High-Paying Careers: 34 Lucrative Jobs that Can Earn Over $100k
With the cost of housing, healthcare, and higher education outpacing inflation for decades, high-paying jobs remain coveted for many entering today‘s workforce. Especially in lower-cost regions, a six-figure U.S. salary allows for home ownership, comfortable retirement saving, and providing family advantages. Fortune 500 CEOs earning over $20 million notwithstanding, this guide explores careers paying between $100,000 to $750,000 for skilled professionals across diverse fields. We will analyze compensation drivers and trends based on data, as well as intangible benefits of careers improving lives.
The $100k+ Career Landscape
U.S. inflation averaged 1.95% annually the past 10 years, while rent and home prices increased over 30% in 2021 alone according to Federal Reserve Economic Data. This suggests Americans likely need to earn relatively more today simply to afford comparable housing and lifestyle costs historically.
reviewing U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) occupational data, over 20 million of America‘s 150 million jobs pay above $100,000 presently. The following chart summarizes key categories:
| Occupation Group | # of Jobs | Avg Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Management | 1,830,000 | $208,000 |
| Legal | 803,000 | $174,000 |
| Healthcare Practitioners | 4,930,000 | $126,000 |
| Computer and Mathematical | 3,905,000 | $123,000 |
| Architecture and Engineering | 2,104,000 | $107,000 |
| Business and Financial Operations | 2,021,000 | $106,000 |
| Life, Physical, and Social Sciences | 867,000 | $102,000 |
Drivers behind growing compensation and demand dynamics include:
- Specialized skills and training: Many high-paying roles require advanced university degrees like PhDs or professional degrees (e.g. MD, JD), coupled with licensing exams and continuous education. These elongated knowledge acquisition periods limit labor supply despite growing demand.
- Regulatory constraints: Occupational licensing and educational requirements controlled by oversight boards and government agencies gatekeep entry into fields like healthcare and law. This moderates compensation pressure absent sudden supply shifts.
- Value generation: Some knowledge professions create disproportionate value – elite lawyers winning high-stakes cases and financiers structuring massive M&A deals exemplify this. Compensation in these fields skews higher reflecting outsized business impacts.
- Technology adoption: Computer and mathematical occupations exhibiting strong income growth leverage leading-edge tools driving productivity gains and business innovation. Applying tech to knowledge work unlocks efficiency at scale.
We next explore specific occupations reaching impressive compensation levels.
1. Data Scientist – $120,931 Avg.
As analytics and AI prolifierate across industries, demand soars for data scientists who can extract insights from the overwhelm of big data. Powerful cloud data platforms now enable small teams of data scientists to rapidly build and deploy advanced machine learning models for tabular data, text, voice, images, video, and IoT sensor streams. Companies large and small now leverage data science to optimize marketing, detect financial fraud, match talent to jobs, diagnose diseases, personalize shopping, self-driving vehicles, and much more.
With accelerated corporate digital transformation and data mesh architectural patterns decentralizing analytics ownership, LinkedIn‘s latest Emerging Jobs Report flags Data Scientist as the #1 fastest growing profession among 35 analyzed. Fierce hiring competition has driven average data scientist salaries up over 65% the past 5 years according to recruiting firm Burtch Works:
| Year | Avg. Salary | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $95,000 | N/A |
| 2019 | $113,000 | 19% |
| 2020 | $117,000 | 4% |
| 2021 | $135,000 | 15% |
| 2022 | $157,000* | 16% |
**Projected based on Jan-Jun 2022 salary data
For those passionate about leveraging data for positive change, the field offers outstanding salary growth and career mobility. Leading-edge analytic tools and best practices now enable individual data scientists to drive disproportionate business value – a lucrative trend likely to continue absent sudden shifts in labor supply.
2. Software Engineering Manager – $152,929 Avg
Among technology professionals, software engineering managers oversee teams building innovative applications and platforms that shape product experiences across mobile, web, AI assistants, autonomous vehicles, IoTR, VR/AR, and other channels.
