By Justin Silverton
While looking through the various job sites on the Internet, I found the following list of the highest paying jobs in the U.S. It’s interesting to see how the different types of jobs in the tech industry compare to other industries.
Top Paying Jobs Overall
Physicians and surgeons — $147,000
Aircraft pilots — $133,500
Chief executives — $116,000
Electrical and electronic engineers — $112,000
Lawyers and judges — $99,800
Dentists — $90,000
Pharmacists — $85,500
Management analysts — $84,700
Computer and information system managers — $83,000
Financial analysts, managers and advisors — $84,000
Marketing and sales managers — $80,000
Education administrators — $80,000
Top Paying Jobs That Do Not Require a High School Degree
These jobs tend to require substantial on-the-job training and work experience rather than formal education and schooling:
Industrial production managers — $36,000
Bailiffs, correctional officers and jailers — $36,400
Drafters — $36,000
Construction manager — $33,600
Electricians — $31,900
Top Paying Jobs for High School Graduates
These occupations emphasize work experience and on-the-job training rather than formal education:
Computer software engineers — $58,900
Computer/information systems managers — $56,400
Computer programmers — $55,000
Network systems and data communications analysts — $49,000
General and operations managers — $48,000
Database, network and computer systems administrators — $48,000
Top Paying Jobs for a Two-Year College Degree
The following jobs tend to be technical in nature, emphasizing skills developed on the job as well as job-specific training and certifications:
Healthcare practitioners — $66,000
Business analysts — $58,000
Electrical and electronic engineers — $57,000
Mechanical engineers — $56,800
General and operations managers — $54,000
Computer and information systems managers — $50,400
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Well in my opinion I say rather start your own company then work why. since what you do is making the owner of the company you are working for more rich.
I think that 2nd category is supposed to say College Degree, not High School. I got a diploma from my High School.
What about pro athlete upto $11,000,000?
some of those figures look a little off. Senior Int’l pilots might make 133k, but not entry level pilots flying domestic…which are usually actually the co-pilots. Also, the figure for lawyers seems low. A top legal intern can make 80k a year at the right firm, and most senior partners 200k+. I’d also disagree on the dentists, many of dentists hang their own shingle, and bring in more than 90k, maybe if you work for an HMO that’s what you’d see, but that isn’t the norm.
I guess the disclaimer was that these were taken from looking at listing, craigslist and monster.com i’d imagine, that’s gonna bias the data right there I think. Professionals don’t usually go sifting through the want-ads looking for jobs…atleast not the good ones.
yah… you dont need to have graduated from high school…
this is crap. Which part of the country does these numbers reflect? They’re WAY low… IS manager making 50k? Huh? Where? Try 70-120k. Software “engineers” below 60k? Yeah, right out of school…
In the northeast these numbers are very low.
Ugh, I hate bad data.
There are quite a few people, including myself, who have done the “impossible” and are now making 7-figures a year or more without finishing high school. (I dropped out in my freshman year with barely 30 days under my belt. No silver spoons here, either.)
There are even more (esp. here in the USA) who didn’t finish college and are now billionaires. Of course, wealth does not dictate happiness. But then again neither does a PhD.
Granted, your odds are very slim if you don’t finish even high school. But that’s only because most people are quite lazy when it comes to doing something significant for themselves. The harder/smarter you work and self-study, the more likely you are to realize your success. Among the lazy, the odds are infinitesimally mini.
This sounds a little biased. I know the the average salary of a business professor is about $108k (see recent survey: “the professor’s paycheck”). Why isn’t that here? I wonder how many other high paying jobs were missed?
These numbers seem abit high (I am from Canada so I could be wrong) but computer guys around here almost never make more then 35K CND a year (around 30K USD for you americans)
I’m a IT consultant with 10 years of experience and I make 110k a year and I personally think I’m on the low end compared to a few of my friends. So I don’t know why the figures are so low in this data.
35K CND per year? I’m also from Canada, and that’s ridiculous. “Computer Guys” make more like 50-120.
For the record, electrical & mechanical engineers (as well as the other traditional engineers) have 4-year degrees at a minimum. These are often the most fully educated people in the room. No digg.
# Computer software engineers — $58,900
# Computer/information systems managers — $56,400
# Computer programmers — $55,000
# Network systems and data communications analysts — $49,000
Ummmm.. First off these numbers are way off and second of all I’m pretty sure you need at least a bachelors to have an ok chance of getting hired for any of these. Yeah I’m gonna just walk in on the first day of work with no college education on software programming and start designing software….
Top Paying Jobs Overall
Electrical and electronic engineers — $112,000
…..
Top Paying Jobs for a Two-Year College Degree
Electrical and electronic engineers — $57,000
Something is wrong here…
i am a senior helpdesk tech. with just a 2 yr. tech school diploma and A+ and my starting pay is 48k/yr. so this seems accurate.
A+ is useless and tech support is not a high paying job. Sadly I worked tech support and they would hire anyone over 16. You didn’t even know how to turn on a computer, that was what the 2 week training was for.
NYC area journeyman carpenters electricians and plumbers all make better than $90,000 a year plus bennies unless they really s#ck. Some make up to $150,000 and project managers and supers all start in the $125,000 range. This list is whacked
Join the lucrative field of computer hardware repair.
People are dependent on their computers as communication devices more and more every day.
There may be some truth to this but it sure is limited. I know many people in media production who make much more and who lack even a high school diploma (like me). Self taught skills are the most rewarding and generally recognized as the most valuable.
Mike, that’s exactly what I did… I work for one of the biggest companies in the world and I joined at 19 with no college degree and was charged with designing the web-based frontend of an internal used by thousands of employees tens of millions of times per week… you’ve probably talked to a phone agent that was using one of my systems, that was about 7 years ago. The key was that I was willing to work cheap (50k). Since then I’ve gotten the biggest raises every year, earned 3 promotions and currently clear about 120k and have my own team… so it’s definitely possible if you know your stuff and when you speak up, you say intelligent things! Your bosses will notice your skills and forget about your lack of a degree, because they want good people with real-world skills, not the pretend crap they teach in most colleges. There are plenty of people with degrees who are completely useless (they probably cheated their way through college). So I say: If you are motivated, that college degree won’t matter. The only exceptions? If you want to be a doctor or something of that nature!
