How long does it take to become an Operations Vice President?

It takes 11 years of professional experience to become an operations vice president. That is the time it takes to learn specific operations vice president skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education. If you include the normal education requirements to complete a college degree, then it takes 14 to 16 years years to become an operations vice president.

Is COO higher than vice president?

No, a COO is not higher than the vice president because they are usually the same kind of position. There is essentially no difference between the COO and VP of operations. The difference in names varies typically because of your company's location, how it's organized, and what industry it's part of.

What is the difference between COO and VP of operations?

There is essentially no difference between the COO and VP of operations. The difference in names varies typically because of your company's location, how it's organized, and what industry it's part of.

Who does the vice president of operations report to?

The vice president of operations reports to the chief executive officer (CEO). They are the second-highest person after the CEO and often hold other names like COO (chief operations officer), operations director, and chief operations officer.

What is an operations vice president and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted expert

Eric Olsen

An operations vice president oversees a company's operations, including production, supply chain management, and customer service. The role involves leading a team of managers and supervisors to align business functions with the company's overall strategy. An operations vice president also works with other executives to develop and implement business plans and strategies, monitor performance metrics, and identify areas for improvement. Leadership, communication, and analytical skills contribute to success in this role.

What general advice would you give to an operations vice president?

Eric Olsen

Professor, Industrial Technology and Packaging, Orfalea College of Business

Times of change are also times of great opportunities. We are going to need new technical solutions to address problems we are just learning about. You have to lean into the issues. Don't be a technologist - be a problem solver. That is why we also emphasize soft skills like lean six sigma, teamwork, and change management.

ScoreOperations Vice PresidentUS Average

Salary

9.2

Avg. Salary $163,076

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.64%

Asian 7.46%

Black or African American 3.66%

Hispanic or Latino 7.54%

Unknown 3.88%

White 76.81%

Gender

female 22.30%

male 77.70%

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

What are the pros and cons of being an operations vice president?

Pros

High level of responsibility and decision-making power
Competitive salary and benefits
Possibility of career advancement
Variety of tasks and projects
Access to training and professional development programs

Cons

Long hours and high pressure environment
Limited work-life balance
Risk of burnout due to workload and expectations
Potential for negative impact on personal life due to the demands of the job
Risk of making unpopular decisions or facing criticism from colleagues or superiors.

Key steps to become an operations vice president

Explore operations vice president education requirements

Most common operations vice president degrees

Bachelor's

69.6 %

Master's

14.9 %

Associate

9.2 %

Start to develop specific operations vice president skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	10.91%
Oversight	9.42%
Project Management	5.35%
Process Improvement	5.08%
Human Resources	4.41%

Research operations vice president duties and responsibilities

Manage business unit SLA's, define annual goals, operating plans and budgets.
Lead a team to use scrum and define, design, develop, and launch a new CRM platform.
Manage resource allocation and utilization, and communicate results via reporting dashboards and ROI analysis.
Finance and billing accountability across Medicaid, manage care commercial insurance, insurance verification, contract management, and benefits administration.

Get operations vice president experience

Generally, it takes more than 10 years to become an operations vice president. The most common roles before becoming an operations vice president include general manager, operations director team lead and operations manager.

Prepare your operations vice president resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable operations vice president resume templates

Build a professional operations vice president 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 operations vice president resume.

Apply for operations vice president jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an operations vice president 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 operations vice presidents rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Operations vice president reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2023

Pros

The management side and being in control

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2022

Pros

Independence in decision making

Cons

I am responsible for everything be it any side of the business

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019

Pros

I love being able to mold my team and the distribution center to the culture of respect and accountability! Having senior and executive leadership support is a huge positive factor in making this happen!!

Cons

Long hours and calls outside of regular business hours are the norm!

What is an operations vice president and how to become one

What general advice would you give to an operations vice president?

What are the pros and cons of being an operations vice president?

Operations vice president career paths

Key steps to become an operations vice president

Explore operations vice president education requirements

Most common operations vice president degrees

Start to develop specific operations vice president skills

Research operations vice president duties and responsibilities

Get operations vice president experience

Prepare your operations vice president resume

Choose from 10+ customizable operations vice president resume templates

Apply for operations vice president jobs

How did you land your first operations vice president job

Average operations vice president salary

How do operations vice presidents rate their job?

Operations vice president reviews

Operations vice president FAQs

How long does it take to become an Operations Vice President?

Is COO higher than vice president?

What is the difference between COO and VP of operations?

Who does the vice president of operations report to?

Search for operations vice president jobs

Operations vice president jobs by state