Quick answer: The best high paying jobs in the U.S. are dominated by medicine: pediatric surgeons, cardiologists, and radiologists all had median pay above $400,000 in May 2025 (BLS). Outside healthcare, airline pilots, chief executives, IT managers, and lawyers top $150,000, while elevator installers and air traffic controllers prove you don't always need a bachelor's degree.
"High paying" means different things to different people. To a new grad, $70,000 sounds like a lottery win. To a surgeon still paying off medical school, it sounds like a rough month.
So let's anchor it with real numbers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual wage for all workers was $50,980 in May 2025. Every job in this guide pays well above that, and many pay two to ten times more.
All salary figures below are median annual pay from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 data, unless noted. Median means half of workers earn more and half earn less. Your pay will vary with location, employer, and experience.
The Highest Paying Careers in America (Mostly Medicine)
The BLS list of the highest paying occupations is almost entirely doctors and dentists. Here are the top earners:
- Pediatric surgeons: $559,030
- Cardiologists: $496,010
- Radiologists: $420,860
- Anesthesiologists: $391,490
- Orthopedic surgeons (except pediatric): $358,550
- Oral and maxillofacial surgeons: $352,220
- Emergency medicine physicians: $335,550
- Dermatologists: $328,730
- Orthodontists: $289,140
- Psychiatrists: $281,870
- Family medicine physicians: $244,180
- Nurse anesthetists: $236,590
The catch is the runway. Most physician roles require a bachelor's degree, medical school, and several years of residency before you hit those numbers. Nurse anesthetists are the notable exception on the list: they're advanced practice nurses rather than physicians.
Best High Paying Jobs Outside of Medicine
Not everyone wants to spend their twenties memorizing the Krebs cycle. These careers pay well without an MD.
Aviation
- Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers: $232,140. Airlines typically want a bachelor's degree plus flight training and commercial or military flying experience. Projected growth: 8% (2025–35).
- Air traffic controllers: $148,080. Typical entry-level education is an associate's degree, followed by more than 12 months of on-the-job training.
Business and Management
- Chief executives: $213,990. Usually requires a bachelor's degree and many years of experience.
- Computer and information systems managers: $175,140. Bachelor's degree plus 5 or more years of related experience. Projected growth: 16%.
- Financial managers: $166,570. Bachelor's degree plus 5 or more years of experience. Projected growth: 10%.
Law
- Lawyers: $159,670. Requires a law degree (doctoral or professional). Projected growth: 5%.
Tech and Data
- Software developers: $135,980. Bachelor's degree typical. Projected growth: 10%.
- Information security analysts: $129,180. Bachelor's degree typical. Projected growth: 21%.
- Data scientists: $120,230. Bachelor's degree typical. Projected growth: 35%, one of the fastest of any field.
Engineering
- Petroleum engineers: $144,910. Bachelor's degree typical, though growth is slow (2%).
Healthcare Without Medical School
- Physician assistants: $135,880. Master's degree. Projected growth: 21%.
- Nurse practitioners: $132,300. Master's degree. Projected growth: 41%, the standout on this list.
- Radiation therapists: $105,310. Associate's degree.
- Dental hygienists: $98,100. Associate's degree.
High Paying Jobs Without a Degree
This is the section most people are actually looking for. These jobs typically require a high school diploma or a postsecondary certificate, plus apprenticeship or on-the-job training. (Some of the strongest options use an associate's degree, which we flagged above.)
- Commercial pilots: $123,220. Flight training is the main requirement; some employers prefer a degree.
- Nuclear power reactor operators: $122,890. High school diploma plus long-term training and licensing.
- Elevator and escalator installers and repairers: $109,910. High school diploma plus a roughly 4-year apprenticeship.
- Power plant operators, distributors, and dispatchers: $105,080. High school diploma plus long-term training.
- Line installers and repairers: $95,320. High school diploma plus training that can last up to 3 years. Projected growth: 10%.
- Detectives and criminal investigators: $93,790. Usually requires police experience first; some federal agencies require a bachelor's degree.
- Aircraft and avionics mechanics: $80,180. Typically an FAA-approved certificate program.
- Boilermakers: $76,410. High school diploma plus an apprenticeship of about 4 years.
The common thread? Long, paid training and serious responsibility. Nobody wants an elevator installer who learned from a 30-second video. For a longer list of skilled trades, see our blue collar jobs list.
What These Jobs Actually Look Like Day to Day
A salary figure tells you nothing about whether you'll enjoy Tuesday mornings. Here's the reality behind some of the most popular picks:
- Airline pilot: Irregular schedules, nights away from home, and strict rest rules. Seniority drives a lot, from routes to days off, so the early years can feel very different from the later ones.
- Air traffic controller: Intense focus for long stretches, shift work that includes nights and weekends, and a demanding training period. Great pay, but not a job for people who like to multitask with their phone.
- Software developer: Mostly desk-based problem solving, code reviews, and meetings. Remote and hybrid setups are common, and the work rewards people who enjoy learning new tools constantly.
- Information security analyst: Monitoring systems, investigating alerts, and planning defenses. Some roles include on-call duty, because attackers don't keep office hours.
- Nurse practitioner: Diagnosing and treating patients, often with a high degree of independence. Emotionally demanding, deeply rewarding, and in very high demand.
- Lawyer: Long hours are common, especially early in a career at large firms. Pay varies widely between big corporate firms, government, and public interest work.
- Elevator installer: Physical work in shafts and machine rooms, comfort with heights and tight spaces, and a long apprenticeship. Union jobs are common in this trade.
- Line installer: Outdoor work in all weather, often at height, with emergency call-outs after storms. You'll be very popular during power outages.
