Senior vice presidents play an important role in every company. Without them, those companies wouldn't have set business goals and internal issues would go by unattended. Thankfully, senior vice presidents are around so we can avoid disaster.
This job can come with a few tough roles, such as when an employee has fallen out of compliance with company policies. Sometimes those conversations will go smoothly, but as with any job, you'll have days where those conversations will go south quickly.
A lot of senior vice presidents started out with just a bachelor's degree. So it really doesn't take much education. Really, the only thing that might stop you is if you don't have enough experience. But you can always change that easily enough.
How to Become a Senior Vice President
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a senior vice president. For example, did you know that they make an average of $104.01 an hour? That's $216,344 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 150,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Senior Vice President Do
There are certain skills that many senior vice presidents have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, detail oriented and math skills.
How To Become a Senior Vice President
If you're interested in becoming a senior vice president, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 71.3% of senior vice presidents have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 18.5% of senior vice presidents have master's degrees. Even though most senior vice presidents have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a senior vice president. When we researched the most common majors for a senior vice president, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on senior vice president resumes include doctoral degree degrees or associate degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a senior vice president. In fact, many senior vice president jobs require experience in a role such as vice president. Meanwhile, many senior vice presidents also have previous career experience in roles such as assistant vice president or vice president and manager.
Senior Vice President Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a senior vice president can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as executive vice president, progress to a title such as executive vice president and then eventually end up with the title executive vice president.
Average Salary for a Senior Vice President
Senior Vice Presidents in America make an average salary of $216,344 per year or $104 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $341,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $137,000 per year.
Average Senior Vice President Salary
$216,344Â Yearly$104.01 hourly
$137,000
10 %
$216,000
Median
$341,000
90 %
What Am I Worth?
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Top Colleges for Senior Vice Presidents
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-State Tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
4. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
In-State Tuition
$10,610
Enrollment
40,329
5. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$9,808
Enrollment
13,990
6. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,522
Enrollment
13,760
7. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$49,880
Enrollment
4,177
8. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,230
Enrollment
12,161
9. Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$52,930
Enrollment
5,030
10. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
Top Skills For a Senior Vice President
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 7.2% of senior vice presidents listed financial services on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and detail oriented are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Senior Vice President Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Senior Vice President templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Senior Vice President resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Senior Vice President Demographics
Senior Vice President Gender Distribution
Male
75%
Female
25%
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among senior vice presidents, 25.1% of them are women, while 74.9% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among senior vice presidents is White, which makes up 81.5% of all senior vice presidents.
- The most common foreign language among senior vice presidents is Spanish at 37.6%.
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Best States For a Senior Vice President
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a senior vice president. The best states for people in this position are Washington, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Connecticut. Senior vice presidents make the most in Washington with an average salary of $227,753. Whereas in Rhode Island and Vermont, they would average $216,592 and $214,310, respectively. While senior vice presidents would only make an average of $212,160 in Connecticut, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Washington
Total Senior Vice President Jobs:
708
Highest 10% Earn:
$291,000
Location Quotient:
0.98 Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$227,753
Avg. Salary
2. Rhode Island
Total Senior Vice President Jobs:
117
Highest 10% Earn:
$285,000
Location Quotient:
0.97 Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$216,592
Avg. Salary
3. Connecticut
Total Senior Vice President Jobs:
396
Highest 10% Earn:
$282,000
Location Quotient:
1.21 Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$212,160
Avg. Salary
How Do Senior Vice President Rate Their Jobs?
Top Senior Vice President Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ senior vice presidents and discovered their number of senior vice president opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Bank of America was the best, especially with an average salary of $156,221. Citigroup follows up with an average salary of $200,297, and then comes Wells Fargo with an average of $155,194. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a senior vice president. The employers include Carbon, Commonwealth Care Alliance, and Zurich
Most Common Employers For Senior Vice President
| Rank  | Company  | Average Salary  | Hourly Rate  | Job Openings  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lehman's | $217,872 | $104.75 | 155 |
| 2 | *n/a* | $217,844 | $104.73 | 78 |
| 3 | Merrill Lynch | $216,344 | $104.01 | 132 |
| 4 | GE Capital | $216,344 | $104.01 | 68 |
| 5 | FleishmanHillard | $216,227 | $103.96 | 78 |
| 6 | AlixPartners | $215,540 | $103.63 | 77 |
| 7 | Goldman Sachs | $213,646 | $102.71 | 219 |
| 8 | Moody's | $213,189 | $102.49 | 74 |
| 9 | Mastercard | $211,478 | $101.67 | 57 |
| 10 | Northern Trust | $209,143 | $100.55 | 66 |
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Becoming a Senior Vice President FAQs
How long does it take to become a Senior Vice President?
It takes 13 years of professional experience to become a senior vice president. That is the time it takes to learn specific senior 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 16 to 18 years years to become a senior vice president.
How do you become vice president of a company?
To become a vice president of a company, you need to gain the necessary education, experience, and leadership skills. This is a senior-level position and typically takes significant work experience and knowledge to achieve.
How much money does a senior VP make?
A senior VP makes approximately $156,400 to $220,000 per year, on average. Senior VPs are also privy to items such as profit sharing, accounting for an extra $40,000 a year, on average. VPs may also be given more incentives based on their department, the company, and the basic cost of living within the region.
Is EVP or SVP more senior?
An EVP, or "Executive Vice President," is typically a higher and more senior position than an SVP, or "Senior Vice President." EVPs are typically responsible for managing other vice presidents under them and in the same department. For example, an EVP of technology may handle the product vice president, IT vice president, and support vice presidents.
What is a senior vice president of sales?
A senior vice president of sales is the person who manages the sales strategies and keeps them in line with the company's goals. Senior vice presidents of sales are also responsible for managing churn rates or client turnover. They analyze reports often delivered by inside and outside sales directors and make strategic decisions based on those reports.
What level is a senior vice president?
A senior vice president is an executive-level employee. While they may have directors, managers, and other mid-tier or high-tier professionals under them, they must still report to executive vice presidents, the company president, or the company CEO. Executive positions tend to have a long lifespan and range from a few years to a full career into retirement.
Who is more senior, VP or CEO?
A CEO is more senior than a VP in the executive hierarchy. These individuals ensure that company workflow and goals are both met and aligned to ensure proper company growth and overall health. Senior VPs tend to report to CEOs or other senior members of the executive branch, while CEOs usually report to stakeholders.
Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.
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