What are the top-paying jobs? (1 Viewer)

[Erik_C]

Jeff Remer:
Most of the top firms in DC generally interview students from top-tier law schools. Not to say there won't be exceptions to that rule, but the odds are stacked against you coming form a non-top 25 law school. Catholic's a good school, but I'm not sure if there's enough "snob factor" to make it through the door at many of the top DC firms unless you're in the top few % of the class and law review.
-Erik

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Erik, try coming out here to the heartland of Wisconsin sometime. Government lawyer jobs start at $26K, and the competition is bloodthirsty for even that, and due to budget mismanagement there's no possibility of any pay increases for the foreseeable future. The large firms start around $70K but most (95%) people start at half that. Consider yourself lucky.

My perception of NYC hours requirements stems entirely from my friend (now a law professor) who was working at Cravath and had a 3000 billable hour requirement (I think he did 3200 one year). Of course, that was a dozen years ago so they may have lightened up a bit.

 

[DonRoeber]

Mark,
A friend of mine is a legal secretary at Cravath. I don't think she's worked less than 60hrs a week since she started, over a year ago. She gradudated from Smith. I'm not sure what she makes. When I was looking at jobs in NYC (again, I do IT), I was always amazed at the salaries. Then I realized that the cost of living was nearly double what it was in Philadelphia (where I currently live). So who cares if you make twice as much money, if everything costs twice as much?

 

[JoshF]

So who cares if you make twice as much money, if everything costs twice as much?

Those of us who live here care, that's who. Living and working in NYC is a perk in and of itself if you're a city-living culture whore. You walk to work (or take the subway / cab), don't have to deal with a car, and always have tons to do after work.

That is, if you have a job that affords you much free time.

You can make just about any amount in any profession if you're good enough. I know lawyers and doctors who make paltry amounts, but they love what they do. I also know some who make tons, but they hate what they do and are never home before 10pm. I make a lot of money as an independent consultant and writer. I know a lot of people trying to break into what I do and they're living on ramen.

Find your niche, excel at it, and you'll be fine.

Go for the money alone, and you'll be miserable. You'll also be horrible at what you do.

 

[Yee-Ming]

I was told years ago by an attorney (about 95 I think) that although big-city law firms would pay 6-figure salaries, that's only big cities. his brother in law started working in a small town (maybe in Iowa, can't remember) for about $30K.

having said that, I know someone who got a law degree here in Singapore, got into Harvard for an LLM, and started on US$140K. without having been admitted to any US bar, although by now she's no doubt been admitted to New York.

but the bottom line is, you must like what you do. if you love it, so much the better. I don't hate what I do, but it's certainly lost its initial allure. but I keep going 'cos the money's pretty good. YMMV.

 

[DonRoeber]

Josh,
I meant no offense to New Yorkers. My point was only that one shouldn't consider moving to a specific locale for a higher salary, when there are other factors to consider.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

My mom really wants me to become a doctor. She says that is a very rewarding profession and also pays big bucks.

So does my mother. But the fact is, you should do something because you want to do it, not because your mother requests it of you.

I went the biology route (hated it, I wish I went Chemistry instead), graduated with a B.S., and I took a year off to do volunteer work at a hospital. I'm in the current process of applying for Medical Schools, and I've gotten an interview at one of the four places I applied.

As a child, I wanted to be a doctor because of the money and prestige that came with being one. My dad, an otolaryngology specialists, made some good money back in the day.

Fast foward to today, and there are a shit load of problems with the medical field. Insurance costs are rising on both sides of the field. You're getting sicker people everyday, and nobody appreciates the work you do.

I volunteer in the E.R. in a small hospital in my home town, and they do a ton of work for ungrateful people that pass. I've done E.R. volunteering in a larger hospital in Lexington, KY, and it's even worse.

And the money? Forget it. I wouldn't be surprised if salaries for physicians were averaging 5 figures by the time I'm 30 years old.

Having said all that, I'm more than happy to become a doctor. Why? Because it's in my heart, and I feel that it's the right thing to do. It suits my talent and love of helping people out.

