The position of chief executive officer, or CEO, is considered to be the pinnacle of any person's business career. CEOs are the highest-ranking managers of corporations and, accordingly, command a high social status and a fat salary, often supplemented with bonuses that measure in the millions of dollars. However, becoming a CEO of a business is extremely difficult. To become a CEO, a person with a business administration degree need to spend decades working his way up the ladder of corporate hierarchy.
If the CEOs are field marshals, then the CFOs are the generals of the corporate world. Chief financial officers, as these positions are formally known, require a superb understanding and extensive experience of corporate finance and business management. CFOs are typically responsible for the financial position of a firm and report to no other person but the CEO.
Investment banking jobs lure many people with business administration degrees. The top investment banks are known for the high salaries they pay to all of their employees, even those just recruited from business schools. However, most of the money investment banks make go to partners of the firm. The biggest investment banks include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase, Barclays Capital and UBS.
Management consulting firms rival investment banks as the top employers of MBAs. The biggest three management consulting firms, also known as the Big Three, include McKinsey &Co,. Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Co. Management consultancies provide advisory services to corporations, consulting them how to enter new markets, introduce new products, cut costs and increase market share.
With the rise of the IT firms like Google, Facebook, Apple Computer and Amazon, many graduates of business schools are lured to the IT industry with high pay and a more comfortable lifestyle than either investment banks or management consultancies can offer. IT companies offer arguably better jobs than these firms because they don't require employees to travel as much and are not associated with the greedy practices of Wall Street.