Executive pay tracks company size far more than title, so these figures are not comparable across C-suite pages; mid-size private companies shown. Median is Payscale's COO average base; range runs from Payscale's 10th-percentile base ($84K) to the top of a 2026 posting for a ~$60M company ($350K). Public-company COO packages (base + bonus + equity) are a different scale, often several times these figures; Glassdoor's total-pay median reflects that mix.
Experience to get here
Entry level10-12 years (first COO seat at a small company)
Typical title12-20+ years of progressive operations leadership
Bachelor's required; MBA or master's common and often preferred by larger firms. Postings weight scaling track record over degree.
Typical prior roles
VP / SVP of OperationsGeneral Manager or Plant/Site DirectorVP Supply Chain or Customer OperationsHead of BizOps / Chief of Staff to CEOManagement consultant (operations practice)
Must have
Scaled a business across a revenue or headcount step (e.g., $20-50M to $100M+)
Deep supply chain, manufacturing/fulfillment or service-delivery expertise
P&L ownership and board-level reporting
Built and led multi-function leadership teams
Experience in founder-led or PE-backed settings (often asked)
Milestones people hit first
Owned a company-wide P&L or the largest operating P&L
Led a scale-up, turnaround or integration with measurable margin/throughput gains
Built the operating cadence (planning, KPIs, reviews) a CEO runs the company on
BLS has no COO occupation; mapped to Chief Executives (11-1011). No certification appears in the COO posting cited; the two listed are explicitly 'rarely'. Median is Payscale's COO average base; BLS Chief Executives (which spans all company sizes) is shown for context only. The posting and Payscale bracket a mid-size private-company range of roughly $84K-$350K base. Public-company comp is excluded.
Figures are US, from the sources listed, and change often; verify before deciding.