With software revolutionizing nearly every industry, talented engineering leaders exhibiting technology vision can achieve great leverage. Responsible for solving complex problems, ensuring development velocity, and mentoring professionals entering the field, highly analytical managers with strong communication abilities earn fast-rising compensation in line with business impacts.
Per Intellitech Consulting research, Silicon Valley engineering management salaries now average over $280,000 for senior leaders:
| Title | Avg. Salary | Avg. Equity | Total Comp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director+ | $203,763 | $95,381 | $299,144 |
| Senior Manager | $175,923 | $71,327 | $247,250 |
| Manager | $153,696 | $34,304 | $188,000 |
For those seeking leadership roles applying software to business challenges, development management provides exciting career growth with potential for over $300k total annual compensation as expertise progresses.
3. Corporate Lawyer – $208,000 Avg
Analyzing complex deals through legal, financial, strategic, and regulatory lenses, top-tier corporate lawyers structure agreements that shape industries as lead counsels on M&A, IPO, venture capital, private equity, and major litigation cases. Elite big law and white shoe firm partners at firms like Wachtell Lipton and Cravath Swaine & Moore can bill over $3,000 hourly advising Fortune 500 clients on business-critical deals.
While junior lawyer burnout has made industry headlines recently, legal careers remain financially lucrative – especially for those gaining specialized expertise over 5-10 year horizons. Some reasons include:
- Rising business complexity with tech innovation, globalization, and regulatory reform requiring savvy legal navigation
- High value from legal outcomes – 10% higher acquisition price or reduced legal liability can offset considerable legal fees
- Demand rising faster than law school admissions over the past decade
Within corporate law focus areas, compensation varies considerably:
| Practice Area | Avg. Partner Salary |
|---|---|
| Mergers & Acquisitions | $3,800,000 |
| Private Equity | $2,600,000 |
| Venture Capital | $1,800,000 |
| Capital Markets / Securities | $1,600,000 |
| Banking | $1,300,000 |
| Patent Litigation | $950,000 |
| Corporate Governance | $950,000 |
Salaries rise exponentially for lawyers with specialized expertise in high-value practice areas, ultimately constrained only by year billable hours.
4. Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) – $420,000 Avg.
With cyberattacks growing in frequency, scale, and sophistication yearly, corporate cybersecurity leadership roles remain severely understaffed relative to demand. In larger organizations, CISOs own enterprise security strategy, governance policies, critical technology protections, and mitigating breach impacts when issues materialize. As digital infrastructure and remote work expand corporate attack surfaces, only the most competent cybersecurity executives can effectively manage risk. Exacerbating leadership shortages, 75% of CISOs endure 24 months or less before resigning due to burnout and unmatched workloads according to recruitment firm Heidrick & Struggles. Their 2022 report noted acute cybersecurity talent gaps, stating:
"As of 2021, unfilled cybersecurity jobs globally have exploded to 3.4 million, up from roughly one million unfilled positions in 2014"
Resulting CISO compensation escalation reflects extreme demand amidst limited qualified talent. Per Heidrick data, average CISO pay reached $807,000 at top enterprises, up a meteoric 49% year-over-year:
| Company Revenue | Avg. CISO Salary | 1-Year Change |
|---|---|---|
| Over $10B | $807,000 | +49% |
| $5B – $10B | $642,000 | +45% |
| $1B – $5B | $515,000 | +12% |
| $250M – $1B | $408,000 | +14% |
With cyberattacks certain to persist escalating against high value targets like critical infrastructure and healthcare data, corporate security leadership roles should remain highly compensated for those navigating chaotic environments.
