OT: Highest Paying Jobs in the US

[Thomas Rogers]

Thought you all would find this interesting...

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

See the link below for the full blog article and link to its source:

 

[Tom Schindler]

...interesting



It doesn't list those un-skilled union autoworkers making $1.9 million a year plus benefits.





Tom

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

Those numbers are very low. Even Salary.com has better numbers than that and they are not even reputable when in comes to salary surveys.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

SST, the stats come from CareerBuilder.com and they quote their source as the "Bureau of Labor Statistics National Compensation Survey" so I suspect they are legit.



Also, recognize that they are national averages, so I expect them to look low to a Seattle dude.



TJR

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Caymen...bwahahaha...another great comment from the most helpful MYSTer that never draws first blood!

 

[Aaron Yarbough]

I'm in Texas where the cost of living is very reasonable and those numbers seem a bit low to me too. But I guess they are a fairly good average when you consider that each category encompasses everything from entry level to the most experienced in that field.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

I would agree, Lil Red...they do see low to me too...but then again, I have only ever lived in the top 5 most expensive regions of the country, and only ever been in the top wage-earning tier of my respective disciplines.

 

[Gavin Allan]

Where is Haliburton CEO?



Where is Oil Company CEO?



Where is Automotive salesperson (no degree)

 

[Michael Fazzina]

I heard on the radio this morning that there are two presidents of Ivy league schools that make over $600,000 each. One is the president of Yale I think who makes $650,000+ a year. The other I believe is the president of Cornell who make over $1,000,000 a year.



Mike Fazzina

 

[Bob McDonald]

So, what is the difference between a high school graduate and having a high school degree (what ever that is)? I am assuming a high school graduate means you have a high school 'diploma'.

:huh:

 

[Tim Turner]

Uncle Bob,

It lists two categories. One for jobs that do NOT require a high school degree and another for high school graduates.

 

[TomT]

Wow. I'm going to go apply for an aircraft pilot position. Do you think it matters that I have never flown an actual plane before? I am pretty good with MS Flight Simulator. [Broken External Image]:

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

Low for the Bay Area as well.



I can get true numbers for each region if I can talk my wife into it. She is a VP in Human Resources and they recruit all over the country. So, she has to pull data on positions all the time if they make an offer to someone that lives in NY and have to move to Seattle.



Software Program Managers make 135-160K in Seattle.

Software Programers make 85K entry level in Seattle.

Marketing Product Managers 90K-125K



And, those numbers are comparable all around the west coast.

 

[A K]

Lawyers average is low. It all depends on the area. Philadelphia first-year, large- and medium-sized firm associates (e.g., wet behind the ear graduates) start at $125,000, with an average yearly increase between $2.5K and 10K.



Pharmacists have been increasing like mad. I have a friend who is accepting a near $100K position, having just completed his PharmD. That seems like a heck of a position, if you can deal with the retail aspect. Or, plant yourself in a hospital doing nuclear medicine, etc.



I can see why airlines/the industry has the mandatory retirement age. If all senior captains make that much, I can see how airlines suffer. Not to say pilots don't deserve it -- I am merely acknowledging the costs to the airline.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Wow...those numbers are high, SST. In the mid-Atlantic region (Philly, Delaware, NJ) entry level programmers are around $55K, managers between $80K and $110K. NYC metro area isn't that much higher either...some, but no where near the West Coast salaries you mention....there was a pretty significant adjustment here on the East Coast in the IT sector the past 5 years.



TJR

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Adam, I don't doubt that...legal associates just starting out are a firms bread and butter. Sure, they make $125,000 a year, but how many billable hours are there in that year, billed out at what average rate?



TJR

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

TJR - High numbers and accurate as well. I used to work in Software and I still know what those salaries are because I have several friends working there that tell me what their pay scale ranking is. I was a Product Manager and before I left the company, 2 years ago, my base was 87K with a 7% bonus of salary and I always received my bonus. And, I was the lowest paid in our marketing product management group because I didn't have a Masters Degree. We had 7 Product Managers making up-wards of 135K as a base salary and they live in the LA area.



Seattle is also one of the most expensive places to live in the country, most likely top 10. Avg price for a house is now 385K. And, that is a shack or a 2 bedroom condo.



Pharmacist make 115K-125K in Seattle.



Don't even get me started on Lawyers... Quality firms in Seattle are billing at 250.00-550.00 an hour.

 

[J Piroth]

As an FSU fan, I can tell you that the best job in America is being Bobby Bowden's son. Jeff Bowden, woefully underperforming OC for FSU, just resigned. Even though his contract was up in August anyway, the Seminole Boosters arranged a $500K+ "buyout" for Jeffy, to be paid as an annual salary of $107K through 2012.



He's also free to take another job anywhere he chooses without forfeiting what the Boosters are paying out.

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

Piro - LOL no kidding.



A buddy of mine received serverence pay from his old company when they laid him off. Paid him 3 months salary when he left. He had a new job already lined up when they laid him off that paid him 25% more...LOL

 

[Thomas Rogers]

SST, I'll stick with Mid-Atlantic, my lower 6-figure salary, and my 3600+ sq ft, 4 bedroom house, with in ground pool on 1.3 acres that cost well under $300K when I bought it 8 years ago (going for just over $400K now). It's not always what you make, but how much you need to spend for what you want.



TJR