10 of the Most Common Jobs Paying over $100,000
It’s pretty easy to identify highly rewarding careers in the US, with some requiring higher education; bachelor’s degree or an advanced degree. Along with the high pay usually comes a considerable amount of work and time spent on the job. However, you can also land a well-paying career without necessarily advancing your education past a bachelor’s degree, which can be pretty costly in the end, especially if you don’t land that job you need to pay off your loans.
According to a Census Bureau Report of 2014/2015, the average medium income for most households in the US was $53, 939. The 2015/2016 report, to be released on September 2016, estimates that this figure will slightly go up by only 2.9%. Here is a guide showing the top and most common jobs that pay $100,000 or more. In addition we’ve also listed the qualifications necessary to acquire a career in these fields:
Top Patent Attorney
- Median Pay: $175,000
- Top Pay: $260,000
As a legal practitioner, he is tasked with overseeing the planning and filling of all patents owned by an organization. He is also tasked with providing legal advice to various departments within the firm. He is answerable to the top management. To qualify, you need to be a graduate accredited by a law school. Demonstrate an understanding of various legal issues in the US; concepts, fields, practice and procedures touching on intellectual property.
Pediatrician
- Median pay: $152,000
- Top pay: $225,000
A pediatrician is tasked with diagnosing and treating sick and injured children. Additionally, a pediatrician is performs checkups regularly while seeing the children through immunization. The deal with children from their infancy to teenage years. To qualify, you must have completed a premedical course as an undergraduate. Proceed to completing four years in an allopathic medical school. This prepares you to fully hence understand musculoskeletal system and preventative medicine then earn a Medical Doctor (M.D.) degree in the long run. Get a license and board certification so as to practice medicine in the US.
Pharmacist
- Median pay: $120,950
- Top pay: $290,780
He is tasked with compounding and dispensing drugs prescribed to a patient in the healthcare facility. He can also handle calls from physicians and doctors. He ought to provide daily reports or reviews on drug utilization to the authority. To qualify, one needs a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy. An advanced degree in pharmacy and a license to practice is very vital. Gain enough experience when it comes to handling specific and standard concepts, practices, and procedures related to the medical field. A certain degree of creativity and latitude is required.
Family Practitioner
- Median pay: $172,000
- Top pay: $236,000
Being a trained medical practitioner, he can venture into different areas of medicine; pediatrics, geriatrics and gynecology. Being a general practitioner, he is tasked with taking care of all people, irrespective of their age, treating them throughout their lifetime and refer them to specialist if necessary. Most prefer practicing this career as private family practitioners. The job needs a degree in medicine from an accredited school. An experience of at least 2-4 years and a license to practice from the medical board.
IT Data Scientist
- Median pay: $124,000
- Top pay: $187,000
As an IT practitioner, he put loads of information to proper business use. This is through analyzing trends in the market, identifying what can be used in giving businesses a competitive edge. They can identify Identifies business problems through huge and complex data analysis. Afterwards, he can prepare and implement useful data models while developing business support databases. One is required to have a bachelor’s or a master’s degree in Business Analysis. 6-8 years of experience makes on familiar with a variety concepts, practices and procedures for the field. He relies extensively on different business plans to accomplish goals. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected.
ERP Consultant
- Median pay: $103,000
- Top pay: $172,000
He is an expert in managing enterprise resource planning systems. This touches on data the finance, sales and human resource departments use to streamlining their operations. Through this, he offers advice to firms on what systems can be used to meet their business needs. He also offers customer support and installation of these systems. A bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Business is required. He ought to have successfully administered an ERP system gathering an experience of more than 4 years. Strong analytical, problem solving and planning skills.
Bank Examiner
- Median pay: $103,000
- Top pay: $152,000
A bank examiner is the first line of defense when it comes to curbing bank disasters. He is hired by financial institutions, to monitor the operations of these institutions; conduct inspections on bank assets and liabilities, ensure compliance with the regulations are followed while eliminating any risky behavior. However, if he misses anything, he faces heavy penalties due to negligence. A bachelor’s degree in Finance is vital in growing a career as a bank examiner where one covers; finance, accounting, security analysis and economic. 4-6years worth of field experience and completion of some test processes will cement your professional competency.
Optometrist
- Median pay: $108,000
- Top pay: $152,000
He is tasked with ensuring your eyes are healthy by conducting vision tests, prescribing contacts, diagnosing and treating eye problems or even performing Lasik and other surgeries to keep your eyesight perfect. First complete a 4-year bachelor’s program in Biology, Chemistry, Physiology or a related field. From here, you can apply for a 4 years optometry program, which is rather competitive. You need to have a couple of skills up your sleeve; accounting, delegation while also being able to communicate effectively.
Healthcare Product Manager
- Median pay: $109,000
- Top pay: $143,000
He serves as an administrator or leader in a single health care department or an entire healthcare facility. He mostly works in hospitals or nursing care facilities or government healthcare organizations. Most of them maintain full-time schedules, working on weekends, evenings and holidays. A bachelor’s degree in health services, nursing or public health. A master’s degree in Health administration and interning at a government hospital or health organization is beneficial. Skills such as leadership, communication, relationship management and knowledge of healthcare are vital.
Software Development Manager
- Median pay: $123,000
- Top pay: $159,000
He is the leader of a team of software developers based in industries, from medical research to finance. Moreover, he can design web applications and software. He can train, manage staff, overseeing budgets while making progress reports to the top management. He tests and debug applications and solve performance issues. Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering is vital. A Master of Science and extensive experience in Software Design, knowledge of various platforms and language like UNIX and Java is an added advantage. Strong technical and analytical skills is a must.
References
http://money.cnn.com/gallery/pf/jobs/2013/11/13/top-paying-jobs/index.html
http://www1.salary.com/Six-Figure-Income-Salaries-15.html