What Are the Top 20 Highest Paying Jobs in the US?

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The forum discussion centers on the top 20 highest paying jobs in the United States, highlighting that surgeons, obstetricians, and anesthesiologists dominate the list with annual salaries exceeding $130,000. The conversation also touches on the disparity in earnings among professions, with lawyers and computer information systems managers earning significantly less than expected. Additionally, participants discuss the impact of business expenses, such as malpractice insurance for doctors, on net income. The discussion concludes with a comparison of salaries and taxation between the US and the Netherlands, emphasizing the complexities of income distribution and educational costs.

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http://editorial.careers.msn.com/articles/highestpay/

doctors, doctors, doctors..

1. Surgeons
$65.89/hr
$137,050/yr

2. Obstetricians and gynecologists
$64.15/hr
$133,430/yr

3. Anesthesiologists
$63.31/hr
$131,680/yr

4. Internists, general
$61.03/hr
$126,940/yr

5. Pediatricians, general
$56.03/hr
$116,550/yr

6. Psychiatrists
$54.60/hr
$113,570/yr

7. Family and general practitioners
$52.89/hr
$110,020/yr

8. Dentists
$53.28/hr
$110,820/yr

9. Chief Executives
$51.77/hr
$107,670/yr

10. Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers
(N/A)
$99,400/yr

11. Podiatrists
$45.43/hr
$94,500/yr

12. Lawyers
$44.19/hr
$91,920/yr

13. Optometrists
$42.35/hr
$88,100/yr

14. Computer and information systems managers
$40.33/hr
$83,890/yr

15. Physicists
$40.26/hr
$83,750/yr

16. Air traffic controllers
$40.07/hr
$83,350/yr

17. Petroleum Engineers
$39.33/hr
$81,800/yr

18. Nuclear Engineers
$38.56/hr
$80,200/yr

19. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates
$38.24/hr
$79,540/yr

20. Marketing Managers
$37.70/hr
$78,410/yr
 
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Number 9 is very vauge..


I'm glad to see we made the top 20. I wonder if there's a similar list for the UK..

Jonathan
 
Worst poaid jobs in the UK, per annum:

Waitress £9,048

Women kitchen porters £9,545

Women Bar staff £9,763

Shelf-fillers £10,105

Women launderers £10,195

Source: T & G


Jonathan
 
? why do women make less money ?
 
From Forbes:

America's Worst-Paying Jobs*
Code: 
[u]Occupation        Total Employment  Median Annual Earnings[/u]
Fast-Food Cooks   522,000           $13,590  
Cafeteria Workers 431,000           $13,580  
Fast-Food Servers 2,206,000         $13,550  
Waiters           1,983,000         $13,350  
Casino Dealer     88,000            $13,330
*All data for calendar-year 2000. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
 
Wow, casino dealers?

Random..
 
not to rub it in even more, but I would tend to think the surgeon average is above the 200K mark.

CIS MGR - with a 4 year degree, ranked right below a lawyer with 8 years of school. But those probably aren't recent stats, I'm sure IT stats have dropped drastically.

shocker on the casino dealer. I thought they made a lot of money.
 
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I bet the surgeon (and other doctors) are as low as they are because they already factored in business expenses. Doctors, and to a lesser extent, lawyers, pay malpractice insurance. The other jobs on that list do not.

What suprises me is how little they have lawyers making. I only know 4 lawyers well enough to have an idea of what they make, and all make well over 100K, only one makes less than 150k, and one makes ungodly money.

Njorl
 
Apparently not all lawyers make a lot of money, since all are averages :) I don't know how they factored in starting salary and 30-year practice salaries..

100k.. I wonder which percentage goes to IRS?

I know in the Netherlands people making, say, 20k pay far less tax then people who make 80k, equaling social classes. I have a very strong inclination to think that things work the other way around in the US. People making a lot of money are fiscally in a better position.
 
  • #10
Originally posted by Njorl
I bet the surgeon (and other doctors) are as low as they are because they already factored in business expenses. Doctors, and to a lesser extent, lawyers, pay malpractice insurance. The other jobs on that list do not.

What suprises me is how little they have lawyers making. I only know 4 lawyers well enough to have an idea of what they make, and all make well over 100K, only one makes less than 150k, and one makes ungodly money.