[…] I was surfing the web when I noticed that digg had a blog about “Highest paying jobs in the U.S”. The blog seemed to be popular with 626 diggs which means people are definitely interested in the topic. According to the blogger, physicians and surgeons are on top of the pay scale by making an average of $147,000 a year. Software engineers, on the other hand, make measly average of $58,900 a year. In addition to that, the blog states that you can be a mere high school graduate to be a software engineer. […]
I spent most of my teen years in front of a computer learning how to design/program. By 17 I was working too much to finish high school, so I dropped out. I’m 26 now, make close to 90k and work for one of the top 5 websites in the world. Sans-diploma.
I see the value in taking the standard route; getting a degree etc, but sometimes talent and dedication can get you the very same place.
What’s a “computer guy”? That’s a huge range you’re talking about, from low level tech support to programmers to system architects, adn the payscale range is huge, too.
This info. is true in real life. Itz almost double the figures each would get paid every year.
Sry, The above has “not” missing just before “true”.
[…] read more | digg story Digg it […]
What? No “Blogger”?
Wow, this is lame. And so are many folks posting. “Itz”? “Sry”?
“OMG that’s so lk 1990Z”. Did you fnsh HS?
Why did you put Electrical and electronic engineers — $112,000 in the top and then Electrical and electronic engineers — $57,000 in the bottom.
Which is it???
Few errors in your blog?
high school grad??? isn’t it suppose to be college grad?
[…] read more | digg story […]
I am in the process of collecting information for an article that I plan to post on my website, www.honestmedicine.com, on the topic of physicians’ incomes. So, I must admit that I was not at all surprised to learn that, according to this recent survey, doctors are the highest income earners in the US.
But there is one fact that may surprise many people. I know it surprised me.
When we read about physicians’ incomes, these incomes are most often listed in terms of NET INCOME, while the incomes for the rest of us are listed in terms of GROSS. This means, of course, that doctors are even better paid compared to the rest of us than this survey suggests.
For instance, according to a very interesting article on the Center for Studying Health System Change website:
“Despite the downward trend in real incomes, medicine overall remains one of the most well-paid professions in the United States: At least half of all patient care physicians earned more than $170,000 in 2003, and physician average net income was approximately $203,000. And, although surgical specialists have lost ground to inflation since the mid-1990s, they remain the highest-earning of all physicians: Their average income of $272,000 in 2003 was 29 percent higher than medical specialists and 86 percent higher than primary care physicians.”
See http://www.hschange.com/CONTENT/851/#ib7 for the above quote.
And the AMA publication, “American Medical News,” reports the exact same (net income) figures in its article, “Physician income not rising as fast as other professional pay,” on July 24/31, 2006 at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/site/free/prsc0724.htm
So why then do doctors feel that they are being shortchanged – even abused — in the income department? For instance, this article from “Medical Economics” at http://301url.com/doctorsincomes starts out with: “The earnings tide may be turning” and uses words such as “meager,” “dismal,” “doldrums” and “losing side” to describe primary care physicians’ incomes.
My Dad was a general practitioner in the 1940s through mid-1970s, and even way back then, he thought his fellow doctors were greedy. (See http://301url.com/louschopick). But still, I don’t quite understand why doctors feel so put upon, when they are so well paid. But they do.
Julia Schopick
Http://www.honestmedicine.typepad.com
ok i got them all beat cammercial divers in the g.o.m
my first year out and i made 90gs senior divers are 150,00+
Julia,
Thanks for all of the info!
QUOTE: “But still, I don’t quite understand why doctors feel so put upon, when they are so well paid. But they do.”
I am a doctor. It’s because we have to work ridiculous hours to pay our overhead and malpractice insurance. After working over 100 hours each week, paying my malpractice and my overhead, there is hardly anything left.
Julia,
I didn’t initally read your part about “net income”. Net income doesn’t compensate for student loans. I graduated medical school with $400,000 in debt. After 5 years of residency, that debt grew to about $750,000. Now consider taking home $125,000 a year. How long do you think it’ll take to pay that $750,000 debt off at an interest rate of 7%?
That’s why we’re feeling so shortchanged.
[…] read more | digg story […]
Electricians make less than 32K??? Not around here bucky, more like 70k to 90k.
I have only a H.S. education and I make around 65k running a crane in a steel mill.
A little more research next time, perhaps?
I am a photographer and it has been paying pretty well (around $40-$100/hour depending on the work and bookings). Here is an article showing that photographers belong in the “no high school degree required” category:
http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/profiles/facts.asp?careerID=113
I’ve started my own wedding photography site:
http://www.gavinphotography.com/
and I average around $50/hour for weddings, and the trick is just getting bookings (which comes with time). As for photography under an employer, I know of wedding photographers that make $50/hour for 3 days a week, which is equal to $25/hour for 6 days a week.
Dentists averages are more than 90K, depending on if you specialized or not, you still make 150-350K.
In regards to why physicians feel so put on and that they make so little money is because of the time they put in. An Electrical Engineer can put in 4 years of undergrad, maybe 2 years for a masters? (but still possible to get by with 4 years.) A physician has to put in the same 4 years for undergrad, then 4 years of medical school, then additional residency specialty training (3+ years). All this time there is constant testing, crazy hours and intensity that is seen in few other professions initially.
The “greed” that everyone places on physicians is that they feel like they sacrifice for so many years and go through such a difficult process and sacrifice a huge portion of their youth they they would like compensation. The idea that they should do it altruistically is unrealistic (look at the kinds of teachers you have there and you’ll see the quality that low pay gets you). Not only is it unrealistic that they are altruistic, but are expected to be kind and nice, when other people are harsh and feel like the physician is rich…when he/she is wealthy because they work a ton of hours and are often on-call getting interrupted in the midst of attending to their own personal lives.
