What are the most meaningful jobs that also come with a good paycheck? Most of us have probably dreamt as children that we’ll grow up and somehow make the world a better place. But the truth of the matter is that most of us end up in office jobs that may pay the bills, but aren’t necessarily as meaningful as we would have hoped some day. Nonetheless, there are a few lucky individuals out there who not only get bragging rights for doing something for our society, but they’re actually quite well paid for their efforts.
Following, we would like to present you with a list we have compiled of the top 20 most meaningful jobs that also come with a good paycheck. The following professions were ranked according to the statistics released by Payscale.com, which evaluated professionals from countless industries according to their median salaries and to how meaningful or not their jobs are. Respondents were asked to state whether their job makes the world a better place and were offered the following options: Very much, Yes, A little, No, and On the contrary. According to their responses, Payscale was able to come up with a list of the most meaningful professions. Not the least surprising, the top 5 of those jobs are all from the medical field.
Our financial news writers haven’t received a questionaire from Payscale, so our site isn’t included in this list. Covering financial news and promoting Insider Monkey’s premium newsletters probably would have ended up in this list because our financial news writers are extremely satisfied with their jobs. Our small-cap investment strategy provides retail investors with a quarterly list of 15 stocks that outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 84 percentage points between the end of August 2012 and May 2015. Retail investors with limited means were able to generate much better returns than majority of affluent investors who invest directly in hedge funds. Our financial news writers are proud to be able to help homegamers grow their nest eggs. We aren’t saving lives but we are helping investors retire early and have security in the golden years of their lives.
Anyway, curious to learn more about the most meaningful jobs in the world that also come with a good paycheck? Let’s take a look at the countdown.
No. 20: Dental Hygienist
Median annual salary: $70,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 76%
No. 19: Restaurant owner or operator
Median annual salary: $70,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 82%
No. 18: Epidemiologist
Median annual salary: $64,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 88%
No. 17: Speech and language pathologist
Median annual salary: $66,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 91%
No. 16: Police Lieutenant
Median annual salary: $74,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 85%
No. 15: Veterinarian
Median annual salary: $74,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 89%
No. 14: Petroleum geologist
Median annual salary: $110,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 67%
No. 13: Deputy Fire Chief
Median annual salary: $76,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 100%
No. 12: Certified midwife
Median annual salary: $86,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 98%
No. 11: Pharmacist
Median annual salary: $111,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 77%
No. 10: Hospital administrator
Median annual salary: $100,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 89%
No. 9: Aircraft Test Pilot
Median annual salary: $122,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 91%
No. 8: Senior construction manager
Median annual salary: $122,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 100%
No. 7: Chief Executive Officer
Median annual salary: $160,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 82%
No. 6: Supervisory special agent
Median annual salary: $130,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 100%
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No. 5: Obstetrician – Gynecologist
Median annual salary: $200,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 95%
No. 4: Dermatologist
Median annual salary: $213,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 100%
No. 3: Anesthesiologist
Median annual salary: $286,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 88%
No. 2: Cardio-thoracic surgeon
Median annual salary: $360,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 91%
No. 1: Neurosurgeon
Median annual salary: $400,000
Percentage of professionals that feel their job is meaningful: 97%
