25 Top Paying Jobs in America

Published on June 22, 2021 at 9:38 am by Jose Karlo Mari Tottoc in Lists, News

In this article we will take a look at the 25 top paying jobs in America. You can skip our detailed analysis of these rewarding occupations, and go directly to the 5 Top Paying Jobs in America.

Coronavirus has caused economies to collapse since its outbreak in 2019. An article written by researchers at McKinsey & Company claimed that during the lockdown in 2020, approximately 53 million jobs were at risk of permanent layoffs, temporary furloughs, and a reduction in working hours and wages. They estimated that one in six workers in the US filed for unemployment from the mid of March to April 18 in 2020. This number added up to 26 million working Americans, and it negated the net gains in employment, obtained by 2014 since the Great Recession (2007-2009). According to this article on the website of the World Economic Forum, The United States saw a decrease of 8.5 million in employment from February 2020 to February 2021. This loss could cause America roughly about 3 years to recover from and reach the pre-pandemic employment rate.

In these desperate times, we can still spot some industries that offer job-roles with high wages. These industries and their respective job roles will help America have the comeback, which is most certainly going to be greater than the setback.

The inclusion of job-roles in health-care is obvious since, we are going through a global pandemic and who would be more paid than doctors would? As you read on, you will learn that the tech-industry offers the most diverse jobs with the highest hourly pay-rates. In fact, if you go to this website, you will see that the 50 Best Jobs in America in 2021 mostly list tech-jobs with a relatively low number of jobs in health-care. Tech companies like Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR), Facebook, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ: FB), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT) thrived during the pandemic as millions of people stayed at home and used the services of these major tech companies. Amid this explosive growth, technology and software companies are ready to pour millions into hiring and pay their engineers hefty salaries.

The job-role for a physician’s assistant ranks at number 41 with a median base salary of $107,000 but only about 5000 job openings in 2021. The job-roles for Java programmers rank at number 1 with a median base salary of $90,000, but a much higher demand with over 10,000 job openings. The top 10 jobs in this list feature 7 tech-jobs which are Java developers, data scientists, enterprise architects, DevOps engineers, cyber security engineers, mobile engineers and software engineers.

Photo by Ant Rozetsky on Unsplash

Our Methodology

We consulted a report compiled by Glassdoor. This report lists jobs according to their cumulative scores, obtained after looking at three factors: earning potential, overall job satisfaction rating, and the number of job openings. The score is based on a five-point scale, classifying jobs with a score of 5/5 as “best” jobs and jobs with a score of 1/5 as “bad” jobs.

For this compilation, we used only two of Glassdoor’s three factors to determine the 25 Top Paying Jobs in America: the earning potential, which was the median annual base salary, and the number of job openings. We also considered the average hourly pay-rate for each job role in America calculated by this website.

With this context, and industry outlook in mind, let’s dive into the list of the 25 top paying jobs in America.

Top Paying Jobs in America

25. Sales Manager ($57/hour)

They appear to be much high in demand in our list, with over 16,000 job openings recorded. Sales managers develop strategies after analyzing data for a company’s sales in order to maximize their selling potential. They provide mentorship and training for sales teams at companies and are actively involved in the recruitment as well as firing processes. A sales manager has the potential to earn around $72,000 annually.

24. Business Analyst ($29/hour)

The demand for business analysts and strategists is growing. Businesses need solutions to the challenges that they face in the market; this is where business analysts shine. The average annual salary of a business analyst as of 2021 is $76000.

23. Project Manager ($37/hour)

Project managers are the second highest in demand in our list of the 25 top paying jobs in America, having over 34000 job openings posted for 2021. Project managers are responsible for the planning, monitoring, and closing of projects for companies. The average base salary for a project manager is $80,000.

22. Consultant ($34/hour)

Consultants are problem-solving individuals who are experts in their respective fields. They provide expert analyses and recommendations to people or even organizations. As of 2021, the demand for consultants has grown, with up to 10,000 job openings posted and, their average annual income of $83,000 merits their inclusion in our list of the 25 Top Paying Jobs in America.

21. QA Engineer ($32/hour)

Even though automation has become common-practice these days, in order for software to be user-friendly, quality assurance engineers will always be in demand. QA engineers are professionals that test software, identify bugs (problems in it) and suggest solutions. The annual median base salary for a QA engineer is $85,000.

20. Attorney ($47/hour)

Having a good lawyer by your side is as important as having a good doctor is, because you can never be sure when you might end up needing them. On average, an attorney in the United States can make up to $86,000. As of 2021, the demand for attorneys in America has increased by a factor of four, from 1000 job openings recorded in 2019, to 4000 recorded in 2021.

19. HR Manager ($51/hour)

The need for good HR at any organization is understated. An HR manager oversees recruitment operations, build an employer’s brand and establish a link between executives and employees to optimize an organization’s performance. On average, an HR manager makes up to $88,000 annually in the United States.

18. Java Developer ($46/hour)

Java is the programming language used for the development of android applications, software for gaming consoles, and even data centers. Java developers have been in demand since a long time now, having over 10,000 job openings posted in 2021 alone, and the potential to earn about $90,000 annually.

