How To Become A Deputy Chief Of Staff: What It Is and Career Path

What is a deputy chief of staff and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a deputy chief of staff. For example, did you know that they make an average of $57.47 an hour? That's $119,530 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 189,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreDeputy Chief Of StaffUS Average

Salary

8.1

Avg. Salary $119,530

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.36%

Asian 1.75%

Black or African American 13.40%

Hispanic or Latino 14.16%

Unknown 3.91%

White 65.42%

Gender

female 22.90%

male 77.10%

Age - 47

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 - 47

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a deputy chief of staff

Explore deputy chief of staff education requirements

Most common deputy chief of staff degrees

Bachelor's

62.2 %

Master's

22.4 %

Doctorate

7.3 %

Start to develop specific deputy chief of staff skills

Skills	Percentages
Human Resources	21.68%
Federal Agencies	10.00%
Logistics Support	7.42%
Direct Support	5.67%
Legal Assistance	5.59%

Complete relevant deputy chief of staff training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New deputy chief of staff learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a deputy chief of staff based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real deputy chief of staff resumes.

Research deputy chief of staff duties and responsibilities

Manage radar operations to provide around-the-clock missile warning and space surveillance.
Manage domestic and international travel arrangements including transportation, lodging, and logistics for individuals and groups utilizing travel management systems.
Exercise knowledge of military command structures, missions, programs and organizational relationships to include DoD, OSD, etc.
Provide expertise and input on budgetary reviews for projects relating to organizational processes and fiscal reporting requirements within DoD.

Prepare your deputy chief of staff resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your deputy chief of staff 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 deputy chief of staff resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable deputy chief of staff resume templates

Build a professional deputy chief of staff 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 deputy chief of staff resume.

Apply for deputy chief of staff jobs

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

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

How do deputy chief of staff rate their job?

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Deputy chief of staff reviews

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.

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019

Pros

the opportunity to relate and meet with different people, the ability to solve problems on the go as they arise, and the fact that its people oriented