I don’t think physicians are greedy (although there are some), but I do think the general population has little understanding or concept of what it takes to be one so is unable to relate. As is true of most thing, it’s easy to criticize when you’re not gettinig what YOU want but not looking at the other end of the coin.
Absolutely inaccurate. These number fail to take into consideration the REAL income earners which is private business owners.
I am a physician and earn five times that from my practice alone BUT that dwarfs what I earn from a business I started ten years ago that nets me five million every year.
Julia,
Try giving up your twenties, work 80+ hours a week, endure constant stress, and then tell me that physicians are overpaid. While some of my college classmates easily make as much, I don’t consider their jobs anywhere near as interesting.
A lot depends on where you choose to work. NYC > upstate or Wyoming. High pressure Corp > nonprofit or public service.
For Vermont, divide those numbers by 3. I work as an electronic engineer at a very good Vermont Co., and no one is paid $112,000 a year.
[…] read more | digg story […]
EE’s making 112000 dolitos a year ????
Ho-Ho-Ho-Ho-Ho
Very few managers/senoior engineers get that much. Most of us suffer with meagre 40-60 K. In Canada, they make even less.
And the best part is that more and more electronic and electrical engineering jobs are going over…errr outsourcing.
Please people, just ask IEEE-USA and fellow American and Canadian engineers about engineering jobs and salaries. All this hoo-la-boola about 6 digit wages is created by the industry that brings ( and swindles more) foreign trained EEs into the US.
No hate but love for foreign trained EEs. They get screwed by lower salary and even worse job security than domestic EEs.
Come on, we are not a stupid nation to believe such crappola about EEs making 6 digits………….
[…] This rather interesting American salary review of the highest paying jobs threw up a couple of surprises: electrical & electronic engineers earn more than lawyers? Geeklawyer is pretty sure that isn’t the position in the UK. Also US lawyers average $100k/year: much more modest than he’d have guessed - indeed not much more than the UK average which considering the significantly higher cost of living is somewhat of a surprise & he doesn’t entirely buy it. […]
I am a truckdriver making $85,000. where did you come up with those ridiculis figures?
Since when is there a 2 year mechanical engineering degree? Also your numbers are way off.
I’ve heard that architects, if they work in a city and have a Masters degree, can have six-figure salaries.
Yeah, that’s one of my pet peeves–seeing a high school DIPLOMA referred to as a “degree.” I, too, received a diploma from my high school.
Well… this makes me feel good. Starting salary for an account manager in my field is $37,500 + comm. Average account managers are making $80K ++ w/ or w/o college degrees. I pulled in 120K this year so far and belong to the college drop out club. The data could have come from Kansas or South Dakota.
Or…Perhaps this data is from 1996. >>
[…] Jaslabs: High performance php » Highest paying jobs in the U.S. (tags: jobs tech us salary statistics salaries programming) […]
I’d like to know why you placed mechanical engineers in the two-year college degree category. I have a BSME that required a four-year course of study, the same as electronic/electrical engineering degrees. A BS in mechanical engineering is a tough four-year degree as you have to study all areas of engineering (materials, circuits, fluids, strength of materials, machine design, etc.) whereas the same is generally not true for other engineering degrees.
I don’t know where these numbers come from? Here in California, a journyman Millwright ( heavy duty mechanic ) that wants to work will make $120,000 to $150,000 and supervisors will start at $120,000. Our top Millwrights make that and more, plus benefits which are worth $40 K
133k for pilots is very misleading.
That’s for CAPTAINS, so to average the First Officers in figure 30 to 50% less. And that’s at a major airline.
Regional airlines employ an ever increasing corp of 20 something, backpack wearing iPod listening Gen Y’s living with their parents because they earn 17 thousand a year as an airline pilot.
People think it’s a reasonable expectation to be able to fly for less than it costs to drive your own car? Well, you get what you pay for.
[…] Computer Information Systems - Hopefully I can make money when I graduate. If not, I’m going to be working as a security guard forever, which would be awesome. Yes, this is another test post. […]
Dear Justin et al:
I was very gratified to see the responses to my comment about physicians making so much money – and in NET income figures, at that. And Justin, you’re very welcome for the information I supplied. Thank you for thanking me! (And by the way, if you ever need information about the medical system – especially about physicians and their ties to pharmaceutical companies, as well as about doctor-patient-relations-related topics, please feel free to contact me. I must admit that I have amassed a huge amount of information from my 15 years as my husband’s caregiver – as well as for my website, http://www.honestmedicine.typepad.com .)
But, what I said in my initial comment on your site still stands: Even though I am grateful for the doctors, like Joe, who gave explanations, I must admit that I still don’t understand why doctors feel so put upon. I grew up in a home where my Dad, a doctor, not only worked long hours, but visited patients in their homes –even in the middle of the night, if there was an emergency! To make matters worse, my Dad was Jewish, and when he wanted to study medicine, American medical schools made it very difficult for Jews to get in. So, like many other Jewish want-to-be doctors, he studied medicine in Switzerland, and had to first learn the language! After all that, he felt HONORED to have found a profession where he could do so much good for people — and where he could be so happy and appreciated, AND also make a living.
So maybe doctors today should try to develop relationships with their patients, like my Dad did. They might find that they would enjoy these relationships. I know one thing: If my Dad were told that he “had to” see a patient every five minutes, his answer would have been unprintable. But it would have ended with something like this: “I have to live with myself, so pay me less. I don’t need a fancy house or car. But I won’t shortchange my patients — or myself.”
