The Highest Paid Jobs in USA, Right Now

Traditionally, there are prevalent social concepts about what are the highest paying jobs or professions. Such concepts depend upon a number of factors and measures, not least of which is how much a particular career path meets one’s own career objectives in life. However, life, as we know it, is dynamic and hard to define. Many things happen unknown to us, or without us paying close attention to changes in our surroundings – changes that affect, define, and change our own lives. However, within the scope of our direct control lies the setting of career goals, career objectives, and career paths. And knowledge of the jobs that pay most, as we know of them, is vital information that influences our decision-making.

This article focuses on the highest paid jobs right now, those jobs that pay the most in the current economy or would be paying the most in the near future, in contrast to jobs, which have traditionally paid the most.

The Top Twenty Highest Paying Jobs in USA Right Now



This list of highest paying jobs is created on data, medians, and averages – it does not apply to exceptionally successful people in any profession, but relates to expectations of average workers in average job positions within fields of practice. As such, the top ten positions in the list of highest-paying jobs in USA go sequentially to:

1. Surgeons: Surgeons currently have an average salary of $219,770
2. Anesthesiologists: Surgeons currently have an average salary of $219,770
3. Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons: Surgeons currently have an average salary of $219,770
4. Orthodontists: Surgeons currently have an average salary of $219,770
5. Obstetricians & Gynecologists: Surgeons currently have an average salary of $219,770
6. Internists – General: Surgeons currently have an average salary of $219,770
7. Physicians & Surgeons, Other: Surgeons currently have an average salary of $219,770
8. Family & General Practitioners: Surgeons currently have an average salary of $219,770
9. Chief Executives: Surgeons currently have an average salary of $219,770
10. Psychiatrists: Surgeons currently have an average salary of $219,770

If you take a look at the list above, it would seem that leaving out Chief Executives, almost all top paying jobs belong to the medical and related profession. The picture, however, starts to change when we come to the next ten highest paying jobs in the USA:

11. Pediatricians –General: General pediatricians currently have a median salary of $161,410
12. Dentists – General: General dentists currently draw a median salary of $156,850
13. Dentists, Other Specialties: Dentists in other specialties draw a median salary of $153,570
14. Podiatrists: Podiatrists currently draw an average salary of $131,730
15. Lawyers: This is surprising, but lawyers on an average draw a median salary of $129,020
16. Natural Sciences Managers: Average salary $127, 000
17. Prosthodontists: Prosthodontists currently draw an average salary of $125,400
18. Engineering Managers: Engineering managers currently draw a salary of $122,810
19. Computer & Information Systems Managers: These tech guys today draw an average salary of $120,640
20. Marketing Managers: You'd have expected marketing managers to be higher up on the list as also lawyers, but the truth is currently the average marketing manager draws a salary of $120,070

Yes, as you can see by the list, more of which, up to the 300 highest paying jobs and related data you can find at the lists and corresponding database given here (http://www.myplan.com/careers/top-ten/highest-paying.php), which we tallied with our own knowledge to make findings, show that traditional job concepts are changing.

This list however, does not emphasize how flexible or career resilient these jobs are, only that right now, they are the best paying in USA. Many of these jobs are fully specialized and can be confining. On the other hand, a job at the bottom of the list, like that of a marketing manager comes with many transferrable skills and career resilience, but also has less job security. Whatever you do to choose your career path, you always need to keep your eyes and ears open and keep track of the way the economy is moving, otherwise you'd miss out opportunities.