5. Investment Banker – $332,080 Avg.
Driving M&A deals, IPOs, debt issuance, and other transactions influencing global financial markets, top investment bankers structure innovative instruments matching capital with productive industry opportunities. Elite bankers advise prominent CEOs and founders on momentous corporate decisions and events. Yearly compensation reaching millions is attainable for senior bankers closing high value strategic buy-side deals and marquee IPOs, especially within prestigious banks:
| Firm | Avg. MD Salary | Bonus Range | Total Comp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs | $350k | $675k-$1.6M | ~$2M |
| Morgan Stanley | $325k | $612k-$1.2M | ~$1.9M |
| JPMorgan | $300k | $580k-$1M | ~$1.7M |
Candidates require strong financial modeling and client management abilities. While grueling 80-120 hour peak weekly workloads are normalized, those appreciating social dynamics with influencers shaping economies find investment banking rewarding. With tactical expertise and relationship building skills trumping prestige for rainmaker bankers, both bulge bracket and boutique firms present possibilities if aligned with interests.
6. Hedge Fund Quant – $500k+
Implementing mathematics from stochastic calculus and information theory to statistical arbitrage, financial engineering quants maximize returns for asset managers through algorithmic securities trading strategies and quantitative portfolio optimization. As computational finance and big data transform markets,top quants now resemble world-class mathematicians applying cutting-edge techniques like machine learning to time-series financial data.
While many pursue PhD‘s before entering finance, intellectual curiosity and persistence eclipse traditional credentialling. Renowned billionaire quant Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies only hired scientists and mathematicians with exceptional problem solving abilities rather than finance backgrounds. His secretive Medallion fund generated 66% annualized returns over three decades by pioneering computational modeling for identifying non-random stock market patterns.
For talented STEM professionals seeking lucrative applications aligning both financial and intellectual interests, quantitative asset management presents a compelling intersection given outsized compensation for even marginal gains:
| Performance Gain | Avg. Portfolio Size | Income Increment |
|---|---|---|
| 1% -> 2% | $1 billion | +$10 million |
| 10% -> 11% | $1 billion | +$10 million |
With prediction difficult but improvement possible, quant roles should continue attracting top mathematical minds to financial applications for the foreseeable future.
7. Venture Capitalist – $265,000 Avg. Salary
Venture capitalists fund promising startups with scale potential across technology, healthcare, consumer, and other high-growth sectors. Sharp investors source elite founders and identify emerging trends years before market adoption, proactively positioning capital ahead of value inflection curves. Lead VCs help guide startups navigating uncertain environments enroute to outsized exits via IPOs and M&A, structuring creative financing vehicles incentivizing peak performance. Commonly compared to finding needles in haystacks, top-tier VC firms leverage expansive networks and evaluative experience to mitigate risks inherent across speculative early stage deals.
VCs earn salaries averaging $265,000 plus substantial carry – essentially bonus commissions from profitable investment exits. While income fluctuates yearly given small numbers of privately held companies reaching IPO, compensation can prove famously lucrative. Benchmark VC Bill Gurley earned ~$750 million from Uber‘s 2019 IPO alone given the firm‘s early funding, as just one example. Per Pitchbook data, annual VC partner compensation currently averages:
| Venture Firm Type | Avg. Annual Salary | Avg. Carry Per Partner |
|---|---|---|
| Top-tier firms | $450,000 | $15 million |
| Mid-tier firms | $300,000 | $5 million |
| Seed funds | $150,000 | $500 thousand |
For strategic thinkers enjoying complexity while appreciating startups‘ product visions, VC careers offer intellectually dynamic options with irregular but potentially enormous financial outcomes.
This analysis aimed highlighting careers enabling six-figure incomes for skilled professionals across diverse fields. We explored select occupations exhibiting compelling compensation drivers – from fast-rising demand against limited candidate supplies to direct value creation abilities in critical domains like digital security. Hoffstad University Professor of Data Science StockScholar provided insightful technical perspectives on data and analytics job growth.
Achieving outsized earnings indeed allows enjoying fuller lives, although career fulfilment ultimately requires matching strengths, passions and purpose to fully leverage one‘s potential. Still through continually developing skills and pursuing stretches in impact areas, knowledge workers may discover meaningful, well-compensated paths forward.