I know for a fact that my Dad would have felt very sad to see what has happened to his profession. As I related in my article about him on my website, “Medicine in the ‘Good Old Days,’” — http://301url.com/louschopick — he felt that doctors were losing the Art of Medicine, even back then. What I didn’t say in my article is that his fellow doctors used to tell him how silly he was for treating patients for free, if they couldn’t afford to pay. But he always felt that he had the last laugh, because he really and truly enjoyed practicing medicine, even though it never made him rich.
I hope that more doctors today will try to enjoy their communications with their patients more, even though they have so many difficulties with Managed Care — something my Dad didn’t have to deal with.
Again, thanks so much for your wonderful blog, and for your attention to my comments. And please feel free to visit my site for lots more information about the medical system today!
Julia Schopick
Http://www.honestmedicine.typepad.com
Salaries/cost of living varies enormously throughout the US.
Houston, TX new 3000 sq ft custom home on golf course: 350K
San Jose: 3 mil +
Also, what is the source of the data?
[…] Jaslabs: High performance php » Highest paying jobs in the U.S. (tags: salary jobs finance money) […]
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You folks sure get bent out of shape over “bad data.” If you look at the link that was included for the source of the information, it went to the same list on careerbuilder.com. The numbers are national averages, which must be remembered when comparing those numbers with your own salary. Those numbers include the entry-level, the high-end, the low-paying geographic regions, etc. You can’t trash the blogger because you don’t like careerbuilder’s data.
Regarding mean annual income in the USA:
1. In order for an Engineer to make the same gross income as a Surgeon, the Engineer must have a Ph.D - which means 4 years for the Bachelors degree, 2 to 3 years for the Masters degree, and 4 years for the Doctorate degree.
2. Any one Undergraduate School is not going to charge any more, or any less, tuition depending on major. The tuition fee is the same, regardless of major.
3. Graduate Schools are all very expensive, regardless if they are public or private. The vast majority of students, regardless of career choice / area of study, use extensive student loans to pay for Graduate School.
4. As seen from facts 1 through 3, Engineers and Surgeons spend the same amount of time preparing before they finally go out and earn the “big bucks.” As also seen above, both Engineers and Surgeons are plagued with daunting student loans which are, by the way, under the same interest rates, regardless of profession.
5. So, the best profession to be in is a Corporate Lawyer. You have 2 to 3 years less of preparation, the same student loans, and a slightly higher gross income than the Engineer, or the Surgeon.
what about anesthesiologists and neurologists? Their average income can be as high as 600.000 as year!
I’m currently pursuing a Master’s of Science in Information Management with the desire to become an Enterprise Architect … average is 120k/yr. I don’t see that statistic here.
Further, I think it IS certainly possible to achieve economic success without higher education within a computer related field e.g. Bill Gates; but one of the most important aspects of this idea is the incredible amount of experience that will be required (generally 10-15yrs). In order to begin at the managerial/corporate level one must display certain ability and skill that is ONLY attained through higher education experiences; worldliness, GRAMMAR(try writing an informative, professional, grammatically proper CV or Resume). Thanks for the opportunity to voice my opinion!
TLE
hmm… this list, like most, completely ignores wall street… they earn much better than doctors and lawyers, hands down.
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Ok im seeing alot of people here saying what they are making, and it seems like a decent amount to me with only being a highschool grad. But my question is what can I do?? I dropped out of highschool and obtained my GED. My plan was to join the Marines but I dont really want to get killed in a war so I changed my mind. So I am kind of screwed because im left with just an average job paying like 25-35k working somewhere a few years. I really want to get in the 6 figure spot, and I know I have the heart to do it, I just dont know where to go, and where to learn. I often like to jump to different things, but if there was something worth while I would definitly stay. So basically does anyone have any advice for someone with a GED on how to make decent money. Ontop of that im 9 grand in debt with credit cards, and I dont have a job, my car just took a crap and my parents dont want to bail me out, they want me out of the house because I havent been ‘productive’.
But this is because I wanted to join the core for over a year, so again im in a terrible situation and it sucks because I have nowhere to turn, my friends arent my friends anymore. I realized they are all backstabbing jerks, not just to me, but they do it to each other. So now that I had gotten myself in this hole of debt, no life, no job, no car I finally realized I was stupid for doing it and I want to lead a successfull life. But I just need to know how!!!
These numbers come from the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. If you’d like to explore their data in more detail, visit http://www.bls.gov/
Wall Street is a location, not an occupation. BLS data does cover financial analysts and the like.
TLE, most likely the reason your specific job title isn’t included is because it’s been lumped together with “Network systems and data communications analysts”. I am a high-school-dropout GED holder and I can assure you that one does not require higher education to learn, as you say, GRAMMAR. I would much rather read the prose of a person who has read and taken to heart Dr. Strunk’s little book than the prose of a person who has been dragged through Ivy League writing requirements courses. I spent what would have been my college years actually exploring the world, but I am sure that one can also acquire worldliness sitting in a classroom. I’ve also not heard any complaints about my résumé, http://www.fuzzworks.com/resume.html
Michael, you do have options. First off, if you really want to join a service, check out the Coast Guard. You may also be able to get your parents to cut you some slack if you agree to enroll at your local community college, where you can learn some job skills and maybe even go on to a four-year school. Be sure to apply yourself and get decent grades, though, or your parents may still go ahead and toss you out. Also, you need to learn money management skills–you shouldn’t be acquiring credit card debt even if you think you have a good job lined up. Read this book, it will help http://www.yourmoneyoryourlife.org/
First of all, this thing is way off! Dentists, Surgeons, Pilots, Lawyers, etc. They are totaly not the highest paid. When you take this subject into consideration you have to add in all the jobs that people might have. This includes Singers, Athletes, ect. For example the average baseball player makes over 7 digits a year. Singers make about that also. Im sure many agree that this chart is way off. There are as many athletes in the U.S than some of the other jobs. So they should be considered. All it takes is effort and talent. Put your mind to it, and live a wealthy life. I think this chart was made in a matter of minutes without much dedication, and motivation. There are probably a half dozen other job professions that are easily higher on the list but aren’t recognized. But it’s alright. This list dosn’t effect anyone. hehe :p
I make a lot of money by charge very high price in my store,past year i make more then docter by selling high price things,and i like to buy house for my wife and 11 children,now we no haf to sleep in bathtube no more.
