Posted on 02/08/2005 9:57:54 AM PST by SaltyJoe
"Do what you love and the money will follow" is great in theory, but the truth of the matter is, certain jobs and fields simply pay more. The Bureau of Labor Statistics National Compensation Survey, published in August 2004, showed that white-collar earnings -- which averaged $21.85 per hour -- were the highest among occupational groups. Blue-collar pay averaged $15.03 per hour, while the hourly pay of service occupations averaged just $10.40.
Though many of these occupations require an advanced degree, there are jobs at every education level that pay more than other jobs for workers with similar levels of schooling. Here, courtesy of the Employment Policy Foundation, is a look at the best-paying occupations at varying education levels:
Top Paying Jobs Overall The jobs that pay the most require at least a four-year college degree. According to the Employment Policy Foundation, the nation's 12 top-paying jobs -- and the mean annual income reported in 2003 (the most recent year data was available) for each -- were:
Physicians and surgeons $147,000 Aircraft pilots $133,500 Chief executives $116,000 Electrical and electronic engineers $112,000 Lawyers and judges $99,800 Dentists $90,000 Pharmacists $85,500 Management analysts $84,700 Computer and information system managers $83,000 Financial analysts, managers and advisers $84,000 Marketing and sales managers $80,000 Education administrators $80,000
Though many of these occupations require an advanced degree, there are jobs at every education level that pay more than other jobs for workers with similar levels of schooling. Here, courtesy of the Employment Policy Foundation, is a look at the best-paying occupations at varying education levels:
Top Paying Jobs That Do Not Require a High School Degree These jobs tend to require substantial on-the-job training and work experience rather than formal education and schooling:
Industrial production managers $36,000 Bailiffs, correctional officers and jailers $36,400 Paralegals and legal assistants $36,400 Drafters $36,000 Construction manager $33,600 Electricians $31,900 advertisement George - Women's Cosmopolitan Zip Jacket $26.82 Walmart.com
More Women's Jackets ▪ Kenneth Cole - Center Stage from Zappos.com Sale $119.90
▪ Disney - Mickey & Friends ''Family of Friends'' from Disneydirect.com $16.00
Top Paying Jobs for High School Graduates These occupations emphasize work experience and on-the-job training rather than formal education:
Computer software engineers $58,900 Computer/information systems managers $56,400 Computer programmers $55,000 Network systems and data communications analysts $49,000 General and operations managers $48,000 Database, network and computer systems administrators $48,000
Top Paying Jobs for a Two-Year College Degree The following jobs tend to be technical in nature, emphasizing skills developed on the job as well as job-specific training and certifications:
Healthcare practitioners $66,000 Business analysts $58,000 Electrical and electronic engineers $57,000 Mechanical engineers $56,800 General and operations managers $54,000 Computer and information systems managers $50,400
"A look at expected earnings over a lifetime shows the economic benefit of higher education attainment," says Tony Carnevale, who chaired President Clinton's National Commission for Employment Policy and authored several books, including America and the New Economy: How New Competitive Standards are Radically Changing American Workplaces.
A person with a doctoral or professional degree, for example, is expected to earn about $3 million over the course of his or her working life while a person without a high school diploma is expected to earn less than $1 million.
"Despite an increasing supply of well-educated workers, the college wage premium has nearly doubled since 1980, largely because of the added value of a college education in the new knowledge economy," adds Carnevale.
The Employment Policy Forum concurs, but stresses that these numbers are only averages. Individual earnings depend on many factors including geographic location, employer size (average hourly earnings ranged from $15.06 in organizations employing between one and 99 workers to $24.09 in those with 2,500 workers or more), industry (workers in goods-producing industries earned $18.46 an hour vs. those in service-producing industries who earned $16.44 an hour) and the worker's skills and characteristics.
Kate Lorenz is the article and advice editor for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues. Other writers contributed to this article.
