Highest paying jobs in USA - top ten
10 months ago one of the biggest online employment website in the United States with more than 23 million visitors every month announced the list of highest paying jobs and professions. This list presents only average salaries. I don't have any doubts that the best representatives of these professions earn much more, however I wanted to point out average numbers. The highest salaries list would be slighly different. The representatives of at least three professions earn more than 100 000 dollars per year. The first place of this list is taken by the most honoured and valuable professionals - doctors. The number is impressive - doctors working in America earn ten times more than doctors working in Lithuania, i.e - 147 405 dollars. Most probably the six figure number forced not one or two lithuanian doctors, who gave the oath of Hippocrates, to change their location and move to US. So, let's start from number 10.
10. Chief Programmers
If there is a programming team, then responsibility for different important projects, their design and realization lies upon one man. That man is called chief programmer. He is the one who connects all the dots and lines and knows the inside details of some particular project. He distributes tasks and supervises a group of programmers. Though chief programmer is at the bottom of top paying jobs list, his average salary is around 80 000 dollars. In 2006 there were 435 000 workers registered. The need for this profession in 2016 should be 417 000.
9. Financial Analysts
They evaluate financial position of companies and individuals and decide on the steps that should be made depending on the financial statistics and economical trends. They gather information, write reports and look at the daily, monthly and annual diagrams showing the tendencies. Average salary - 87 000 US dollars. In 2006 there were 506 000 workers and the need for 2016 is expected to be 570 000.
8. Marketing Managers
The character of their work is creating plans for specific company or organisation, foreseeing and predicting objective consumers and audience. They have to know how these objectives should be achieved. They have to be organised, skilled at multitasking and managing multiple projects at the same time. And most importantly - they must have perfect communication and management skills. The average salary - a bit over 87 000 US dollars. In 2006 there were 167 000 marketing managers and it is expected that in 2016 there will be 192 000 marketing specialists.
7. Pharmacists
Hard to believe, but according to careerbuilder.com, they do fall in the top ten of highest paying jobs.Their work character is clear - to write out prescriptions and administer medical consultations in drugstores. They provide detailed instructions for customers about the use of one or another drug. Pharmacists are also responsible for work with registers and computer systems. The average annual salary - about 90 000 US dollars. In 2006 there were 243 000 workers. The expectations for 2016 are - 296 000 workers.
6. Computer and Information Systems Managers
Information systems managers job is also in the high paying jobs list.
Their work profile involves the administration and safety of the organisation's or company's computers net.
Computer and information systems managers held about 264,000 jobs in 2006. The average income - 91 000 US dollars.
5. Physicists
Work profile - to apply physical laws, develop new theories and apply them for product development and better production process. One of the world's best known physicists is Albert Einstein. Many trained physicists apply their training in other fields, i.e - engineering, computing and finance. Physicists usually work at academical or governmental labs or private industries. Annual salary - 93 000 US dollars. In 2006 there were only 17 000 physicist. The prognosis for 2016 is 18 000 physicists.
4. Lawyers
The nature of this profession involves giving advices on the matters of law, making decisions that can influence the company's policy. The term "lawyer" can imply attorney, counsel or solicitor. The knowledge of laws and governmental rulles is a must. The average salary - 93 250 US dollars. In 2006 they held 761 000 jobs. Prognosis for 2016 is 844 000.
3. Executive Engineers or Engineering Managers
They have to supervise the work of engineers producing various products and mechanisms. They direct and plan the activities in such fields as architecture, research, constructions. The average annual income - 100 000 US dollars. In 2006 they held about 187 000 jobs. The prognosis for 2016 - 201 000 jobs.
2. Financial Directors - Chief Financial Officers
Their task - to watch over the company's budget and finance departments, prepare financial reports evaluating the financial status of specific company. The average annual salary of financial director is 116 000 US dollars. In 2006 there were 506 000 CFO's. The need in 2016 should be 570 000 financial directors.
1. Doctors
Now this term includes many occupations such as surgeons, pediatricians, anesthesiologists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, orthodontists, obstetricians and gynecologists. All of them get paid well. As we can see the highest paying jobs are in the field of healthcare. It is good news for those planning to be a doctor. It is a long way to become a specialist (up to 6-8 years), but it definitely pays off. Almost all the best doctors work in private clinics and hospitals. The average annual salary of a doctor is 147 000, but many good specialists make over 200 000 dollars. In 2006 there were 633 000 doctors. It is anticipated that in 2016 this number will rise to 723 000.
Top 50 Highest-Paying Occupations by Median Hourly Wages
# Occupation Median wages, 2009
Hourly Annual
1 Anesthesiologists $80.00+ $166,400+
2 Internists, General $80.00+ $166,400+
3 Obstetricians and Gynecologists $80.00+ $166,400+
4 Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons $80.00+ $166,400+
5 Orthodontists $80.00+ $166,400+
6 Physicians and Surgeons, All Other $80.00+ $166,400+
7 Surgeons $80.00+ $166,400+
8 Chief Executives $77.27 $160,700
9 Family and General Practitioners $77.18 $160,500
10 Psychiatrists $77.04 $160,200
11 Dentists, All Other Specialists $73.70 $153,300
12 Pediatricians, General $73.19 $152,200
13 Dentists, General $68.31 $142,100
14 Engineering Managers $56.25 $117,000
15 Podiatrists $55.89 $116,300
16 Natural Sciences Managers $55.08 $114,600
17 Computer and Information Systems Managers $54.67 $113,700
18 Lawyers $54.44 $113,200
19 Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates $54.24 $112,800
20 Prosthodontists $53.42 $111,100
21 Marketing Managers $52.90 $110,000
22 Air Traffic Controllers $52.81 $109,800
23 Pharmacists $52.49 $109,200
24 Petroleum Engineers $52.36 $108,900
25 Physicists $51.15 $106,400
26 Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers N/A $106,200
27 Astronomers $50.35 $104,700
28 Political Scientists $50.04 $104,100
29 Computer and Information Scientists, Research $48.83 $101,600
30 Financial Managers $48.65 $101,200
31 Law Teachers, Postsecondary N/A $99,000
32 Computer Hardware Engineers $47.51 $98,800
33 Nuclear Engineers $46.59 $96,900
34 Sales Managers $46.53 $96,800
35 Human Resources Managers, All Other $46.42 $96,600
36 Optometrists $46.22 $96,100
37 Aerospace Engineers $45.57 $94,800
38 Physical Scientists, All Other $45.17 $94,000
39 Mathematicians $44.99 $93,600
40 Computer Software Engineers, Systems Software $44.94 $93,500
41 General and Operations Managers $44.55 $92,700
42 Managers, All Other $44.52 $92,600
43 Purchasing Managers $43.96 $91,400
44 Public Relations Managers $43.12 $89,700
45 Engineers, All Other $43.06 $89,600
46 Electronics Engineers, Except Computer $42.94 $89,300
47 Chemical Engineers $42.44 $88,300
48 Training and Development Managers $42.35 $88,100
49 Compensation and Benefits Managers $42.33 $88,000
50 Computer Software Engineers, Applications $42.06 $87,500
References:::http://www.acinet.org/acinet/oview5.asp?level=overall