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Highest Paying Jobs with Advanced Degrees
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Health care jobs completely dominate the top 10 highest paying jobs with an advanced degree, pushing out other occupations like judge, lawyer and physicist.
Financial planning management is imperative for physicians, who spend years getting their degrees (and racking up debt) and make far more than the average American.
A list from Bloomberg proves just how extraordinary the financial situation for those in the health care industry is. When ranking the careers with the highest pay for an advanced college degree, the top 10 consisted entirely of health care jobs.
Bloomberg determined the ranking by median annual pay of occupations held by individuals with advanced degrees, although it excluded jobs with fewer than 10,000 jobs nationwide and those lacking pay data. Data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Other professions in the top 20 include judges, physicists and engineering teachers (postsecondary schooling). Although they don’t make the top 10, optometrists, physician assistants and psychologists all land in the top 20.
10. Pharmacists
Median annual pay: $116,670
Job growth prospects: 25% between 2010 and 2020
States with the highest employment level: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania
Top-paying metro area: El Centro, California
9. Dentists (General)
Median annual pay: $145,240
Job growth prospects: 21% between 2010 and 2020
States with the highest employment level: California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois
Top-paying metro area: Nashua, New Hampshire
8. Nurse Anesthetists
Median annual pay: $148,260
Job growth prospects: 24% (grouped with physicians and surgeons)
States with the highest employment level: Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia
Top-paying metro area: Hickory-Lenoir-Morgantown, North Carolina
7. Pediatricians (General)
Median annual pay: $154,650
Job growth prospects: 24% (grouped with physicians and surgeons)
States with the highest employment level: California, Texas, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio
Top-paying metro area: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
6. Family and General Practitioners
Median annual pay: $172,020
Job growth prospects: 24% (grouped with physicians and surgeons)
States with the highest employment level: California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, Illinois
Top-paying metro area: Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa
5. Psychiatrists
Median annual pay: $173,330
Job growth prospects: 24% (grouped with physicians and surgeons)
States with the highest employment level: California, New York, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania
Top-paying metro area: Sherman-Denison, Texas
4. Internists (General)
Mean annual pay: $191,520
Job growth prospects: 24% (grouped with physicians and surgeons)
States with the highest employment level: California, Michigan, Florida, New York, Texas
Top-paying metro area: Wilmington, North Carolina
3. Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Mean annual pay: $216,760
Job growth prospects: 24% (grouped with physicians and surgeons)
States with the highest employment level: California, Texas, Ohio, New Jersey, North Carolina
Top-paying metro area: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
2. Surgeons
Mean annual pay: $230,540
Job growth prospects: 24% (grouped with physicians and surgeons)
States with the highest employment level: California, Texas, New York, Ohio, Florida
Top-paying metro area: Worcester, Massachusetts
1. Anesthesiologists
Mean annual pay: $232,830
Job growth prospects: 24% (grouped with physicians and surgeons)
States with the highest employment level: California, New York, Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania
Top-paying metro area: Hartford, Connecticut