You can start your own business like I did and make a 100,000 a year or more.. Time, dedication and hard work.
Not recommended for the weak.
Most Famous Airlines like Fedex, Delta,United are paying like $200 K annually, so isn’t it higher then those surgeons?
Fedex pilots are paying well then any other Jobs
Doctors dont make that much. If you consider that doctors have to spend their entire youth in school.
An anesthesiologist for example spends 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, 3 years of internship, 3 years of residency, which is the minimum requirements for anesthesiology. So expect to spend 14-15 years in college.
Most doctors who do this dont start working until they are 35-36, which is a total waste of life. you could have been making 170k or more doing something else during those 15 long years.
Then the medical school bills come in, you have to pay up to 500k-750k for those specializations like anestheisiology.
Even if you do eventually make $300,000 a year, You have to pay malpractise insurance, 70k+ every year.
Staff salaries, If you have nurses, secretaries and assistants, thats another 70k of expenses, If you rent an office space, thats more expenses.
When your done, you might be making 140k/year for working 80-100 hours a week, and you will still be taxed for your grand total earning of 300k
so eventually, you end up at $100,000, which is still pretty high considering its a 6 figure digit.
If you want to be a doctor, be prepared to waste your youth, be in school full time until you are 35-36, be prepared for a $500k debt, 80-100hour work week, spend 15 years in college, and make 100k after malpractice, staff, and rent.
You could get a business major and end up on wall street with real money and flexible work hours.
Of course some doctors are rich, but those are the ones that have no life except for their beepers.
This is why there are no M.D.s on the list of richest people in america
I’m in a 2yr. program at tech getting my eletrical and 30k isn’t what I’m wanting. Where is the 50k+++jobs and what state? Do you have to be independent or on a government contract job? Somebody let me know.
[…] Highest paying jobs in the U.S. […]
I have a 2 yr degree but I’m not making any where near $54,600? I would also like to know how can a High School student who didn’t finish be making $31,000 in any field. I’ve looked at companies who say they want people who have a High School deploma or a GED but when I called them up they said that they need people with a 4 yr degree and 5+ yrs of knowladge how can a High School Student do that. I would have to agree with Ricky M. sicne I also have a 2 yr degree but unlike him I’m not even close $5,000 a yr or more. What I would like to know in which State or Country can people who have a 2 yr degree make close to or around $50,000 until I can get my Masters.
Great discussion.
My girlfriend and I have had this college discussion. She went to a good school, collected 50k or so in student debt, and made about 40k when I met her.
I am a GED/College yet-to-be finished school of hard knocks worker. I never went into student debt, but I too paid the price by working at the bottom and proving myself along the way. I earn 120k plus a bonus after around 10 years of industry exposure.
I’ll tell her College is overated and has become a tool of business with the product generic skills sold at a premium. She tells me it was a great experience and opened up doors that otherwise might have shut. We agree that both our paths work, though different.
For what I do I expect the company to make 3 or 5 fold. If you look at what you do like that, it’s easier to see what you are really worth. The reason, the only reason, people get paid high salaries, is because they make that much and more for someone else.
Here is the average pay for the Fastest Growing Jobs in the U.S. Great news for Hydrologists, they made the list.
1. Computer systems software engineer — $81,140*
2. Computer applications software engineer — $76,310
3. Biomedical engineer — $70,520
4. Physician assistant — $69,250
5. Environmental engineer — $67,620
6. Computer systems analyst — $67,520
7. Database administrator — $61,950
8. Physical therapist — $61,560
9. Network systems and data communication analyst — $61,250
10. Hydrologist — $60,880
*Median annual salary, according to November 2004 BLS data.
http://billinman.wordpress.com/2006/11/20/the-highest-paying-jobs-in-the-us/
I am a Licensed Practical Nurse and I make 50,000 plus per year…. I do have a 2 year degree that is not in nursing. I am a resident care manager for a nursing home… I do agree that the above figures are low… I dont know any nurses who make less than 35,000 per year as LPNs… Lpns and Rns only differ by education… After 26 years of experience with an associates degree.. I have had many doors opening to me.. Experience is worth more than education any day…
Regarding doctors:
The reason some of us are frustrated is that if you have a choice of making $500k/yr at the age of 30 as a bankers/trader or $300k/yr at age 30 at a top law firm in Manhattan as a 5th yr associate or $180k at age 32 with $250k as a doctor, what would you rather do? And as a society which of these groups would you like to pay more to? Alot of doctors are pissed that the lawyers and bankers are killing us b/c…..
Many of us, prior to entering med school, thought either we will be a banker, a lawyer, or a doctor. Very few were choosing between being a doctor or a social worker. Go to a Thanksgiving dinner at any house where the focus is on the 16 year old teenager who just scored 1500 on their SAT and is getting ready to go to an Ivy League school…what do you usually hear? “So are you going to be a doctor, lawyer, or a banker”…sad, but it is the capitalistic reality.
So when my family or friends ask me would I go to med school all over again, I tell them no! I scored beyond what any of my peers did on any standardized exams and could easily be pushing paper down on Wall Street or staring at briefs at Skadden…but instead I am just barely getting out of my 1 bedroom apt at age 32! And even worse, I can’t exactly say that I am “helping” people because most of what i do everyday is push around paperwork and crunch basic numbers - what the modern life of a doctor essentially has become. And trust me, I don’t care most of the time, but it is frustrating to go out with your dipshit college buddies that you helped, only to realize you can’t afford to do it!
To the older docs, yes you had time to talk to patients, but 1-those of us who are younger will be kicked right out of a partner track if we are slow & spend too much time with patients and 2-we actually have medical treatments now beyond bedrest and talking to patients & the lawyers are watching us to make sure we are using them……….