My mom want me to be either an eye doctor or an ear, nose, and throat one like my dad. You make good money, and you don't face a lot of the hassles of frivolous lawsuits, and you don't work as hard, relative to other physician practices. Personally, I want to be an orthopedic surgeon or an E.R. trauma surgeon. My parents think I'm nuts if I want to be a trauma surgeon.

 

[JoshF]

I meant no offense to New Yorkers. My point was only that one shouldn't consider moving to a specific locale for a higher salary, when there are other factors to consider.

Don: None taken at all. Sorry if my post came off that way.

Dome: It's good that you're being realistic about the medical profession.

One of my brothers is a doctor. The other is a chef. The chef makes more money, and he's happier. Imagine.

 

[Justin Lane]

Like others have said, I think you should find the niche you are good at and stick to that. Yes there is money to be had as a doctor (my cousin, a nuero surgeon makes >500k per year), but you have to have a passion for what you will be doing. I know people in med school now who are strictly there because they want to be "rich". I feel sorry for these people where their life is dominated by a drive for money that will never be fully satisfied.

Seriously I would avoid going for a degree in Biology. If you don't get into med-school you will probably be stuck in teaching, or low paying reasearch (though there are other jobs out there). There is nothing wrong with either choice, but if money is your key objective, this is not where you will find it.

J

 

[Scott_lb]

A few thoughts...

1. I'd agree with the previous post regarding sales. My mom sells real estate (and is damn good at it) and earns six figures. My brother has been at it for three years and earns six figures as well. Come to think of it, he pisses me off. He put no effort in high school, screwed around with his life until he was 28 and then started making big money. Bastard!

2. I am in the final stages of earning my PhD for a field that pays very comporable to a general pracitioner of medicine, and yes it will pay off financially IN THE LONG RUN. I have a buttload of student loans that I will need to pay off and it sucks big time. Furthermore, I have lost out on ten years of my life (I'm 28 now) to invest. Therefore, when factoring in opportunity cost, it will cost me much, much more than the cost of my student loan. I can tell you that people who earn PhD's or MD's have to make more sacrifices than most people are likely aware of. I cannot even begin to describe the amount of work I have had to put in over the past few years, let alone undergrad. I know your mom probably just wants what's best for you, however, you should make your decisions based on data- not what your mom thinks. Become a doctor is very, very hard and is not the right fit for everyone.

As an aside, I would encourage you not to make your career decision based solely on money. There are many, many other factors that come into play that are often times more important. When solely examing the financial aspect of your career choice- how much is enough? $60,000? $100,000? $150,000? Remember- life is not a game of having more than everyone else (at least for most people). There will always be someone with a bigger house, a nicer car, and bigger pocketbook than you. I would encourage you to find a career that you:

1. enjoy
2. is intellectually stimulating
3. is aligned with your personal values
4. is financially sensible
5. allows you to allocate time to your personal life as well. There are a lot of people out there who earn sick amounts of money who see their kids only once a month.

There are many reliable career search tools out there that you can use, and whichever route you go, I would highly encourage you to base your decisions on valid data. I didn't, and I now have to pay for it the hard way.

 

[Ryan Tsang]

I'll shed some light on dentistry:

Never do dentistry for the money alone. The money's big right out of school, but a lot of kids don't realize how much debt they'll be in. More importantly, I think dentistry takes alot of focus (if you want to be good, that is). It requires attention to technical detail, ability to deal with the public, continuing education, problem solving skills, and good business sense.

Most importantly, you gotta love what you do. I feel very fortunate to be one the few people who look forward going to work (almost) everyday. Without my passion, my dentistry would suck, I'd never upgrade, and I would just try to get as many people thru my door as possible. I'd rather starve than see the quality of my work turn to shit. I know more dentists that I would like to admit who are driven by their bottom line, rather than the art and science of dentistry.

On a positive note, we have great hours, flexibility, security, freedom to be your own boss, and dental hygienists are HOT!

