Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs In 2014

What are the top 10 highest paying job in 2014? In this list, we’ll ignore professions like sales where star commissioned salespeople can earn millions of dollars a year while millions more toil in retail for not much more than minimum wage. We’ll look at the top 10 highest paying jobs available in 2014.

10. Doctors and Surgeons

Doctors and surgeons top the annual list of best paying jobs every year. This is partially due to their extensive training. Doctors spend ten or more years in school followed by one to two years in residency. Only after passing the board exam are they licensed to practice medicine. The years of school pay off when doctors graduate and can start seeing patients, earning an average $200,000 or more per year. Specialists like dermatologists and obstetricians make more than general practitioners, but even GPs earn at least $175,000 a year. The lowest paid doctors are pediatricians, earning about $170,000. Surgeons routinely earn more than $200,000 a year, primarily because they spend between three and eight years in residency before they are allowed to operate on their own.

9. Mechanical Engineers and Petroleum Engineers

Mechanical engineers make around $60,000 a year out of school and have a media pay rate of $80,000. Those mechanical engineers willing to work out in the oil patch or on an offshore oil rig will make more than $100,000 a year.
Mechanical engineering and petroleum engineering are very similar. Many mechanical engineers working in the oil and gas industry are considered petroleum engineers. Those who earn a petroleum engineering degree have some coursework in geology, hydrology and the chemistry of petroleum products in addition to mechanical engineering coursework. Graduates with a petroleum engineering degree can make up to $64 an hour.
Mechanical engineers need at least a four year degree from an accredited engineering school. Depending on where they work, a Professional Engineer license is also required. Earning the PE license means working under an already certified professional engineer before taking the PE exam.

8. Information System Managers

Information system managers manage software developers, coders, IT security analysts, network engineers and others. The average salary for information system managers is over $125,000. Like most management positions, information system managers make more than the people they manage. While most started out as technical professionals before building their communication and managerial skills, some started in business before becoming familiar with IT. Information system managers have at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering or information technology, while many have an MBA.

7. Natural Sciences Manager

A natural sciences manager manages a number of scientists like chemists, biologists, aerospace engineers and others. They may manage a research lab, a medical lab or test group. Natural science managers earn an average $128,000 per year.
Natural science managers generally have a bachelor’s degree in a scientific or technical field. Many have master’s degrees, though this may be in business or in their field of study. Or they may become managers after many years of experience.

6. Software Developers

Software developers earn an average $90,000 a year. Software developers are not coders, though they may write software code. Software developers design software applications. They may design software interfaces and software installation packages. Or they may integrate code modules created by programmers to create a whole software application. Software developers also work in software support, fixing bugs and adding new functionality in existing software applications.

5. Information Security Experts

Hackers are no longer teenagers or twenty-something disaffected students seeking to make a name for themselves or gain the satisfaction of taking down a corporate website. Hackers have matured, creating businesses based on malicious software. Looking like legitimate software development firms, hackers in Eastern Europe create malicious software to steal credit card numbers from company databases, generate malware that infects someone’s computer before demanding a ransom, take down corporate websites for a fee and develop bot-nets of infected computers that are used for everything from hosting child porn for a fee to sending out spam from a hundred thousand computers so that it is more likely to get through. The information security field has likewise had to improve. Information security analysts plan multiple security measures from an organization above and beyond the standard firewall and antivirus software. They may implement intrusion detection software or real time network monitoring on corporate networks. They monitor IT networks and databases for attacks, plan the next round of security improvements and may test a network for vulnerabilities so that they can be patched before the gaps are found by the bad guys.

4. Engineering Managers

If engineers average $80,000 or more in income, their supervisors naturally earn more money. Engineer managers earn an average $130,000 per year. Engineering managers often start out as engineers. Many engineering managers rise to management after earning an MBA, managing small teams of engineers for several years or earning certifications like the PMP.

3 .Dentists and Orthodontists

Dentists and orthodontists earn an average $200,000 a year. This is partially due to the eight years of schooling and residency that dentists must complete. The high pay rate is also driven by high demand. Dentists fill in cavities, make bruxism guards, perform root canals and repair chipped teeth. Some dentists will install dental veneers and perform teeth whitening procedures. Orthodontists are dentists who specialize in installing and adjusting braces and retainers. While a growing percentage of children have reached their 10th birthday without a cavity, most people still have cavities over the course of a lifetime. And dentists will remain in demand as an aging population wears down its teeth and needs caps, crowns, implants and dentures to replace them. Orthodontists have typically been the bane of teenagers everywhere. However, the rise of 3D printed clear orthodontics has led to a greater acceptance of appliances by adults, leading to increased demand for orthodontists.

2. Physical Therapists

Physical therapists earn an average $38 an hour. Physical therapists may be aided by assistants, or they may work on their own. Physical therapists who run their own business have the opportunity to earn more than this. Physical therapy has strong long term prospects because an aging population is prone to heart disease, strokes and joint replacements, requiring physical therapy after each incident to return to normal life.

1. Database Administrators

Database administrators manage software databases. They may upgrade databases, fix circular cell references, add users or archive database tables to increase the speed and efficiency of reports. Database administrators earn an average $38 per hour, but those working on contract or on a project basis earn more.
The rise of big data and the collection of massive amounts of data greatly increases the demand for database administrators.

Summary

In our list of the top 10 highest paying job in 2014, the best paying jobs are primarily located in management, medicine and technology. According to our research, you’ll find that moving into management increases your odds of earning more money, and managing STEM professionals is one of the most lucrative fields for those who are not in medicine.