How To Become A President And General Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a president and general manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average president and general manager salary is $186,393. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an business major. It usually takes 4-6 years of experience to become a president and general manager. President and general managers with a Sales Management certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 189,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePresident And General ManagerUS Average

Salary

9.9

Avg. Salary $186,393

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.47%

Asian 6.30%

Black or African American 6.10%

Hispanic or Latino 14.93%

Unknown 4.33%

White 67.88%

Gender

female 10.74%

male 89.26%

Age - 44

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 - 44

Stress level

9.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.2

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a president and general manager

Explore president and general manager education requirements

Most common president and general manager degrees

Bachelor's

68.3 %

Master's

14.3 %

Associate

11.6 %

Start to develop specific president and general manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Financial Statements	11.48%
Product Development	10.60%
A/P	6.84%
R	5.68%
Human Resources	5.61%

Complete relevant president and general manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New president and general managers 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 president and general manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real president and general manager resumes.

Research president and general manager duties and responsibilities

Manage business start-up from formation including development of business and marketing plans, equipment selection/installation, staffing, and product offerings.
Manage business start-up from formation including development of business and marketing plans, equipment selection/installation, staffing, and product offerings.
Validate requirements traceability for all technical requirements and that MMIS environments, hardware, and software meet the defined RFP requirements.
Implement rewarding success structure for monthly and annual awards relate to KPI improvements

Prepare your president and general manager resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable president and general manager resume templates

Build a professional president and general manager 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 president and general manager resume.

Apply for president and general manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a president and general manager 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

Average president and general manager salary

The average president and general manager salary in the United States is $186,393 per year or $90 per hour. President and general manager salaries range between $112,000 and $309,000 per year.

Average president and general manager salary

$186,393 Yearly

$89.61 hourly

How do president and general managers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

President and general manager reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019

Pros

I have direct impact on building structure into the organisation. Creating policies that make our company safe and efficient. Develop and mentor employees to achieve company goals.

Cons

The only thing that would make my career a little better is the pay.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019

Pros

People Busy Money Busy and variety in a job Solving problems

Cons

Lack of benefits Lifting heavy things Sitting at a desk entitely

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019

Pros

Being the captain of the team and encouraging positive results.

Cons

The company I worked for didn't do a lot to upgrade their processes and got caught up in some greedy business that hasn't paid off for the company.

What is a president and general manager and how to become one

President and general manager career paths

Key steps to become a president and general manager

Explore president and general manager education requirements

Most common president and general manager degrees

Start to develop specific president and general manager skills

Complete relevant president and general manager training and internships

Research president and general manager duties and responsibilities

Prepare your president and general manager resume

Choose from 10+ customizable president and general manager resume templates

Apply for president and general manager jobs

How did you land your first president and general manager job

Average president and general manager salary

How do president and general managers rate their job?

President and general manager reviews