what does it take to be CEO?

Please don't judge me or anything. But when I'm older I really want to be CEO of Cedar Point. What does it take and how old do you have to be. I love CP with a passion and being CEO would be amazing. What classes do you to take in high schoo? Even if I can't be CEO what other jobs are there. Becca has cool job too. I'm 13 so it'll be a long time before I ever get that job. What do you have to do and what do you have to know to be CEO or any other job that manages CP?

Thank you. I really appreciate it!

Thats a cool dream kid! Work toward it and work hard with a little passion and luck who knows. Your looking at a one and a million chance of it happening but if your work hard you at least might end up in a good job in the industry that you'll love!

Good luck!

In school, you are best with a college business degree of some sort.

However, real-world experience will benefit you most. When you become of age, start working at CP. Start in foods/games/whatever the earliest you can. Get promoted and be the best worker you can be. That generally leads to promotions to team leaders, to supervision and hopefully to a full time position. That is probably the best chance you have at reaching that goal!

Experience is key though. They generally always want somebody with experience in the field, not just somebody with a degree.

Good luck to you!

I think Invertalon gives good tips that will help you become a GM. But, to be CEO of one of the big companies I think it is going to take a diversity of experiences. Remember that Cedar Fair is more than an amusement park company. They have accommodations, contractual relations, water parks, huge marketing budgets, etc.

The days of Dick Nunis going from rider operator to VP of the Walt Disney Company or Dick Kinzel going from food host to CEO are probably numbered.

Come to think of it, maybe it would help to be a Dick.

Chief Wahoo said:
...Come to think of it, maybe it would help to be a Dick.

lol, be a dick ;)

It takes a lot of hard work, maturity, common sense, and knowledge of the amusement industry. I would definitely start out by working at the park as early as you can (try to work as many departments as possible: rides, games, food, merch, accommodations, etc.)

There are a lot of other awesome jobs you can do there too. The Planning and Development team was always my dream when I was younger. The list goes on with all of the possible job opportunities available at the park.

I've always thought it would be cool to be CEO too. In a few years when I'm old enough I plan on working as a ride-op and a Halloweekends Screamster. But I've been playing RCT since I was little and there's just something about creating and managing you own park that interests me. Sometimes I would even think about real world situations at parks like CP and decide what I would do/change if I was the CEO. It's actually pretty fun...

^

Funny enough, I've been playing Super Mario Brothers since I was little, and there's just something about hitting bricks with my head and jumping over pits of lava that interests me.

Hmmmmm RCT vs. a real life amusement park. I can see how you get them confused.

Humm and I thought you were going to go for a plumber joke.

Nah, beeing a plumber is what one might call a realistic goal.

Hey the kid has big dreams, nothing wrong with that!

I know I will never be the CEO of Cedar Fair but just meant that I enjoy thinking about what the parks would be like if I was. And I know there is no comparison between RCT and real life amusement parks, but I just like to play it since it's the closest I'll ever get to doing that...it's a fun game if you're into that kind of stuff.

I love RCT3. My parks aren't that advanced though but its still really fun

Taylor,

I'm not kidding or being sarcastic when I suggest this; I would start writing to Cedar Fair's CEO (make sure it's done intelligently, with good grammar, etc., and honestly)...or even Cedar Points GM John Hildebrandt...and keep writing or asking until you get a response, to see if someone could give you 5 minutes to pick their brain.

We are the wrong people to ask. You want to be asking the people who have these jobs, although this was a good place to start.

It may take you a long time to even get a response, and if you are really truly passionate, that should not matter.

Write. Call. Ask when you go to the park. Then you will be on your way to figuring out an answer. :)

Work in the park first, and not just for one year. Work there for multiple years to see if you will even like that. It's different when you see and ask workers what it's like then actually being in the park everyday and working there. Start with that and put in a lot of hard work and go above and beyond what is asked for you and get yourself noticed.

CedarPointTaylor said:
But when I'm older I really want to be CEO of Cedar Point.

You just have to start more threads than anyone else on PointBuzz.

CedarPointTaylor, along with all of the advice listed above I would recommend focusing your college degree in the area of finance/accounting (major?/minor?). At the CEO level you really need to know finance well; dealing with financial institutions, brokerage firms, investors, legal issues, etc.

I am sure if you were interested in speaking to someone, your best bet would be with Cedar Point's GM John Hildebrant. He has a long history with Cedar Fair and knows the industry well.

Jeff said:

CedarPointTaylor said:
But when I'm older I really want to be CEO of Cedar Point.

You just have to start more threads than anyone else on PointBuzz.

Here we go again....:/ Do you have to post this on every post I create.

CEO isn't my dream, but something high up there is. I plan on interning in the marketing department at Kings Island the next three years. I don't know if interning is better than being in food or something, but I hope after I graduate from OSU that I can work my way up. Being high up with the Universal team is really my main goal. As long as I'm doing something I love then it doesn't matter.

Good luck.