High Paying Careers

High Paying Professions

Many people immediately think of doctors and lawyers when considering occupations with the best rates of pay. If you decide to becoming a doctor or lawyer, you are definitively choosing to enter one of the highest paying career fields. However, you shouldn't limit your potential career choices to these two professions. While it's true that many medical and legal professionals enjoy high paying careers, these are not the only fields in which individuals have an opportunity to earn excellent salaries.

Six Figure Occupations

According to the United States Department of Labor, as of 2006, the top occupations with median annual pay rates of more than $100,000 per year are:

1. Chief Executives (median earnings of more than $145,600 per year)
2. Physicians and Surgeons (median pay greater than $145,600 annually)
3. Airline Pilots, Co-pilots, and Flight Engineers (median pay of $141,090 per year)
4. Dentists (median earnings of $146, 960 per year)
5. Air Traffic Controllers (median yearly salary rate of $117,240)
6. Podiatrists (annual median earnings of $108,220)
7. Engineering Managers (median pay of $105,430 per year)
8. Lawyers (median earnings of $102,470 per year)
9. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates (median salary of $101,690 annually)
10. Computer and Information Systems Mangers (median annual earnings of $101,580)
11. Natural Sciences Managers (median pay of $100,080 per year)

More High Paying Careers

In addition to occupations with median salaries in excess of $100,000 annually, the Department of Labor's 2006 survey provides information about additional occupations that pay in excess of $85,000 each year. These career fields include:

1. Marketing Managers (median earnings of $98,720 yearly)
2. Petroleum Engineers (median annual salary of $98,380)
3. Astronomers (median pay rate of $95,740 yearly)
4. Pharmacists (median annual earnings of $94,520 yearly)
5. Physicists (median earnings of $94,240 yearly)
6. Computer and Information Scientist Researchers (median wages of $93,950 yearly)
7. Sales Managers (median annual earnings of $91,560 yearly)
8. Optometrists (median earnings of $91,040 per year)
9. Financial Managers (median pay of $90,970 yearly)
10. Nuclear Engineers (median yearly earnings of $90,220)
11. Political Scientists (median wages of $90,140 per year)
12. Computer Hardware Engineers (median earnings of $88,470 per year)
13. Aerospace Engineers (median salary of $87,610 yearly)
14. Mathematicians (median annual wages of $86,930)

Interpreting Median Salaries

If a particular career field appeals to you, knowing the median rate of pay is an excellent starting point for figuring out what type of salary you can expect to earn. In order to understand what the salaries reported for the highest paying occupations mean to you, it's important to know what the term "median" really means. The median salary is literally the midpoint in the rate of pay for all individuals who work in a particular field.

Knowing that the median rate of pay for financial managers is $90,970 per year means that this number represents the middle of the road in terms of pay for people who work in this field. There are just as many people above the median as there are people below. To get a true picture of pay expectations, one would need to know the maximum and minimum salary values. This information would give you an idea of the range of pay for individuals working in the field.

Choosing Your Career Path

When you look at the list of high paying careers, as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor, the first thing you are likely to notice is that many different types of professions are represented. Whether your talents lie in science, math, marketing, business management, or another area, with the proper education and training you have the opportunity to pursue a high paying job in a profession that appeals to you.