The best paying jobs in America

To make a long story short, there are quite a few 'best paying jobs in America' including top professional athletes, Hollywood celebrities, and music legends in addition to the more common fields of Medicine, Law and Business. However a brief review of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates several of these high paying jobs are not as prolific as some might think.

Not all persons trained in the fields of the best paying jobs will earn the top salaries that the best in their field earn. For this reason it is important to consider the actual demand for these jobs in addition to the skills necessary for the best paying jobs in America. This article will outline some of the details regarding high paying jobs.

The highest paying U.S. jobs

Strictly looking at the take home pay of various professions the best paying jobs in America are entrepreneurial, and/or media related as in the case of musical vocalists and movie stars. While professional athletes are not necessarily entrepreneurs there is also a lot of career risk associated with the profession.

In the case of business ownership, there is also considerable risk associated with the profession, and not all entrepreneurs make it to the top of the pay scale. While these jobs are among the best paying jobs in America, they are highly competitive and take massive dedication, luck, experience and know how. A summarazing cross-section of these highest paid careers is listed below.

• Best selling author ex-John Grisham
• Successful businesspersons ex-Bill Gates
• Accomplished entrepreneurs ex-George Soros
• Professional athletes ex-Tiger Woods
• Movie celebrities ex-Angelina Jolie
• Music stars ex-Bono

The rest of the high paying jobs

So what about the kind of jobs that can be trained for and lead to semi-reliable careers with a steadily rising income? These types of jobs include Medical professionals such as Anesthesiologists, surgeons, actuaries, pharmacists, software and other engineers, attorneys, and large business managers. Like the all-star jobs, these jobs also require significant knowledge, commitment and drive and are also quite competitive. This is evident in the careers themselves.

• Medical professionals ex-Bill Frist
• Chief Executive Officers ex-Michael Dell
• Dentists and Orthodontists ex-John Henry Holliday
• Accountants and Actuaries -J.P. Morgan
• Specialized Attorneys- ex-Johnnie Cochran
• Senior Economists- ex-Ben Bernanke

To illustrate further, just because someone is trained in law, mathematics, engineering, medicine etc. does not automatically imply a salary above $100,000/year. This is because each of these fields have different supply and demand economics. In other words, the supply of attorneys may outweigh the demand for attorneys in the high income/tier ranges of the profession. Additionally, in many professions additional professional exams and certifications are required as well as ongoing educational requirements and experience in the field.

Pay ranges and job statistics

The pay ranges of America's best paying jobs range from six-nine figures i.e. $100's of thousands to billions of dollars. The probability of reaching the high end of this pay spectrum is naturally lower than the lower end. That is to say, there are fewer billionaires than there are millionaires and far fewer millionaires than hundred-thousandaires.

This is also evident in career statistics. For example, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics there are approximately 20, 000 actuaries in the U.S., and that's with a 5% annual growth rate adjusted to 2008. Furthermore, with a similar percentage growth rate adjustment, there are 55, 000 surgeons, 385, 000 computer software engineers, 310,000 Chief Executive Officers, 278,000 pharmacists and 611, 000 lawyers.

Based on the above career volume estimates, the average number of professionals in the aforementioned careers is 276,500 or .009% of the U.S. population for each high paying career. Additionally, not all those employed in these professions receive top salaries. For example, a lawyer straight out of law school may not make more than $40,000 in his or her first year of employment and public service attorneys are not nearly as well paid as attorneys in other fields of law.

To add optimism to the previous points, one can estimate there are about 1000 well paying professions in the United States and of those 1000 well paying professions, 66% receive above $100,000 per year. If this is true or close to the truth, then two thirds of 9.2% of the U.S. population are in high paid if one considers over $100,000/year to be high paid. Since 66% of 9.2% or 300 Million is equal to 6.07% or 18.21 million the odds are surprisingly small of obtaining this kind of annual income based on this estimate.

Summary

In summary, the best paying jobs in America include movies stars, music legends, professional athletes, medical professionals, scientists, successful entrepreneurs, business executives, dentists, attorneys and a few other careers. These careers can pay from six-nine figures but average closer to the six figure range than the ten figure range. Moreover, many of these careers require significant skill and expertise and in some cases take many years to achieve the higher levels of income earning potential.

Despite the relative scarcity and obstacles in acquiring such professions, such income levels and careers are not unattainable per se. Rather, it is to say the task of acquiring one of the highest paid jobs in America may be close to 5% and the top income level in each respective high paying field may not be achieved until one is in their late 30's and beyond. While this article is not the most optimistic of presentations, it does add a dose of realism to the highest paid jobs of America and is consequently of value in illustrating some of the other details about such jobs.

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