Executives earnings - CoasterBuzz

A little off topic but I'd like to do that kind of job when I grow up. What in college should you specialize in? Business?

Firsts things first... start working at the park and make a good impression. I started working in at SFWoA for the my first time and only after a month and a half, I was asked if I would like to interview for a promotion. Work hard now, and no matter what you do in college, you can get a rewarding job at a park.

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Jes
Jes's Roller Coasters DJ Jes MCS Please, Feel Free To Call Me Jes!
Six Flags Worlds Of Adventure 2002 Ride-Ops Crew (Have Fun Trying To Find Me!)

Zero G, I totally agree with you. I'm in a private school, I have 95 average, and during my summer during college I'd like to live at Cedar Point and be a ride operator. Then maybe I'll get a promotion, then I'll move up. If I get into a good college and if I had some experience with amusement parks from ride opping i'd probably get a job.

Actually, I was surprised at how low the CP salaries were. The SF salaries were about what I expected. None of those guys at CP or SF have gotten where they're at by sitting on their duffs. I'd say their pay is pretty comparable with a lot of industry.

As for bonuses... good companies tie bonuses to good performance. In my time in food production management I saw some pretty good bonuses, but they were tied to my performance and the factory's performance. If we didn't make our goals set at the beginning of the year... NO BONUS. If we exceeded our goals I saw on the order of 15-16% bonus. It was a nice check to receive, and one that you knew was well-earned. I would hope that both companies are setting good bonus goals and working hard to achieve them.

Ride of Steel: Any business major could be used at a theme park theoretically, but some form of business management would be the most useful.

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Magnum Allan - FLCC member. My website: http://dropzone224.tripod.com

I can't speak for ALL parks, but I can speak about several chains. In almost all cases, executives of the company began their careers as a seasonal employee. They continued to work through college and then landed an entry level management position, moving up the ladder from there.

Dick Kinzel worked in Foods when he started at Cedar Point. Dick Nunnis worked as a Jungle Cruise operator before ultimately becoming VP of WD Attractions. That seems to be the way to go.

There are few cases of people going to college, getting a degree and then signing up with an amusement park company out of school in a high level park position.

I've also done research on what to do to get a theme park job. I've been told its great to get your name in the business by doing an internship, or work study. My future college business teacher says Disney has by far the best.

When I asked a high-ranked employee of a major theme park how to get in, he simply replied "You gotta be a nut."

As long as we pine for the chance to get in at a park and keep working at it, we'll get there :)

Tyler

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Coasters in 2002: 62
New-to-me: 32 (New in 02: 3)
Total Coasters: 92

Wahoo Skipper, yeah, they started off as season employees, but they also have business degrees! It's not like they went from cotton candy maker to running a publicly traded company without ever going to school. Kinzel went to business school and applied for an executive position and while the existing seasonal position helped, it wasn't like he just kept getting promoted until he reached President.

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Magnum Allan - FLCC member. My website: http://dropzone224.tripod.com

Stock options aren't mentioned anywhere on that site, and those are generally how executives get their largest compensation.

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No love for the whiners

I didn't mean to suggest that a non-educated person could start out cleaning bathrooms and end up running a park. Actually, I suggest it is the opposite. In most cases, you won't see a highly educated person with little, if any experience, running an amusement park.

In other words, you need to work your way up inside the company while simultaneously getting an education.

Agreed Mark, such figures would tell a bit more of the story. Do I think those guys are overpaid? Sure, but I think anyone making more than about a half-mil a year is likely (not necessarily) overpaid. But they're paid modestly when compared to the rest of the business world, I think.

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PLEASE READ: This post wasn't meant to offend or anger anyone; I apologize in advance if it does. So please don't post a reply just to rant about it. :)

Did I mention they run billion dollar companies, yet make less than pro athletes? You tell me who has more responsibility.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"Let's stop saying 'don't quote me,' because if no one quotes you, you probably haven't said a thing worth saying." - Dogma, KMFDM

Yeah but Jeff you make it sound like they have to crunch the numbers themselves. They have fifty million financial guys and lawyers working out all the numbers and working out all their property acquisitions for them. In other words, they don't do one ounce of dirty work. I know they are great people and I know they make their parks work better than any other chain, but the bottom line is that they just don't do enough work to justify the salary they make. Sure, they deserve a nice salary, but not that much. But, in the big picture, I'd say all the guys on that list are probably only overpaid by a few million all together, and that is just not much money compared to what Cedar Fair's assets are. So, it's no big deal; but it is a little much.