#1 advice: forget the cash
#2 advice: forget your mom (I dissed mine)
#3 advice: ask any dentist and see if he/she would let you follow him around for a day. No one else can give you better advice about a job than the person doing it.

 

[Calvin_Su]

Think about sales, too.

I made over 180k in 2002.(Plus bonuses!!)
The hours are great, no boss around at all, and I come and go as I please. I spend a good part of the day just doing whatever I want at my office. Sometimes cooking up a nice lunch, sometimes surfing the net, sometimes just watching TV, and sometimes just taking a nice nap.
I love my job......!!!
(And a college education is not necessarily required!!)

Seriously, is this typical in your field? That sounds like my fantasy job.

 

[Scott_lb]

I'm not going to speak for the guy who is raking in serious cash in real estate, but I can tell you that it is indeed possible to make serious money in the real estate industry. I took a real estate course in college and my instructor (who held a master's degree in real estate) stated that it is very normal for those with Master's degrees in real estate to pull in $250,000 to $500,000 a year. I don't know if that's true or not, but I wouldn't doubt it if it were true. I do know that my mom makes six figures selling houses, as does my brother. She just got a new job at a new firm with bigger "movers and shakers." Their top performers pull in over $200,000 a year easy. She is looking forward to joining them too (and I hope she does)!

I can try to shed some light on whether that is "typical behavior". Basically, many salespeople sit in a house waiting for potential buyers to come in and check out the house and you help them out. Now, there are obviously times when no one comes in and different salespeople do different things. Some choose to try to advance themselves professionally in any way they can- assist clients, learn new techniques, etc. Some others choose less productive methods and (usually) don't earn the highest salaries. Therefore, based upon the knowledge gained from my mother, I would argue that the money is typical for people who are good salespeople and work very hard at improving their professional advancement. Remember, there are also countless people who try to sell real estate and fail miserably!

 

[Francois Caron]

I'm heavily into IT. In fact, I've been working for the same company for over twelve years. I started as a junior programmer and worked my way up to director of software development. HP3000, MPE-V, PC, DCT7527, OS/2, Windows NT, Windows XP, DB2, Cobol, C, C++, Java, scale indicators, traffic lights, proximity sensors, dumb terminals, bar code scanners... I've touched just about everything except device drivers and 3D game engines.

I'm heavily involved in the creation and ongoing development of our automated weigh scale system. There are days where I might feel the computer system is "out to get me" , but there's no better feeling than seeing my hard work pay off big time. When I see our computer system automatically guide a truck on a flatbed scale, ensure it's centered properly, record the transaction and the truck's weight at the swipe of a card, and repeat this process on three scales simultaneously a couple hundred times a day without so much as a hiccup, well I just feel great! And all this is happening on a single PC!

I love my job! I might not be earning a six figure salary at this time, but I also don't have to deal with the aggravation that usually accompanies one of those high paying jobs (you never get something for nothing). I leave the office at a reasonable time, rarely work excessively late, and always get the job done. The job pays me more than enough money to enjoy a very comfortable lifestyle including owning my own home (a loft in a trendy part of town).

Money isn't everything. Happiness is! Find out what you love to do the most and go for it! The better you are at what you do, the better you'll find your optimum comfort spot.

 

[Mike Blais]

My suggestion? Get a trade, you'll never be out of work and can always move up. I did my 4 year auto apprenticeship and worked for a year as a technician. I was in a car accident that stopped me from working as a tech (bad back now). I now have a job as a service advisor that allows me far more room for movement than working as a tech did. My job pays well and I enjoy it (though I miss working on the cars), but the big payoff was the fact that if I didn't have my trade I wouldn't have the job I have now.
Trades open doors and especially now that there is starting to be a shortage as people retire. Not sure about the wages in the states but most trades here start at 50k a year once you're licensed, you work through your apprenticeship, only hit school a few weeks a year and you don't have to pay for your own school (though tools can cost a bundle).

Just my .02 cents since it's working for me