The Highest Paying Jobs in the U.S.

What Are the Highest Paying Jobs?

In today’s turbulent economy, many people are looking for jobs that can help them earn more money and provide greater job security, but finding a career that is rewarding both financially and emotionally can be difficult.  For generations, lawyers, doctors, and bankers have made up some of the top paid professionals in the nation, but many of the highest paying positions in the current job market may actually come as a surprise.

Top Earners

According to recent surveys, the highest earning professionals are chief executive officers (CEOs), who earn an average annual salary of approximately $241,000.  physicians, surgeons, dentists, and attorneys are other highly paid workers, all earning over $100,000 per year.

Other High Paying Jobs

Contrary to popular opinion, many other professional career tracks can provide a significant source of income including airline pilots, engineering managers, securities and commodities sales agents, computer and information systems managers and marketing and sales managers, all of whom command just over $100,000 a year in earnings.

Other top-paying positions include operations managers, computer and information scientists, financial managers, radio and television announcers, purchasing managers, and industrial production managers, all of which are typically paid just under $100,000 annually with the potential to earn more.

How to Get a High Paying Job

As with any job, the key to excelling in one of these fields and commanding a top salary is continued education.  Most positions paying $100,000 or more require at least a bachelor’s degree, while many others require graduate-level education like the Master of Business Administration (MBA) or Master of Science (MS) degree.   Although continuing education and professional certifications require an investment of time and money, they are highly desired by employers and pay off handsomely over time.  And with the rise of the internet, many accredited colleges offer online courses of study, allowing you to obtain your bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree online at your own pace.