What about air trafic contrlrs 150 k to 250 k, sports coach 500k +, highway truck drivers 140k, highway truck owner operators up to 500k.
Get real info.
These numbers are wrong. I am an uneducated lumberjack and make more money than a ceo according to you. Better re-tune your calculator.
[…] Highest paying jobs in the U.S. - Jaslabs: High performance phpTop Paying Jobs Overall. Physicians and surgeons $147,000; Aircraft pilots $133,500; Chief com/doctorsincomes starts out with: The earnings tide may be turning and uses words […]
I work in healthcare field (oncology) and my wife works in investments exclusively for high wealth clients, many of whom are physicians.
Between the two of us, we don’t know of one single physician that makes around $150K. The lowest I know of makes well over 200K - recent graduate and needs to pass one final competency for full licensure. My wife invests for MANY physicians that are making 500, 600, and sometimes 700K per year. Those figures are so low that they border on the ridiculous. Why would anyone go through the time and expense of medical school just to make 150K / year?
So all of you computer guys out there that think you are making as much as MD’s pull down… guess again.
Although Im only in the 7th grade and an Puerto Rican Jamaican I think it is essential for me too start planning my life for the future. Or think of alternative occupations such as a medical lawyer, occupational therapist,investment banker,physciatrist, FBI angent but my grandma really doesnt like the idea of FBI agent.
Yeah, clearly BS stats. Engineers do not make more than lawyers, and Im not sure why physicians are even grouped with surgeons-they make substantially less.
yeah i dropped out in 11th grade and im making over 500k what now
i droped out of school when i was younger because of family problems and working on my ged almost have it and i work two jobs right now i am a excellent worker and hard worker i was looking for one job that can pay me the same as both jobs compaired or more email me back please and let me know my email is matt.whiteside@yahoo.com
I have a BS Electrical Engineering, Masters in Business Administration, and a one-year I.T. Certification (PHP, MySQL, PostGRESQL, Java, C, C++). But I work in the Philippines and have an equivalent annual net income of roughly 3,600 U.S. dollars working as a software developer. So I really don’t get it when people whine about making only 25k USD. Maybe I should work abroad as a taxi cab driver or truck driver and earn more. Maybe…
Many people here seem to be doubting that someone who has just graduated from high school can be making more that $30k/year. Let me correct you: I’m a freshman in high school (that’s 9th grade) and I’m doing a full-time programming job over the summer for which I’m paid $15/hour. If I worked for the entire year at that rate (which obviously I can’t because of school) I’d be making around $31k/year. So those figures aren’t unrealistic.
[…] This rather interesting American salary review of the highest paying jobs threw up a couple of surprises: electrical & electronic engineers earn more than lawyers? Geeklawyer is pretty sure that isn’t the position in the UK. Also US lawyers average $100k/year: much more modest than he’d have guessed - indeed not much more than the UK average which considering the significantly higher cost of living is somewhat of a surprise & he doesn’t entirely buy it. […]
What course track in college would it take to be a banker or wall street trader. I thought business track but im not so sure.How long would it take to become one of these professions.
What about Commercial Real Estate Law? Those in this field get up to half a mil a case (Walmart or something big.) I would know, my dad is one and we live next to Michael Dell. You should think about doing that.
Here’s one, what about Auto Mechanics??? They can make anywhere from $60k-200K / year very easily…
By the way, no degree needed to be an auto mechanic…
I see most of these figures as low, like many others, but it all depends on where you live and what the cost of living is in your area…
I am a HS Drop-Out, my wife is a College Graduate and She only makes $10K a year more than I do… So was it worth her spending all that extra money and going further into to debt to make only $10K more than someone with a 9th grade education and a GED???
I have my GED and currently work for a company doing the billing and invoices. I gave heard most people in my position get paid $15 to $16 an hour and I’m only getting paid $11. I want something more. I am 22 y/o and wanting to know if there are any jobs that I can get with a certificate that will earn my at least 35,000 a year?
how much expirince is needed to do computer engineer
where does registered nursing rank,and what level of education is required?
[…] I was surfing the web when I noticed that digg had a blog about “Highest paying jobs in the U.S." The blog seemed to be popular with 626 diggs which means people are definitely interested in the topic. According to the blogger, physicians and surgeons are on top of the pay scale by making an average of $147,000 a year. Software engineers, on the other hand, make measly average of $58,900 a year. In addition to that, the blog states that you can be a mere high school graduate to be a software engineer. […]
i just want to know where you can get a two year engineering degree? its more like 4-12 years. 2 years for a tech but they dont make that kind of money
construction is good, i make around 500 a day sub contracting jobs just got to get good and faST at a trade and start working for your self,
Why are you guys whining so much? YOU MAKE YOUR MONEY!!! Enough said! Who cares if someone is making this, that, whatever. If you’re good, you’ll be making more money than someone who is average, if all else equal. If for whatever reason, you think your location is paying you much less than what you can be making elsewhere, do some research, plan ahead, make sure you calculate the cost of living - wage/salary ratio, and move if you decide to. If you are making much less than what you truly believe you should be making, then it’s your fault. Learn to negotiate your salary, don’t be too lazy to find a better paying job, etc. Also keep in mind in today’s age, there’s almost no such thing as job security. Continuing your education (doesn’t have to be formal schooling) is a great idea. Also, especially if you live in America, the money is out there. If you truly want to be rich, you will be. I can say this because it makes perfect sense. If you truly want to be wealthy, you will put the effort. Some of us may really really really want to be rich, but don’t put the effort. Most people have to work their asses off, but are rewarded. Also, believe me that I say this with an open mind. I’m kind of lazy and probably will be getting paid on the lower end unless I clean up my act. Also pay attention to the market. Some fields are just paid more highly.
Hi ive got a problem, all my mates want to go into a medical field yet i want to do something practical e.g. engineering. we all have the same intelligence and i want to be making the same amount of money as my mates who want to be dentists and surgeons. could you recommend anything?
