go to, the more likelihood you have of scoring a high position in the business world once you have graduated.
Additional Experience
Gaining experience in business as early as you possibly can will be vital in terms of your career path once you have completed your education. Internships are a great way of using your free time in the summer to gain valuable experience in the world of business and they look very attractive to prospective employers. Alternatively you could volunteer your free time to work in a business, preferably one that operates in the field that you wish to head in to, you may even find a mentor who will be able to help you out in your early years in business.
Once You Start Your Career
Once your career is underway, the work hasn’t stopped, in fact it has only just began and you are going to need to stand out from the crowd if you wish to reach the dizzying heights of CEO. You will need to make lots of friends in the industry, the higher up the ladder the better and ensure that you always put yourself forward for tasks that require responsibility. You need to show that you want to be a leader as early as possible and even more important will be the results that you deliver. You will need to consistently succeed with projects and challenges that you are faced with. Remember that throughout this time you are not only demonstrating your ambitions to be the head of the company but also gaining vital experience along the way that will serve you at the top.