17. Back-end Engineer ($57/hour)

Software development teams consist of front-end and back-end developers. A back-end engineer has more to do with the structure and server side scripting of application interfaces that are not directly accessible by the end-users, as opposed to those who work on the design and the front-end of the interface. A back-end engineer lays the foundation, directs the path for the development team to follow, and is a main character when it comes to developing applications. A back-end engineer has the potential to earn up to $90,000 annually on average.

Companies like Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR), Facebook, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ: FB), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT) hire backend engineers to create complex software applications. Backend engineers are also in demand in tech startups which are working on new and innovative technologies.

16. UX Designer ($43/hour)

The more an app is easy and fun to interact with, the more we use it. UX designers have the necessary technical skills needed to build user-friendly application interfaces. Their scope is not only limited to the design of the interface but also they are responsible for creating usable and functional application interfaces and are sometimes involved in the branding and marketing of the product. They have the potential to make $91,000 a year.

15. Mobile Engineer ($46/hour)

Raise your hands if you own a smartphone, many of you are actually reading this article on one. We need software applications to make our smartphones useful, fun and easy to interact with; mobile engineers take care of that. To provide us with useful applications, such as the web browser on your phone, mobile engineers develop application interfaces for smartphone devices. They have the potential to earn up to $94,000 annually on average. The demand of mobile engineers is soaring as companies like Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR), Facebook, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ: FB), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT) continue to expand and invest in mobile-based services and apps.

14. Machine Learning Engineer ($58/hour)

Machine learning is a branch of artificial intelligence and it involves developing software programs or machines that are “intelligent” to promote automation. Machine learning engineers bridge the gap between software engineers and data scientists. They enhance data science models by making them scalable, practical and more efficient when it comes to handling large amounts of data in real time. The average annual salary for a machine-learning engineer as of 2021 sits at $104,000.

13. Product Designer ($29/hour)

Product designers may not be in demand as much as many other jobs are, but they have the potential to make more than many of the jobs that we mention in our list of the 25 top paying jobs in America. As of 2021, a product designer in America has a median base salary of $104,000.

12. Cloud Engineer ($60/hour)

Cloud computing has risen to popularity over the past two decades. Cloud computing allows mass access to resources such as data, software, intelligence, networking and storage, optimizing many operations. Cloud engineers are professionals who manage cloud-based systems. Cloud engineers have over 5000 job positions to fill and have an average annual income of $105,000.

Cloud engineers are in high demand as companies like Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR), Facebook, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ: FB), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT) move to Cloud and expand their Cloud-based offerings.

11. Scrum Master ($55/hour)

Scrum is an agile methodology that aids software development teams in the delivery of a product. The motivation behind scrum is to offer products in increments and iterations by using a top down approach when it comes to development. Scrum masters are technical professionals who ensure the implementation of agile methods and scrum practices when it comes to the development of a product. A scrum master in America makes $105,000 annually.

10. Physician’s Assistant ($53/hour)

We have not listed any jobs in health-care so far but, at number ten, in our list of the 25 top paying jobs in America, we have physician’s assistants. Physician’s assistants are essential nowadays, with the pandemic roaring, America needs as many medical professionals as possible. A physician’s assistant holds an advanced degree and is a licensed medical professional who can provide direct medical care to a patient. In America, the job for a physician’s assistant pays $107,000 annually on average.

9. Information Security Engineer ($65/hour)

With everything going digital, businesses are vulnerable to cyber-attacks and intrusions. This gives rise to the demand for cyber-security engineers, who are skilled professionals that identify loopholes in security systems and integrate protocols that prevent breaches and exploitations by hackers. The median base salary for an information security engineer values at $110,000 as of 2021.

8. Tax Manager ($61/hour)

We mentioned that the tech-industry dominates when it comes to offering jobs with higher salaries but this is not a technical role. A tax manager can make more than $110,000 on average annually, and they have one of the highest hourly wage rates in our list of the 25 top paying jobs in America. Tax managers supervise the accounting department and review tax strategies used at their companies to assess if they comply with tax regulations.

7. DevOps Engineer ($57/hour)

A DevOps Engineer effectively combines two goals, the developers’ goals of updating an application and the operation team’s goals of making sure the application remains stable with minimum bugs. They make use agile tools and processes when it comes to releasing a product, emphasizing on continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) along with system security. A DevOps engineer has the potential to earn up to $110,000 annually and this year, they have about 7000 positions to fill in the United States.

DevOps is becoming an extremely popular way of software deployment and integration in small and large companies like Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR), Facebook, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ: FB), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT). In this environment, the demand of DevOps engineers is set to grow.

6. Software Engineer ($34/hour)

Software engineers are the designers and developers of the operating system on your computer, the web browser you are using to read this list, the media player that plays videos and music for you, and we can go on. In our list of the 25 top paying jobs in America, software engineers are the highest in demand with over 40,000 job openings to fill and have an average annual income of $110,000. Software engineers are in high demand as companies like Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR), Facebook, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ: FB), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT) continue to hire and expand their presence globally.

Click to continue reading and see the 5 Top Paying Jobs in America.