Sharaz,
How much money per year do you think your mates will be making?
Im from canada, but its the only way to go is to own your own business. Why make someone else rich, when you can do it yourself. Im 25 and now worth about 5 mill, and I never done that for working for someone else.
Yeah… Brad sounds like he’s worth 5…
I think it is accurate seeing as u talking about Average income. If your a Janitor getting paid 1 million dollars an hour you are very lucky it does not mean that every Janitor is getting paid a million dollars. Plus you also have to understand where you live…etc.
hi,
iam swathi doing my 1st yr b.pharmacy in hyd so iam very much intersted 2 work in u.s in the field of b.phrmacy so the job oppurtunities and salry and resume wht the compannies there need i do not know so want to know abt tht
thank u
I am 23 years man I would like to work in Dubai and USA.
I am graduted from high school I know E .Arabic , computer and I have worked on perpar works as well .
hi there
i am a filipino and i am a high school students only.
i need to find a job that is accurate for me! is there any job thats belong to my educational degree?
thanks!
ahhhhhmmmm
is there a job there like cashier? ahhhmmmm
cashier is okay for me!!!! but good salary.
i am 20 years old. pls inquire me if theres have. thanks
i have experience in cashiering and also incoding in a department store! it was so long almost 5 to 6 years.
Looks like it all depends on what part of the country you live in. As well as your luck of the draw for getting in with the right company or who you know. As well as luck with what your going to earn, unless you are good at negotiating. But it’s a free country and people can choose what they want to do. I’d like to skip college, but the lack of entry level positions in my area for Information Systems is minimal.
im sick of all the $hit one has to go thru to earn for a good living.i wish we cud liv in a world wherewe do somethin we loved a still make some money. any way by how
much does the income of an elec engg increase if he has an masters to add to his resume??
Julia,
I really hate it when people run down doctors. You should be ashamed of yourself, especially considering the fact that your father is a physician. I am a doctor and I know what it takes to get into medical school and through it. It was an EXTREMELY unpleasant experience. Indeed, doctors are surrounded on a daily basis by suffering and chronic stress and are expected to simply perform perfectly all the time. I don’t think we are overpaid, but then again I don’t think we are underpaid.
I am very happy with my job and it is a privilege to serve people; you should be thankful that there are people around such as myself and your father to perform this essential service. Perhaps you are so angry at doctors because you couldn’t get into medical school.
i am still 12, but worried about my job. unlike other kids i know the real world’s payments. So i’m thinking b-ball player. i’m really good. it pays 1 mil - 65mil a year
it takes at least 10+ years to be a doctor. and its only $150,000 a year. of course, to most of the people, it’s a great salary. why not be a pro athlete? like Yao who is from China and has no HS degree earns $75+ million for 5 years, thats average $15,000,000 a year. even a golfer like tiger wood earns more than $100 million a year! thats a comfortable sport. i think pro athletes are over paid.
I’m not so sure “where” these statistics are, but they seem very low. I work for a law firm in NYC and the pay rate is very high. Lawyers are in the triple digits whereas I bill for senior partners and in some cases they charge $1000/hr for their services. They make at least $200k. I know a Billing Manager that makes $120k a year. So, these numbers are the very, very lowest I’ve ever seen. Besides, you couldn’t be single and earn $50k a year these days. Everyone needs a SECOND income to survive in this soaring economy!
I’m a chemical engineer and I don’t see this profession on the list. I specialized in Advanced Controls. As someone rightly said, it takes 4 + 2 + 4 years of hard schooling to become a PhD engineer. The first 4 years of work are termed internship years where you work under qualified engineers just like MDs do. I believe most MDs and a lot of non engineers have no clue of how difficult engineering is and how long it takes to become a good one. Class-wise, it takes longer than Med school. Only surgeons’ training can compare with the length it takes to become a specialist or consultant (PhD level). The fact that engineers can do it while earning much more and in parts doesn’t make it less remarkable, difficult or lengthy.
Advanced Control chemical engineers are now pulling $110 - $200K plus 10 - 30% bonus and excellent 401K and retirement benefits with 5 or more years of experience. I have a Masters degree and 14 years experience and I’m in the range of $130K to $155K with offers extending to $165K plus serious bonus and room to grow for 40 hours of work. I also pull down about $50K (and growing) from my software sales and training.
I turned down Med school and did one year of law school but put it on hold to focus on my career and my software products. Top consultants in engineering make over $220K. Owners of small companies make $500K to millions.
I know when my product hits the market, the sky will be the limit. I guess I am saying that individual brilliance is not just found in Medicine or business but I would say even more in engineering. The directors, VPs of most midsize and large engineering companies (DOw, ExxonMobil, Dupont, Chrevron, COnocoPhilips etc) make at least $250K to $700K plus serious stock options and bonuses. CEOs make more. Unlike what one MD mentioned that taking $300K gross may actually end up being $140K, engineers have averagely 10% bonus and about 12% in 401K and retirement benefits and other benefits such as stock purchase that don’t show up in take home.
So lets focus on the average here. It still amazes me how many MDs know very little about other fields and without thinking, always insinuate that other professions are boring and less challenging. I have never pushed paper in my life and I would not trade my job for any other in the world even if I never succeed in developing my own company, at my pace, I am heading to the top because I have proven myself time and again. I work on cutting edge, high aptitude and very challenging projects that optimize production facilities and bring in millions of quantifiable dollars for client companies. I just implore my MD friends to learn about other professions. I was top of all my classes whan I took courses with many students who are now MDs and I know how their training makes them focus only on Medicine, not realizing that there are other high paying and even more challenging professions.
In reality, ther are probably more engineers (who are not called engineers anymore but managers, directors, VPs or CEOs) who make above $300 take home than there are MDs. Its just that there are many more who went to engineering school and had a degree but are not really “engineers” thus do not understand the concepts of engineering. The profession weeds out the less brilliant and rewards the best after many years. Those who make less very much dilute the opportunities and challenges that this unique profession provides.
