Careers With The Top Salaries For 2012

When it comes to establishing a career you have plenty of options.  If you want one of the jobs with top salaries, you are going to need to get an education.  People who have a two-year college degree or greater make more than those who are fresh out of high school.  In fact, if you really want to make a top salary, you will need to consider getting an extensive education and continuing your education throughout the lifetime of your career.

Careers And The Top Salaries For 2012

Software Developer

A Software Developer gets a median salary of roughly $82,400.00, but can earn up to $118,000.00.  In the next decade, it is anticipated that this field will grow as much as thirty percent, thereby opening up new job opportunities over the course of time.  At this moment there are about 380,000 Software Developers employed in the United States.  A Developer helps to create, test, and to repair or debug various applications for computers and mobile devices.  This type of job requires continual training as technologies continue to advance.  States with the most Software Developers include New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Texas, and California.  The average mean wage for a developer is roughly $39,451.00 to $98,951.00 including bonuses and profit sharing options.

Physical Therapist

A physical therapist gets a median salary of roughly $97,800.00.  This job is expected to grow in terms of employment options as much as thirty percent in the next decade.  There are about 190,000 physical therapists in the US today.  The top salaries associated with this position are right around $97,800.00.  An individual requires a Master’s or Doctorate degree in order to work in this field.  Work includes positions in health practitioner’s offices, physician’s offices, surgical hospitals, general medical facilities, nursing care facilities, and home health care services.

Financial Advisors

Financial Advisors earn a median pay of roughly $93,900.00 a year, but they can earn a top salary of as much as $234,000.00 a year.  This field is expected to grow as much as thirty percent in the next decade.  There are presently 70,000 financial advisors working in the US today.  Financial advisors help people plan for retirement and an education in taxes, tax law, retirement, and investing is required.  Financial advisors have to take a ten-hour exam to become certified.  Top wages are offered to financial advisors in the following states: New York, California, Texas, Florida, and Illinois.  Financial advisors can also sometimes find work with securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents, real estate brokers and sales agents, insurance underwriters, Insurance sales agents, financial managers, financial analysts, budget analysts, actuaries, accountants, and auditors as well.

Changes In Top Salaries For 2012

A software developer earned a top salary between $94,510.00 and $102,280.00 per year in 2010, with the highest paid wages offered to those working in the state of California.  The salary changes a bit if the employee is not offered bonuses or profit sharing options and brings the top pay down to roughly $92,644.00 per year.  In 2009, the top salary for software developers was right around, $139,930.00, but this number has declined considerably in recent years, quite possibly because of increased competition, more job openings, and the state of the economy.  Nevertheless, this field will see excellent growth.  In 2008, there were 909,600 software engineer jobs and this is expected to increase, despite economic difficulties, to 1,204,800 jobs by 2018. 

In 2008, a physical therapist earned a top pay of $85,540; this means that in four years time the top salary has increased by $12,260.00 per year. With the ever-increasing demand in the health field for qualified physical therapists, it is projected that salary increases will continue and new job openings will occur.  In 2008, there were 185,000 physical therapy jobs; this is expected to increase to as much as 241,700 jobs by 2018.  The highest salaries are earned in the following states: Alaska, New Jersey, Texas, Delaware, and Maryland.

Financial Advisors had a “soft” year in 2008 in terms of salary; advisors earned about  $195,394.00 in 2008, whereas a noted increase in salary occurred in 2009 bringing the salary up to $215,345.00.  The latter salary is still considerably lower than what financial advisors were making in 2007 however; top salaries for advisors in 2007 were $283,079 and were $232,995 in 2006.  Thus, the top salary for 2012 is slightly above what advisors were earning six years ago.  It is important to note that at one time financial advisors earned a majority of their income based upon commissions; this has since changed due to the decline in the economy.  The recession has forced advisors to change up strategies and to receive a greater amount of their salary based on fees that are charged to clients.  In addition, financial advisors are placing greater emphasis on continued investment education: this is cited as a key to many advisors’ success in the industry.

Finding Top Salaries Information Online

Salary.com®

Salary.com® is a site that offers you a free salary wizard that you can use to find out about the top salaries and jobs available.  You can use the site to research specific job titles, to browse job listings, or to search for work by location.  You can also access personal tools like advice columns and articles, educational resources, job search resources, salary details, and a salary talk podcast.  For more information visit http://www.salary.com/mysalary.asp.

SalaryExpert.com®

SalaryExpert.com® is a site where you can search for jobs based on the career title or location of the work.  You can learn more about top salaries, the cost of living, and you can access an education-planning center.  This site has job search tools, offers potential reports for various careers, and you can find out more about the cost of living that students face while in college too.  You also have the option of accessing premium salary reports.  The salary reports offered for a premium rate range in price from $29.00 to as much as $89.00.  For more information visit http://www.salaryexpert.com/.