Njorl

Doctors vary on that aspect. If they are working for a hospital, the insurance will often be taken care of for them. If they are in private practice, insurance can run up to 100K/year.

And on a side note, most people tend to forget that the average doctor carries about 150-200K in outstanding loan debt out of medical school. Personally I don't think it's out of proportion to what they do
 
  • #11
I am planning on being a philosopher. I am not surprised not to see that up there... I know I am going to be poor. :frown:
 
  • #12
Originally posted by RageSk8
I am planning on being a philosopher. I am not surprised not to see that up there... I know I am going to be poor. :frown:

I remember a comedy sketch advertising "The AIRCo Technical Institute of Philosophy"

"Yes, you too can earn as much as some poets!"

Njorl
 
  • #13
Originally posted by Zantra
150-200K
are.. you.. serious.. gee :) I am paying $3000 for a two year master, I have heard about two day courses in the US that carry the same price tag

Why doesn't US government pay for education??
 
  • #14
Why doesn't US government pay for education??

Republicans.
 
  • #15
Hey! Not only did the US government pay for my last two years as an undergrad, they paid all my grad school tuition, AND paid me a salary while in grad school!

Obviously this is the height of altruism.

I'm sure my agreement to work as a physicist for the army for five years at low pay had nothing at all to do with it. :wink:

Njorl
 
  • #16
Originally posted by Monique
? why do women make less money ?

Why do YOU think this is true?
 
  • #17
Originally posted by jono
Worst poaid jobs in the UK, per annum:

Waitress £9,048
Women kitchen porters £9,545
Women Bar staff £9,763
Shelf-fillers £10,105
Women launderers £10,195
Source: T & G

Jonathan
Because of Jono's post..
 
  • #18
you're trying to understand british society?
 
  • #19
Originally posted by Monique
are.. you.. serious.. gee :) I am paying $3000 for a two year master, I have heard about two day courses in the US that carry the same price tag

Why doesn't US government pay for education??

you can apply for grants/scholarships, but unless you're going to Harvard or Johns Hopkins, there's inevitably always a shortfall.
 
  • #20
Here (probably most of Europe) government automatically pays for 4 years of higher education, the amount you actually get depends on the economic status of your parents. The less they earn the more you get. Ofcourse the taxes we pay in the Netherlands are no doubt higher than in the US.. but guess what: the people who earn the most money have to pay a much higher percentage tax.. thus everyone is equal.

In US it seems to be the other way around: the more successfull the kid/family, the more chances it has to get financial support.
 
  • #21
how is everyone equal by paying a bigger percentage of their income. this is ilogical. you mean you work your ass off to get through a lot of years of school and working my brain until it crashes to earn more than the construction worker who quit in grade school and the government imposes me a bigger percentage? This is communist stuff. Do you have a communist government in the Netherlands? I really was planing on coming in Amsterdam for a couple of years. Should I reconsider?
 
  • #22
It only SEEMS that the richer people pay less taxes. While this may be true in practice, it's not by design. Richer people can afford very expensive accountants who can find legal loopholes. they're just working the system. In practice, the percentage of income tax goes UP not down, the higher the pay.
 
  • #23
Originally posted by Sonty
how is everyone equal by paying a bigger percentage of their income. this is ilogical. you mean you work your ass off to get through a lot of years of school and working my brain until it crashes to earn more than the construction worker who quit in grade school and the government imposes me a bigger percentage? This is communist stuff. Do you have a communist government in the Netherlands? I really was planing on coming in Amsterdam for a couple of years. Should I reconsider?
Haha, please come! I think it is actually good to flatten a society like that, it makes sense right? Someone who makes 15k per year will have harder time coming up with 30% tax than someone who makes 115k. We are a democratic country and I think that everyone would agree that the filthy rich have a few extra dimes to spare. There are enought millionairs in the Netherlands though! 3000 in Amsterdam alone, which is a quite low percentage if you look at other cities.

I don't think the rich people are affected at all by this, it is just that you can live a very comfortable life with little education, you won't end up in a trailer park so to say. Americans have incredible zeal and I admire that.
 
  • #24
Originally posted by Monique
Haha, please come!

I will if the University will have me.