BTW, my wife is an MD going into residency (OBGYN) and I was with her every step of the way so I know a little about medicine.
PS: How much did the former ExxonMobil CEO (a Chemical Engineer) get when a he retired? over $400 million.
[…] This article may be a little old, but it does list the top paying jobs based on college education, 2 year education, and only high school education. First of in the college area one can make as surgeon or pilot 135k-144k a year. That’s not so shabby. Graduated from HS with no college or tech school you can make about $50k a year working with computers. With a 2 yr degree working as Health care practitioners or a business analysts you are looking at making $58 to $65k a year, not too shabby there either. jobs […]
I am also wondering where you get your information. I too drove a truck for 27 years and was eartning over $45,000 in 1980. I also have a high school diploma and a little college. Since 1985 my annual average has been over $58,000. The last year I drove was 2000 and my income was $62,000. Of course it all depends on how much want to work. The only difference is probably a cleaner work environment and less hours. Why get a degree to teach with a salary of $35,000 or so when you can make $60,000 driving a truck and have better benifits.
I am a owner of a trucking company I profit over $500,000.00 a year and don’t even drive. I just sit in my office and tell the drivers where to deliver my goods. I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth thanks to my dad Roger
I am an anesthesiologist making $400,000 a year. Yes i love my work but I felt the need to practice medicine and benefit society as a whole and not just for financial gain. Yes it was a struggle going to medical school and then through residency but it was worth it! I encourage all of the young doctors out there to stay in school and all of the time and effort is worth it in the long run. Yes, you start working later in life but you catch up quickly and surpass others who began working earlier. I will be retired much earlier than my friends with bachelors degrees. Julia what have u personally done to benefit society? I have helped thousands of patients in NYC along with millions of docs in the country. Maybe you are the one who shortchanged yourself in life and you feel that this blog is your way to get even.
Hey, Im a Insurance Agent and I make about $70K a year and I did not get my High School Diploma or a College Graduate were are the Insurance Agent in this list.
I don’t see the professional nurse listed (RN, BSN, MSN, PhD, Advance Nurse Practitioner, Legal Nurse Consultant, Nurse Anesthetist, Nurse Educator, Forensic Nurse, Case Manager, and Nurse executives i.e. Chief Nursing Officer). The list of best paying professions are sorely inaccurate. Nurses with basic nursing education are pulling in wages over $100,000/year + other perks such as free housing, immediate health care benefits, pension, etc.
this is crap amounts.i’am a yard master for major railroad and make 83k. per yr with only h.s. diploma
thank and praise god that you all make good money because theres lots of people who are not given the chance to get a good job. take this right after you read this and thank god-thank you
its amazing that so many uneducated steelworkers, lumberjacks and truck drivers and computer technicians on this page make over 100,000 dollars a year, just like the fact that there were at least 10 millionaires who decided to leave comments. im sure that everyone making that much has time to sit around reading blogs about the highest paying jobs in the US. you are all desperate fucking liars
actually a neuro surgeon makes approx 450k a year
Actually the top paying job in the US is owner of a home-based travel agency. There are people in my company making over 120,000/month after roughly 7 years. Travel is the only industry bigger than oil, growing 26% faster than the global economy.
liberty.yourtickettoparadise.com for complete business plan details.
i work in telecomunications field 56k 35years started out as apprentice 2.44 hr
Union Truck Drivers make about $80,000. a year.
so how can i git a good job iam 18teen in never had a good job . making money like that
Even furniture delivery men make up to 70K. Its not a preaty route but it pays the bills.
There are great union jobs out there that you don’t need a degree and you can make anywhere from 55,000-100,000 dollars a year. Companies like Verizon Communications and Norfolk Southern Railroad are a few of those jobs to look into. Yes it does help to have a degree, but I know plenty of people with degrees that are making the same and sometimes less then the person that goes out and finds a good paying blue collar union job…
I was born and raise in Europe, I lived in States for 17 years, I speak three languages, Albanian,Yugoslavian, and English.
When I turn 30 year old, I when to beauty college and graduated, and got my state license, after so many years doing hair, as I got older, I found out doing hair is not a career,and is not what I want to do for the rest of my life, so I decide to change my career and my job, 2004 I went back to college, and I finish my Associates degree, miner on Business Management Administrative, after that I went back again to school, continue my education getting my bachelor’s degree at Phoenix University, major in Global Business Management, I been working with the same company for two year as an Agent /Customer service, six months after I was hire in this job, i was awarded as an employee of the year, I am still working with the same company,and they know I am graduated, but still they been paying me the same rate, so I do not see future with this company, because is not challenging for me, although I gain excellent customer service experience,I learn how to manage and handle Customers problems as a senior Agent, but I am looking for better pay and career.
Electricians bring in way more then that 100,000 easy
I have worked in the electric utility industry for more than 20 years, and think this is one of the best places to make good money and you don’t necessarily need a degree. I graduated from high school in 1986 and have no college education. I make over $100,000 and have awesome benefits and a company car. I worked hard to get where I’m at, but this isn’t something that just happened yesterday. I have been in management for 12 years and have made at least $50,000/year since 1996. If you want to be a lineworker, you only need to go to lineworker school for a short time, become an apprentice and work for 3 years to become a journeyman. Once there, with overtime, you can make from $70,000 to $110,000 a year, no problem. Also, you can literally live anywhere in the US you’d like, since there is a terrible shortage of lineworkers. Now, I work in an office and in the field, and would never want to climb poles and work in the storms, but for those that can, you can make great money and benefits and have a job for life. No matter how bad the economy gets, there will be electricity needed for generations to come!
i need a job making more money. i dropped out of hs but now have a ged.i work at walmart making maybe 16k a year and that barely gets me by.i looked for a new job but cant find one.i live near the il/wis border and interested in auto mechanic.would anyone be able to help me out
UPS drivers need no education and after 3 years makes $50,000-$75,000