10 Careers With Top Salaries
Every college student and graduate works hard in order to start careers with top salaries. Your search for the top salaries in the market should focus on career paths that are proven to bring in the big dollars.
Hip-Hop Salaries
The world of hip-hop represents a bastion of top salaries for those skilled enough to get a record deal. Rapper Jay-Z has earned more than $500 million during his music career including ventures into the clothing industry with Roc-A-Wear© and professional sports with a minority stake in the New Jersey Nets©. Sean Combs was able to bank $346 million in 2006 with his music production work in addition to his TV work on MTV© and his popular Sean John© clothing label. While hip-hop labels look for talent rather than degrees or experience, the competitive nature of the music industry makes top salaries for hip-hop artists a pipe dream for most people.
Top-Earning Athletes
Sports Illustrated©recently cited the top ten athlete salaries today including annual contracts, winnings, and endorsements. Golfer Tiger Woods earns upward of $110 million each year including $11 million on the PGA Tour©, demonstrating the importance of endorsements in the sports world. Boxer Oscar de la Hoya earns $5.3 million per year not including his work in promoting fights around the world. The third-place holder on the list was golfer Phil Michelson who earns $4.26 million per year. Basketball, football, and baseball players may aspire to reaching the pinnacle of their fields, but the top ten athletes’ salaries are well out of reach for all but a handful of athletes.
Medical Careers
Many of the top salaries on the job market today reside in the medical profession. American hospitals are journeying to China, India, and Africa to find nursing candidates who can fill much-needed positions. Medical schools are recruiting students around the world to train the next generation of doctors and registered nurses. The medical field is a haven of job openings for medical residents, registered nurses, and other professionals who are looking for stable employment.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that top salaries in the medical field rest with surgeons, anesthesiologists, and dentists. Brain and heart surgeons are paid an average of $190,000 per year in the United States because of the level of risk involved in their work. Surgeons are subject to lawsuits and hospital inquiries in malpractice cases, leaving them open to significant financial losses if they are found guilty. Anesthesiologists are following closely behind surgeons in the medical field’s top salaries, earning an average of $185,000 in 2006. The sensitivity of an anesthesiologist’s work makes high salaries necessary to recruit qualified candidates.
Dentists also reside in the list of top salaries in the medical field because of the nature of their work. A dentist can earn $125,000 per year in private practice after a few years of experience. Dental specialists like orthodontists earn high salaries because they offer premium services that are often seen as voluntary in the eyes of consumers. Surgeons, anesthesiologists, and dentists have to pay off significant student debt in their early careers, making top salaries even more important for long-term financial security.
Salaries For Professional Service Providers
The economic downturn has increased scrutiny on top salaries for chief executive, operating, and technical officers in the United States. CEO E. Neville Idell of The Coca-Cola Company© earned $31 million, and Tyco International© CEO Edward Breen earned $24 million in 2007 according to the AFL-CIO©. The Bureau of Labor Statistics cites an average salary of $140,000 for mid-level executives in the United States. The disparity in salaries between these two reports comes from benefits, stock options, and other incentives that boost annual earnings into the millions.
Software engineers may only earn an average of $80,500 per year, but these careers are popular among new graduates in the United States. This base salary can often be boosted with project bonuses and annual stock offers that are beneficial in successful companies. In addition to lucrative salaries, software engineers gain access to the newest technology as well as offices that are built for comfort rather than cost-efficiency.
Civil engineers earn an average of $90,000 per year in the United States because of the importance of their work to the public. These engineers work on roadways, sewage systems, and environmental cleanup projects that take up significant chunks of public money. The certification requirements and education needed to become a civil engineer make a high salary necessary to recruit talented professionals.
A final professional field where top salaries are prevalent is investment banking. Investment bankers earn approximately $258,000 per year in the United States based on 2007 figures. These bankers work high-pressure jobs at the centers of the world’s financial power, putting in more than 40 hours each week handling millions of dollars. The economic downturn may force some investment banks to shut down, but bankers will still be needed to clean up the mess from their predecessors.
Top-Earning Careers In Education
The typical school teacher or principal does not earn a top salary despite the popular myth that teachers’ unions negotiate for excessively high salaries. Professors and higher education administrators, on the other hand, earn top salaries in the educational field because of the increasing importance of a college education. A full professor at an American university can earn up to $85,000 per year in addition to the job security offered by tenured status. Deans, chancellors, and school directors can earn $103,000 per year on top of the usual benefits of work slowdowns in summer and good benefits. Graduate students need to combine masters and doctoral degrees with plenty of experience to reach these top salaries.
Online Resources For Careers With Top Salaries
The most prominent online resource for professionals interested in top salaries is TheLadders.com© (http://www.theladders.com). The Ladders.com© lists jobs for executives and managers who earn more than $100,000 per year. Executive recruitment firms around the United States offer their services to prospective clients via the Internet. Major firms like Korn/Ferry International© (http://www.kornferry.com), Heidrick, and Struggles© (http://www.heidrick.com/default.aspx) and Spencer Stuart© (http://www.spencerstuart.com//global) connect high-profile employers with candidates worthy of top salaries. These resources expose quickly whether a candidate has the skills, experience, and career aspirations to earn a top salary.
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