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Magnum Allan - FLCC member. My website: http://dropzone224.tripod.com

You guys have zero concept of the real world. Are you saying that anyone who successfully builds and grows a company should be paid a nice middle-class wage? What the hell would the point be to ever aspire to the position? Should Michael Dell or Jeff Bezos make $50,000 a year because it's "enough?"

These guys don't sit around and count pennies all day. They're responsible for the big picture. They have billion dollar companies with thousands of employees. They have millions in marketing budgets, cap ex programs, they have to analyze spending trends, they have to keep an eye on efficiency in service and their supply chain, they have to decide where to invest money, how to finance new programs... the list goes on and on.

Bottom line, these guys have more on their plate than most people have their entire lives. They deserve every penny. If you think otherwise my guess is that you've never had a mortgage, car payment and a screaming need to go visit Hawaii. There's no such thing as too much money. It's the American freakin' way.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"Let's stop saying 'don't quote me,' because if no one quotes you, you probably haven't said a thing worth saying." - Dogma, KMFDM

I can't agree with Jeff more. The top of these companies have to produce. They don't do it themselves, but bring in people and set the agenda. Everything is riding on them alone. IF the company tanks it's on them in the end. Good luck Kieran :)

Look, I'm not saying $50,000. I'm talking maybe half a million with all bonuses included. That is more than enough and is all he really deserves. Sure, he does all that stuff you mentioned. But that is not worth millions of dollars. Neither are a lot of jobs that pay millions. The guy works hard and should be paid accordingly. His mortgage would be well taken care of, his car payment would be well taken care of, and he could spend a month each year in Hawaii. And also, you would aspire to be in that position because it is one that pays well. Not 1.3 million well, but half a million well. Are you saying that you would not aspire to be in a position that pays a half million dollars each year? You said earlier that the bonuses are a large incentive for making the company do well. Well isn't his unbelievable amount of stock he owns in the company enough incentive?

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Magnum Allan - FLCC member. My website: http://dropzone224.tripod.com

I do think the earnings are quite fair, especially the Cedar Fair numbers. It makes a lot of sense to me that these guys have big bonuses and big stock options. If they screw it up, they lose huge bucks.

Further, I can't imagine how these guys can juggle all the information that comes their way. I remember from my Frito-Lay days that when the Operations VP visited our site, he knew our performance numbers better than any of us. And we were the ones there day-in, day-out. That impressed me. And we were just one of 40+ plants.

So yes, in my book Dick Kinzel does deserve what he earns. I am confident that he doesn't have a 9-5 job. His work isn't easy. Leadership may not mean that you are always working in the trenches. However, leadership IS tough work. It should pay well.

Allan: You sound like you're jealous or something. How do you expect him to pay for the Jag and that great house (and guest house) on the beach? You don't know jack about what he deserves. Any single person who makes decisions that affect the lives of thousands of people, and millions of customers a shareholders deserves the big dollars. It's not a job that you and I could do. It's not a job that anyone I know could do.

You sound like a communist.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"Let's stop saying 'don't quote me,' because if no one quotes you, you probably haven't said a thing worth saying." - Dogma, KMFDM

You sound like a communist.

hahaha...That's exactly what I was thinking, Jeff! Don't you know, the Lemon Chill guy deserves more that he gets paid? It's a lot of work keeping all those ride designs secret! He should be making as much as the CEO!

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Goodbye Whizzer, dear friend. You set me rolling many years ago into this fun hobby...

RIP Whizzer: 1976 - 2002

One of the nice things about capitalism is that one person, or a group of people, don't get to decide what's a "fair" wage for each job. I think a lot of people are overpaid: athletes, actors, entertainers in general, doctors, lawyers, airline pilots, etc., and also most CEOs.

I don't know that much about Kinzel, but I don't think he created Cedar Point. So comparing him to guys like Gates, Dell, Bezos, etc. who started companies from nothing I think is a bit of a stretch. But Kinzel has also made far, far less than these guys over the years as well.

But as I said, the market decides what they're worth, and I'll take that over any other method I'm aware of.