So, after insurance and education expense, would the airline pilots make more money? Get more vacation? Rest easier at night know that there aren't ambulance chasing lawyers hunting them down?
A Women's Zip Jacket only makes $26.82 a year?
All you need to know is that applications to med school are lower than they have been in years and that many physicians are advising their kids to do something else.
Oh, and training slots in various specialties are funded by government. The planners there, like planners everywhere, often guess wrong about future demand.
"Top Paying Jobs for a Two-Year College Degree The following jobs tend to be technical in nature, emphasizing skills developed on the job as well as job-specific training and certifications:
Healthcare practitioners $66,000 Business analysts $58,000 Electrical and electronic engineers $57,000 Mechanical engineers $56,800 General and operations managers $54,000 Computer and information systems managers $50,400"
Electrical and electronic engineers $57,000 Mechanical engineers $56,800
These are not two year degrees. Something is wring with this study.
So working part time on his own in his spare time he taught himself computer programming C+, C++, Perl, Java and other stuff. Then he designed a program to easily perform Workers' Compensation disability ratings automatically. (A major nightmare, believe me). He was selling his system part time and made a sale pitch to a company. They hired him on the spot as a computer programmer. At the time they hired him, they did not even know he was a lawyer with a M.B.A.
Last I heard, he was happy as a lark. Nice work environment. He doesn't even have to put on a suit and tie. Made many new friends. He is making good money in his new profession and his income eventually became GREAT money.
You are correct. People who want to become doctors or lawyers probably have been hoodwinked. Only a few survive the system that they created themselves.
The more you invest in your education the better off you are generally speaking, that is. Because we all know career students that do nothing with their lives but get a deferment from paying back student loans by taking yet another semester of classes.
I'm of the opinion and living proof that hustle and the willingness to acquire actual usable skills (vs knowledge) will take you farther than a piece of paper.
I agree, if you don't have the hustle, the piece of sheepskin is worthless. Also, a big part of the equation of getting paid more is knowing how to work smarter, ask for raise and get it, and know when you job is a dead-ender and move on.
Well, that's pretty close to zip.
I'd also add to that "or have incorrectly assumed that money would bring happiness".
The keys are finding things you like to do, getting good at them(and maybe getting sheepskins from college), and doing one of them you enjoy for pay that supports your standard of living.
What surprises me is Mickey & Friends. You'd think that working at the Happiest Place on Earth with its multitude of tourists coming precisely to see them would be worth a little more than a measley $16.00.
The biggest shyster-ripoff job in this article.
No matter what your degree or profession, you're worth precisely what you negotiate, not one penny less or one penny more. Always go for more than what you think you "deserve."
This is my question.
And then prove you are worth every penny.
SOOOOOOO true....as a former HR pro in High Tech and other industries, who negotiated with candidates, I can tell you that NEGOTIATION for wages is important in ANY job.
That's a strange thing to say.
We bring skills and experience to the table, we negotiate compensation and expectations, then we do the job.
There's no "proving" anything to anyone, at least in the world where I operate. You don't like the result for any reason whatsoever, you don't pay. Period.
That's been my business rule for 12 years. I've never "proved" anything nor have I ever been stiffed.
"Worth every penny" is still a function of what you negotiate, no more and no less. "Worth" alone is a subjective term that can easily go outside scope. And I don't think I'd take a client who expected me to "prove" anything. It implies distrust.
My point is I don't see ANY Bailiffs, correctional offices and jailers who make 150K (two jobs or successful part time business) a year living in million dollars homes.
I don't have a problem with doctors making what the market bears but for the article to say 150K is just misleading.
I am sure I will get some flames from doctors for the comments. If they flame it won't be because they make 150K a year it would be because they "earned" the million dollar homes.
The same goes for the tech field. Even the top Computer programs are seeing a massive fall off in applications and enrollment.
I'm still wondering why anyone would take career advice from a guy who takes a job as a "guidance counselor." My advice would be to look elsewhere.
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