The takeaway: shadow someone, watch "day in the life" videos from people in the role, or ask for a 15-minute informational interview before committing years of training.
Common Mistakes When Chasing a High Salary
Big paychecks attract big decisions. Avoid these traps:
- Picking a career only for the median. Burnout is expensive. If you hate the work, you're unlikely to stick around long enough to reach the top of the pay range.
- Ignoring the total cost of entry. Factor in tuition, years of reduced income during training, and licensing exams, not just the end salary.
- Confusing median with starting pay. Medians include experienced workers. Entry-level pay is usually lower, sometimes a lot lower.
- Overlooking adjacent roles. You might not need to become a physician to work in healthcare at a high salary. Physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and radiation therapists all earn well above the national median.
- Underselling yourself on paper. Many qualified candidates lose out on high paying roles because their resume reads like a job description instead of a record of results.
Why Some Jobs Pay So Much More
Across every list, the same factors explain the big numbers:
- Long training pipelines. Medical residency, law school, and four-year apprenticeships limit how many qualified people exist.
- High stakes. When mistakes cost lives or millions of dollars, employers pay for people who get it right.
- Scarce skills. Fields like data science and cybersecurity are growing faster than the supply of experienced workers.
- Tough conditions. Night shifts, heights, on-call duty, and travel push pay up.
- Leadership. Managing people, budgets, or entire companies adds a premium on top of technical skill.
How to Pick the Right High Paying Career for You
Salary is only one column in the spreadsheet. Before you commit, weigh these:
- Time to first paycheck. A dental hygienist with an associate's degree can be earning years before a physician finishes residency.
- Cost of training. Apprenticeships pay you while you learn. Medical and law school often mean significant debt.
- Job outlook. A 35% projected growth rate (data scientists) means more openings than a 2% rate (petroleum engineers, air traffic controllers).
- Daily reality. Do you want to sit at a desk, work outdoors, or be on your feet in a hospital? Shadow someone or do informational interviews first.
- Your existing skills. The fastest path is often adjacent. A nurse can become a nurse practitioner. A help desk tech can move into cybersecurity.
- Location. Pay varies a lot by state and metro area, and so does the cost of living.
How to Land a High Paying Job
Choosing the career is step one. Getting hired is a different skill.
Build In-Demand Skills
Look at real job postings for your target role and list the skills that appear again and again. Certifications can bridge gaps quickly in IT, project management, and the trades. Our guide to the best skills to add to your resume for the AI job market covers what employers ask for most.
Make Your Resume Prove Value
High-paying employers hire for results. Replace duty lists with outcomes: revenue grown, costs cut, incidents prevented, patients served. Our guide to bullet points that turn duties into results shows exactly how.
Change Careers Strategically
If you're switching fields, lead with transferable skills instead of hoping recruiters connect the dots themselves. Translate your past wins into the language of the new role.
Network Into Roles Before They're Posted
Many well-paid roles are filled through referrals and direct outreach. The hidden job market playbook walks through how to reach hiring managers directly.
Negotiate the Offer
The difference between accepting and negotiating can compound for years. Use BLS data and salary sites as anchors, and read our guide on how to negotiate salary before you say yes.
Fast-Growing Fields to Watch
Some high paying careers are also growing fast, which means more openings and more bargaining power. Based on BLS projections for 2025–35:
- Nurse practitioners: projected 41% growth.
- Data scientists: projected 35% growth.
- Information security analysts and physician assistants: projected 21% growth each.
- Computer and information systems managers: projected 16% growth.
Healthcare and tech show up again and again. If you want both high pay and strong demand, those two sectors are the safest bets right now.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest paying job in the U.S.?
According to BLS data for May 2025, pediatric surgeons had the highest median pay at $559,030, followed by cardiologists at $496,010. Nearly all of the top 20 highest paying occupations are physicians, surgeons, or dental specialists.
What are the best high paying jobs without a degree?
Strong options include commercial pilots ($123,220), nuclear power reactor operators ($122,890), elevator and escalator installers ($109,910), power plant operators ($105,080), and line installers ($95,320). Most require a high school diploma plus apprenticeship, licensing, or long-term training.
What job pays $100,000 a year without a degree?
Elevator installers, nuclear power reactor operators, power plant operators, and commercial pilots all had median pay above $100,000 in May 2025 without a bachelor's degree as the typical requirement. Air traffic controllers ($148,080) typically need an associate's degree.
Which high paying jobs are easiest to get into?
There's no truly easy six-figure job, but the shortest paths usually run through associate's degree programs (dental hygienist, radiation therapist) or paid apprenticeships (elevator installer, line installer). These let you start earning faster than careers that require graduate school.
What are the highest paying careers in tech?
Computer and information systems managers ($175,140), software developers ($135,980), information security analysts ($129,180), and data scientists ($120,230) are among the highest paying tech careers. Most require a bachelor's degree, and managers typically need 5 or more years of experience.
Is it worth getting a degree for a high paying job?
It depends on the field. Medicine, law, and most engineering and tech roles require degrees, and they pay accordingly. But many trades and technical roles pay well above the national median with a diploma and training, often with less debt.
How do I get a high paying job with no experience?
Start with a role that offers paid training, such as an apprenticeship or a trainee program, or build skills through certifications and projects. Then write a resume that emphasizes what you can do, not just where you've worked. Our guide on writing a resume with no experience can help.
Ready to Go After a Bigger Paycheck?
Whichever path you pick, your resume is the first thing standing between you and that salary. Use our Resume Builder to tailor your experience to high-paying roles and highlight the results employers pay for.