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What is a chief technology officer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted expert
Matthew Liotine Ph.D.
introduction image

Chief technology officers are executive-level employees in charge of a company's technical development. They oversee the implementation of new technologies. They make important decisions about technological enhancements and determine ways to leverage technology investments and capital to promote the company's revenue and growth goals. Additionally, they assess the technological needs of the company and act accordingly. This can be by hiring personnel or implementing solutions in that regard. Other duties include managing operating and capital budgets, monitoring and evaluating technology performance, and establishing technology standards and practices.

Most chief technology officers hold at least a bachelor's degree in computer science, business administration, or a related discipline. You must have previous experience in a similar role. You must possess communication, software development, financial management, strategic planning, and analytical skills. Chief technology officers are paid around $170,160 in a year. This ranges between $97,000 and $298,000.

What general advice would you give to a chief technology officer?

Matthew Liotine Ph.D.Matthew Liotine Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Clinical Professor and Director of Master of Science in Supply Chain and Operations Management, University of Illinois at Chicago

Most employers tell me that soft skills are equally, if not more important, than technical skills or domain knowledge. This translates into external/internal customer-facing skills, such as communication, team collaboration, writing, presentation, problem-solving, and being resourceful. (Many graduates overlook writing as a vital skill, but they fail to realize that in the course of their jobs, they will likely be required to write lots of memos and tons of emails.) The need to perfect these skills within the confines of a virtual world has become even more challenging and amplified with COVID. I teach in the information systems discipline, and when you view student resumes, many people look the same on paper. The soft skills will make a candidate stand out head and shoulders above the rest. That's why the candidate should pay attention to the screening interviews that they will undergo during the hiring process since employers will use these interviews to vet these skills.
ScoreChief Technology OfficerUS Average
Salary
9.5

Avg. Salary $172,989

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
10.0

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
1.6
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.65%

Asian 7.74%

Black or African American 3.80%

Hispanic or Latino 7.88%

Unknown 3.90%

White 76.03%

Gender

female 8.38%

male 91.62%

Age - 52
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 52
Stress level
10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
3.0

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Chief technology officer career paths

Key steps to become a chief technology officer

  1. Explore chief technology officer education requirements

    Most common chief technology officer degrees

    Bachelor's

    64.1 %

    Master's

    20.6 %

    Associate

    7.4 %
  2. Start to develop specific chief technology officer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Infrastructure7.64%
    Cloud7.03%
    Architecture6.72%
    Python5.54%
    Java5.24%
  3. Research chief technology officer duties and responsibilities

    • Implement, manage and customize Salesforce, a CRM system, allowing the company to convert sales leads into opportunities.
    • Manage windows and linux servers.
    • Manage patches and security on windows and RHEL/CentOS systems.
    • Develop and manage a complete network solution featuring EMC, Cisco and VmWare solutions.
  4. Get chief technology officer experience

    Generally, it takes more than 10 years to become a chief technology officer. The most common roles before becoming a chief technology officer include senior software engineer, software engineer team lead and consultant.
  5. Prepare your chief technology officer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your chief technology officer resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a chief technology officer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable chief technology officer resume templates

    Build a professional chief technology officer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your chief technology officer resume.
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    Chief Technology Officer Resume
  6. Apply for chief technology officer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a chief technology officer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first chief technology officer job

Sylvain AubeSylvain Aube LinkedIn profile

Chief Technology Officer, SLAKE - FOOD Delivery

I have been a CTO for last 15 years, 10 years when I worked at IBM GBS, with Crypto and AI /ML and left to co-founded 3 started startups in Crypto and exit two of them successfully.
Sylvain as a leader in Digital Strategy, Innovation & Transformation IT executive AI/ML, Web3 advocate with extensive background in emerging technologies, FINTECH, operations and technology management. Solid experience in defining new business models, driving business transformation as well as leading cross functional projects and remote teams. Strategic, Analytical, entrepreneurial, and pragmatic mindset with the ability to translate data into actionable insights and recommendations.

Average chief technology officer salary

The average chief technology officer salary in the United States is $172,989 per year or $83 per hour. Chief technology officer salaries range between $105,000 and $284,000 per year.

Average chief technology officer salary
$172,989 Yearly
$83.17 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do chief technology officers rate their job?

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Chief technology officer reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2023
Pros

Staying abreast of technology and helping an organization define Technology strategy.

Cons

Work Life Balance can be difficult based on size of team and infrastructure.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2022
Cons

If company is not supportive of new technology advancement.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020
Cons

When things go amiss. Confusion, too many last minute changes that have the potential to ruin things.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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