What Are the Top Paying Jobs in the United States?

Because work occupies a large chunk of our day and can require many years of training, we want it to be fulfilling and enjoyable. However, one of the big criteria used in finding the right job is the amount of pay it delivers. The ideal profession combines self-satisfaction and a high income. Annual salary information is as of 2007 and rounded down to the nearest thousand.

Medicine

The many years of expensive training and the fact that we place our lives in their hands justify the high salaries of the medical profession. Income can range from $140,000 for general practitioners to $177,000 for surgeons. In mental health, psychiatrists lead with $146,000, while among dentists, who typically earn $133,000, orthodontists average $163,000.

Managers

Managers are ultimately responsible for the profitability of their companies, the satisfaction of customers and the well-being of employees. High income rewards this burden. Chief executives average $139,000 while technical types are the best paid with engineering managers making $105,000 and computer managers making $102,000. Marketing managers are paid $101,000 and sales managers get $98,000. Note that the highest-paid CEO in 2008 was Stephen Schwarzman who earned $702 million for heading up the Blackstone Group investment firm.

Law

We typically put police officers in the middle class but the legal system that surrounds them boasts some highly-paid professions. Not surprisingly, lawyers are at the top, making $110,000 with postsecondary law teachers garnering $95,000. What is surprising is that judges and magistrates average less with an income of $91,000.

Airlines

Though we often associate low-pay with the airlines, such as those for porters, baggage handlers, flight attendants and reservations agents, this industry does offer some high-paying choices. Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers make $135,000. Air traffic controllers get $105,000. And aerospace engineers average $85,000.

Scientists/Engineers

Requiring both years of training as well as much job experience, scientists use their technical expertise to unlock the secrets of the universe while engineers make practical use of these experiments. These discoveries elicit not only admiration but high pay. Astronomers lead the pack with $101,000, followed by computer scientists at $94,000 and physicists at $91,000. Petroleum engineers lead their field with $97,000, followed by nuclear engineers at $90,000 and hardware engineers at $87,000.

Exceptions

Many jobs that are self-fulfilling but have low pay can point to superstar performers that earn far above their norms. Actress Angelina Jolie earned $27 million in 2009. Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has a 10-year contract totaling $252 million. In 2008, writer James Patterson earned $50 million.

References

• Job salaries according to CNN
• Jolie salary
• Tiger woods (do a search on Tiger)