For you local college kids - The highest paid careers in America today (salary, living)

[Lost_In_Translation]

Just a small point. How well was Petroleum Engineering doing in the 90's??? Not all jobs pay great forever. Making a lifetime education decision based on a highest paid list today doesn't guarantee any particular future. As an individual, it is still important to work hard at what you love and stand out above the rest. Yes, some professions have a higher demand right now, but that doesn't mean it's for everybody or will always be that way.

[Johnhw2]

Originally Posted by Lost_In_Translation

Just a small point. How well was Petroleum Engineering doing in the 90's??? Not all jobs pay great forever. Making a lifetime education decision based on a highest paid list today doesn't guarantee any particular future. As an individual, it is still important to work hard at what you love and stand out above the rest. Yes, some professions have a higher demand right now, but that doesn't mean it's for everybody or will always be that way.

You missed my point above, in the 90s oil companies did slow or some even stopped hiring petroleum engineers.

Most today recognize that boom/bust mentality for an engineer hiring pattern plugs up the petroleum engineering university pipeline for talent. Now they hire ratably from universities in the low years so those majoring in this field will see jobs even if oil prices drop again signifcantly. Those already in the business do ok when the low prices hit as they are in management and the oils will move engineers to other areas like purchasing etc where the candidates are much more plentiful so laying off can be reversed by hiring from other industries when a boom hits and the engineers are needed back in engineering.

But I agree with your fundamental point that is a career which is at a peak now for pay will likely not always be at the top despite the current severe engineer shortage as the boomer engineers are retiring ot going to consulting so they can control their schedule and boss etc.

[lipbalm]

I would have liked to be an NBA player (I hear they make millions) but that was NEVER going to happen no matter how hard I tried since I am only 5'10" and can't jump very high :-(

[AK123]

Anything in the medical field will continue to be a good bet. I'm surprised more people don't look to become physician assistants... good money and virtually the same job as a nurse practitioner without having to do all of that nursing first.

As for the snide comments on liberal arts majors, yes, it irks me too. We're not all the same. Many universities group majors like economics and psychology in with the College of Liberal Arts, even though these majors require much more analytic thought, use the scientific method, take statistics, etc. Which is a lot different than an English or history major, sorry. Some universities have these more analytic majors in a separate college and they earn a BS rather than a BA, which makes much more sense. But, I was going to UT-Austin over UH, so I had no control of that.

And by the way, I'd bet a lot of those who are #13 on the list were liberal arts majors if they weren't business. Same for #8. And #10 likely started out as a liberal arts major undergrad before going on to the advanced degree. So there!

[MIBS98]

Originally Posted by Oildog

I send articles like that to my friends with kids. They all want to know what jobs pay well, and contrary to many opinions, you dont just fall into them. They require planning and lots of class work.

I'm almost #4 as a chemical engineer but I work downstream.

Once upon a time a study was conducted to examine the correlation between being financially successful and loving what you do. I learned about this study 5-10 years ago so the details are pretty fuzzy for me now but I can still capture the general idea.

The study was a multi-year study beginning (I believe) with kids in university then tracked them for 20 years or something like that. I don't remember the number of kids in the study, but let's say it was 200.

100 kids were focusing on a particular area of study because it would lead to a job where they would make a lot of money.

100 kids were focusing on a particular area of study because they had a strong interest in the field, in other words they were pursuing something that they liked without regards for how much jobs paid.

At the end of the 20 or however many year study, there were 20 millionaires out of the 200 students (again, don't remember the exact number but I do remember the split below).

Of the 20, 1 belonged to one of the above groups, the other 19 belonged to the other group. So, which would group would you expect to hear the 19 were a part of?

Most people would say the 19 were a part of the group who pursued lines of study and careers because the jobs in those careers paid well. Actually, it was the other way around. Generally, the group that pursued things they were interested in far outperformed the group that pursued high paying jobs.

Moral of the story for me (and something I have observed myself consistently throughout my life): if you love what you do, you go to bed looking forward to the next day. You don't drag yourself through the week, you perform better in your job than others. You are more likely to excel.

If you pursue something for money, but don't have a true love for it then you are always looking forward to Friday, you are less motivated, you tend to under perform.

It is far better to encourage a young adult to pursue that which they truly love as opposed to steering them to high paying careers.

[texas7]

Good list for kids who are looking to get a degree that will lead to a high-paying job. Some people are motivated by making the most money possible. Others, while those are high-paying will choose to take a lesser paying career to seek a job in something they love. I have an "artsy" family member who makes enough to get by but is happy with life and happy with his work/life balance ... wouldn't be for me but is for him.

[MDinTelfair]

I agree with you here, there are a lot of colleges pushing kids into degrees that will be very hard to:
1) find a job
2) have a decent income.
3) have a stable income to raise a family, if one chooses to do so.

To be competitive one should strive for the best. Yes it does look like the list is science heavy as far as degrees go, but facts are facts. Not all professions pays the same...there are reasons for that. But again, if you are happy with what you do fine. In my family growing up there was (and still is) a strong emphasis to be either a Doctor or Engineer or Dentist. Interestingly, 90%+ of my family from my generation on are in those fields. My kids are also interested in following in my foot steps too ...To each there own. My reasoning was that I can't deal with the economic up down cycles so i am in a field that is recession proof...so far...

Originally Posted by ethanw

Those statistics are right on the money for me(#4) and my wife(#1).
And yes you can be anything you can be as far as my concern goes. Get the education, start and improve your career, continue learning through your career, demonstrate you can do whatever you were trained in, end of the story.
Most of the kids should know in school what they want to do and they should be smart about the path they take maximizing their potential careers and income.
And "liberal arts major"? I won't make any coments about that.....

[cvc5049]

I was a liberal arts major (Industrial/Organizational psych) at a liberal state school in the Northeast...and I graduated with a BS in Psychology. I came out of school making over three quarters of #15's salary, and it's been on a steady upswing since. I'm now two years out and very happy....Hating on LA majors is kind of old and elitist. ....Also, my career is not on that list.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by Lost_In_Translation

Just a small point. How well was Petroleum Engineering doing in the 90's??? Not all jobs pay great forever. Making a lifetime education decision based on a highest paid list today doesn't guarantee any particular future.

As long as there is electricity, I'll have a job

[EasilyAmused]

I've known more than just a few liberal arts majors that ended up making far more than a doctor...I wouldn't knock any degree. Success and salary have a lot to do with personality,likeability and connections.