I think it is actually good to flatten a society like that, it makes sense right? Someone who makes 15k per year will have harder time coming up with 30% tax than someone who makes 115k. We are a democratic country and I think that everyone would agree that the filthy rich have a few extra dimes to spare. There are enought millionairs in the Netherlands though! 3000 in Amsterdam alone, which is a quite low percentage if you look at other cities.

I don't think the rich people are affected at all by this, it is just that you can live a very comfortable life with little education, you won't end up in a trailer park so to say. Americans have incredible zeal and I admire that. [/B]

I can understand the concept of helping the poor survive, but I don't understand why hit the rich across the head with a hammer. I'm not exactly talking about those who inherit their wealth, but of those with 100k/year. Those are usually professors, lawyers and doctors. Don't you think these guys deserve their money? When you think up a finnancial system you should settle on a percentage and that's it. Anyway the guys with a bigger income will pay more. It's a percentage. And those who cannot afford it get help from the government. That's why you don't set that percentage at the lower limit.

Originally posted by Zantra
Richer people can afford very expensive accountants who can find legal loopholes. they're just working the system.

Now that I met and started to know a number of 20 americans like you advised me, it seems like you started to interact with people from my government back home! What's going on with you? Turn back to the light!
If you know that there are holes in your system you make the taxes bigger so you can pay more on welfare, or what? That's like hiding the garbage under the carpet. It stinks and it shows.
 
  • #25
Originally posted by Sonty
Now that I met and started to know a number of 20 americans like you advised me, it seems like you started to interact with people from my government back home! What's going on with you? Turn back to the light!
If you know that there are holes in your system you make the taxes bigger so you can pay more on welfare, or what? That's like hiding the garbage under the carpet. It stinks and it shows. [/B]

Que est-ce que c'est? Je n'ai pas vraiment d'argent. I wish I were rich enough to take advantage of these tax loops. The US turns hiding garbage into an artform.
 
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  • #26
I just looked up what it pays to be a professor in The Netherlands: the lowest as a starter would be: €56604/yr and highest: €89472/yr.. do I see the € fading and the $ twinkling in your eyes?
 
  • #27
Originally posted by Sonty
how is everyone equal by paying a bigger percentage of their income. this is ilogical. you mean you work your ass off to get through a lot of years of school and working my brain until it crashes to earn more than the construction worker who quit in grade school and the government imposes me a bigger percentage? This is communist stuff. Do you have a communist government in the Netherlands? I really was planing on coming in Amsterdam for a couple of years. Should I reconsider?

The thing is, having a good degree or being hard working does not make you rich. Being born into money and being well connected does. The higher echolons in any democratic society are pretty much stable throughout different generations. And proportionally, in most European countries, the rich pay less taxes then average or poor people. I have no idea where Monique gets her ideas, but it seems to me that if you're a hard-working simple person, you still get buggered in the end.

As far as the Netherlands are concerned, it would not surprise me that the trend would be more tax benefits for the rich, with the right-wing Balkenende governement hinting at such reforms.

And Sonty, I can totally understand that you are disgusted by communism, after all your country has been through. But please do not be discouraged by every form of socialism...
 
  • #28
Well, I am not into politics and economics, but this is what the Economist has to say:

The Netherlands has an advanced economy, which combines high incomes per head with a fairly even income distribution.
http://www.economist.com/countries/Netherlands/profile.cfm?folder=Profile-Economic Structure

I think that an even income distribution should be encouraged, everyone deserves to make a decent living. But yes, there should be an encouragement for people to perform their duties well.

Did you hear about that CEO that was going to take this company out of debt?? I forgot the name, it was about a month ago. The guy was hired with a salary of €10 million! Can you believe it? And where was this money coming from? Forced layoffs, well, Sonty, what is the fairness here.. Better tax that guy good to pay for the poor peoples unemployment. *edit: I just remembered it was the company Ahold*
 
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  • #29
As I said, I am not good in politics or economics, so someone please comment on the following: are incomes regulated in the US? I don't think so, and there are multiple layers from the very poor to the stinking rich. American dream you can say, but I prefer socialism before capitalism anytime..
 
  • #30
I am reading a research tool survey about The Netherlands from The Economist to get more insight in the workings of it all..

Sonty, look at this!

The Netherlands' tax reforms, which cut top marginal income-tax rates to 52%, from a peak of 72%
I think that that means that the top incomes used to get taxed with 72%? whohooo! The tax reform was in 2001, which cut it back to 52%.