This job pays a healthy salary.
On Tuesday, career site Glassdoor released its list of the highest-paying jobs — and physician topped the list, with a median salary of $193,415. “That’s over three-and-a-half times higher than the median U.S. base salary, currently at $53,950,” the Glassdoor report reveals. (Physician has topped the list since 2015, when Glassdoor began releasing the report.)
Amanda Stansell, Glassdoor senior economic research analyst, tells MarketWatch that physician tops the list because it requires highly specialized skills and there is high demand for the jobs thanks in part to the high numbers of aging boomers.
Physician is just one of the many health care roles rounding out the top 10 — with pharmacy manager taking the No. 2 spot at $144,768 and dentist the No. 3 spot at $142,478. And if you’re considering a job in the health care field, Stansell points out that nurse practitioners (who make $109,481 and land on the No. 11 spot on this list) have an extremely high number of job openings, which signals “a strong need” for these professionals in the health care field.
Glassdoor’s report looks at the annual median base salary of jobs (controlling for factors such as location and seniority) that have at least 100 salary reports on the site from U.S.-based employees in the past year; C-suite jobs are excluded.
10 highest paying jobs in the U.S. for 2019:
1. Physician: Median Base Salary: $193,415
2. Pharmacy Manager: $144,768
3. Dentist: $142,478
4. Pharmacist: $126,438
5. Enterprise Architect: $122,585
6. Corporate Counsel: $117,588
7. Software Engineering Manager: $114,163
8. Physician Assistant: $113,855
9. Corporate Controller: $113,368
10. Software Development Manager: $109,809
Tech jobs also made a strong showing in the top 10, with enterprise architects (they help ensure that a company’s IT systems align with its priorities and strategies) landing the No. 5 spot at $122,585 and software engineers at No. 7 with $114,163.
“A large contributor to this is the fierce fight for talent among tech companies,” Stansell says. “In our healthy labor market, tech workers are in the driver’s seat and companies have to offer competitive salaries.”
That’s reflected in the fact that tech companies dominate the list of the highest-paying companies in America. Palo Alto Networks and NVIDIA both pay a median of more than $170,000 to workers, Glassdoor found, while Twitter and Google top $160,000.
10 highest paying companies in the U.S. for 2019:
1. Palo Alto Networks: Median Total Compensation: $170,929
2. NVIDIA: $170,068
3. Twitter: $162,852
4. Gilead Sciences: $162,210
5. Google: $161,254
6. VMware: $158,063
7. LinkedIn: $157,402
8. Facebook: $152,962
9. Salesforce: $150,379
10. Microsoft: $148,068
While many of these best-paying jobs in America, like doctor and dentist, require years of education beyond just a bachelor’s degree, some — in particular some of the tech jobs — may not, Stansell points out. Indeed, some software engineering managers and software development managers simply get their experience through work experience, rather than needing an advanced degree, she adds.
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