There’s no getting around it: if you want to earn a great living in America these days, you more than likely are going to have to go to school for quite some time. Sure, there are exceptions to the rule, but newly compiled data from Glassdoor reveals that the highest paying jobs in America in 2016 all require extensive schooling.
“This report reinforces that high pay continues to be tied to in-demand skills, higher education and working in jobs that are protected from competition or automation,” Dr. Andrew Chamberlain of Glassdoor writes. “This is why we see several jobs [on the list] within the technology and healthcare industries.
Now will a higher paying job automatically make you a happier person? Hardly. If anything, working 80-90 hours a week in a high-stress environment can actually have the opposite effect. Still, for those curious about which types of jobs are currently paying out the big bucks, below is a list of the 25 highest paying jobs in America for 2016.
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Notably, the data used in tabulating these results comes exclusively from salary information shared by Glassdoor members. The methodology used reads in part: “Methodology: For a job title to be considered for Glassdoor’s 25 Highest Paying Jobs in America report, job titles must receive at least 75 salary reports shared by U.S.-based employees over the past year.”
So is this a scientific study? Not in the slightest, but it should still provide an interesting and instructive overview of which professionals are raking it in.
1. Physician – median base salary: $180,000
2. Lawyer – median base salary: $144,500
3. Research & Development Manager – median base salary: $142,120
4. Software Development Manager – median base salary: $132,000
5. Pharmacy Manager – median base salary: $130,000
6. Strategy Manager – median base salary: $130,000
7. Software Architect – median base salary: $128,250
8. Integrated Circuit Designer Engineer – median base salary: $127,500
9. IT Manager – median base salary: $120,000
10. Solutions Architect – median base salary: $120,000
11. Engagement Manager – median base salary: $120,000
12. Applications Development Manager – median base salary: $120,000
13. Pharmacist – median base salary: $118,000
14. Systems Architect – median base salary: $116,920
15. Finance Manager – median base salary: $115,000
16. Data Scientist – median base salary: $1150,000
17. Risk Manager – median base salary: $115,000
18. Creative Director – median base salary: $115,000
19. Actuary – median base salary: $115,000
20. Data Architect – median base salary: $113,000
21. Tax Manager – median base salary: $110,000
22. Product Manager – median base salary: $107,000
23. Design Manager – median base salary: $106,500
24. Analytics Manager – median base salary: $106,000
25. Information Systems Manager – median base salary: $106,000
