Why are most CEOs Engineers? Can Engineers Become CEOs? 
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Why are most CEOs Engineers? Can Engineers Become CEOs?

Kaushal Kumar

Why are most CEOs Engineers? Can Engineers Become CEOs?

"Start early" is good advice to anyone who wants to lead a company as a CEO. A good education is a foundation, and then relevant and substantial work experiences pave the path to a successful journey. Engineering is the most common undergraduate degree among CEOs. Surveys have found that nearly 45 percent of Fortune 500 Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) have majored in engineering and business administration. Approximately one-third of CEOs majored in engineering and only 11% graduated from business school. Engineering degrees address diverse areas like computer, electrical, chemical, mechanical, civil graduates can enter various industries. 

If we talk about top CEOs like Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science and electrical engineering from Princeton University, Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella is an engineer, General Motors' Mary Barra, Carlos Ghosn of Nissan, all are from engineering backgrounds.

Have you ever thought about why? Why are most CEOs engineers? 

Let's find out!

Why are most CEOs engineers?

Engineers are different; sometimes they behave like an introvert. But they are good at math and excellent in building things. They see things in a unique way. The points below show how engineers are good at leading companies and why most CEOs are engineers: 

Pay Attention to Detail

Engineers are known for paying attention to every small detail. They learn it for years during their college and adapt the same. They spend their careers understanding the unique details of a problem and considering how it impacts things in the long-term.

Just imagine establishing a powerhouse with a lot of machines and resources. Here, a small mistake and everything is just finished. It could lose a lot of lives and billions of dollars. The profession, CEO needs the same level of perfection. A CEO has to think from the end user's show and pay attention to all the small to big mistakes and its consequences.

Problem Solvers

Engineers hold great problem-solving skills whether it is a complex math equation, risk management in difficult situations or analysis of any decision. They are trained to fix all kinds of problems related to machines, bridges or a business.

Additionally, engineers are able to produce great outputs by determining cost versus performance. 

This is vital for successful leadership and running a company in the progressive path. Many engineers who have already become a successful CEO say that the skills and training that engineers practice work great for business, it perfectly describes why most CEOs engineers are. 

Engineers Understand Other Engineers

Teamwork is very important for flourishing any business. When a group of people work together for the shared goal, they do huge tasks and oversee millions if not billions of dollars. But, if you do not have the right set of people, the entire project could be a failure. 

What's that mean? Engineers are just perfect at finding the right talent and skill. Another thing, CEOs are responsible for. A successful CEO strives hard to create a company and a culture that can attract and sustain top talent. 

Great Expertise in Technology

If you wish to establish a great and developing company, you should be aware of the latest technology. You don't have to be an engineer to run a company in this respect, but most financial CEOs don't have the expertise. You should have a state-of-the-art product to grow, and engineers are master in it. 

They love to make things better, faster and cheaper, testing out a new widget to see if it can enhance production or productivity. Engineers are just obsessed with optimization and efficiency that work great for running a successful company. 

Can engineers become CEO?

Of Course, an engineer can become a successful CEO. The common thing among all famous and not so famous engineers-turned-CEOs have in common is their ability to approach business processes like programming tasks apart from their understanding of technology and long-term vision. They learn this programming as an approach during their engineering.

Every lean start-up, programmatic marketing and growth hacking have in common, they all are business methodologies that were created by engineers. Engineers leverage login and processes instead of intuition. They are data-driven and focus on interactive experiments.

If you go beyond the buzzwords and watch the outcomes, a lot of engineers are behind the success of different giant brands.

Last Verdict

So this is by our side on why most CEOs are engineers? Can engineers become CEO? Last but not the least; engineers can be great CEOs because they are capable of accepting that failed experiments or past mistakes are vital to get to innovation.

We hope you find your answer. If you have any doubt, let us know in the comment section below. 

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