Top 20 Highest Paying Jobs in America

If you are looking for a higher paycheck, CNBC had a great story recently about the highest paying jobs in America. As you may know, we have an entire section on six-figure jobs, from medical to legal to business to aviation…and more!

According to the CNBC piece, health care jobs dominated their list of the 20 best paid jobs, which they culled from income stats at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The top 5 spots were all doctors – and specialists to boot. Of course, not everyone can become a surgeon, anesthesiologist, oral and maxillofacial surgeon, orthodontist or an OB-GYN. The only non-health care job to make the top 10 was being CEO (chief executive officer) of a company. In the top 20 were lawyers, engineers, airline pilots, air traffic controllers and astronomers.

Of course, in any field, you can distinguish yourself and be a top earner – or, the opposite, you can earn significantly less than the national average. Becoming an entrepreneur can make you millions – or you can barely break even. Most teachers make middle income salaries, but with further education, training and promotions, top-paid educators do earn six figures.

In case you are wondering what career fields to avoid, according to the CNBC article, the lowest paid job sector is the food service industry. Full time servers, fast-food cooks, and dish washers all earned less than $20K per year. But keep in mind that top chefs and sous chef can earn extremely competitive salaries – well into the six figures or higher.

Is average salary an important criterion for you in looking for a new job? To what degree does money affect your career choices?