Highest-paying jobs, with and without a degree
Pediatric surgeons had the highest reported national median annual wage in this dataset, at $559,030 in May 2025.
At a glance
Pediatric surgeons had the highest reported national median annual wage in this dataset, at $559,030 in May 2025. The table also separates occupations whose usual entry path does not require a college degree. Typical education describes an occupation, not a promise that any applicant can enter it without training.
- A national median is neither a starting salary nor the maximum a worker can earn.
- A role with no degree as its typical entry path can still require training, experience or a license.
- Compare annual openings with pay before choosing a training path.
Which occupations have the highest pay?
Occupations ordered by published median annual wage; exact values appear in the table.
| Occupation | Median annual wage, May 2025 ($) | Typical education for entry | Openings per year (thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric surgeons | $559,030 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0 |
| Cardiologists | $496,010 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0.5 |
| Radiologists | $420,860 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0.7 |
| Surgeons, all other | $414,010 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0.7 |
| Anesthesiologists | $391,490 | Doctoral or professional degree | 1.1 |
| Orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric | $358,550 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0.4 |
| Oral and maxillofacial surgeons | $352,220 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0.2 |
| Emergency medicine physicians | $335,550 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0.9 |
| Dermatologists | $328,730 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0.4 |
| Physicians, pathologists | $312,400 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0.3 |
| Prosthodontists | $311,180 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0 |
| Ophthalmologists, except pediatric | $300,080 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0.2 |
| Obstetricians and gynecologists | $292,910 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0.5 |
| Orthodontists | $289,140 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0.2 |
| Psychiatrists | $281,870 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0.9 |
| Physicians, all other | $265,930 | Doctoral or professional degree | 9.4 |
| General internal medicine physicians | $256,560 | Doctoral or professional degree | 1.9 |
| Neurologists | $248,560 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0.3 |
| Family medicine physicians | $244,180 | Doctoral or professional degree | 2.9 |
| Nurse anesthetists | $236,590 | Master's degree | 2.4 |
| Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers | $232,140 | Bachelor's degree | 11.2 |
| Dentists, all other specialists | $224,990 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0.1 |
| Chief executives | $213,990 | Bachelor's degree | 19.1 |
| Pediatricians, general | $210,040 | Doctoral or professional degree | 1 |
| Industrial-organizational psychologists | $193,950 | Master's degree | 0.3 |
| Computer and information systems managers | $175,140 | Bachelor's degree | 53.5 |
| Physicists | $172,250 | Doctoral or professional degree | 1.3 |
| Architectural and engineering managers | $171,270 | Bachelor's degree | 14.9 |
| Dentists, general | $170,950 | Doctoral or professional degree | 4.2 |
| Natural sciences managers | $167,220 | Bachelor's degree | 9.2 |
Which high-paying jobs do not typically require a degree?
Commercial pilots led the no-degree group at $123,220 a year. The entry education category is a postsecondary nondegree award, not no training.[1]
| Occupation | Median annual wage, May 2025 ($) | Typical education for entry | Openings per year (thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial pilots | $123,220 | Postsecondary nondegree award | 5.2 |
| Nuclear power reactor operators | $122,890 | High school diploma or equivalent | 0.4 |
| Elevator and escalator installers and repairers | $109,910 | High school diploma or equivalent | 1.9 |
| Ship engineers | $109,530 | Postsecondary nondegree award | 0.9 |
| Transportation, storage, and distribution managers | $107,230 | High school diploma or equivalent | 18.3 |
| Power distributors and dispatchers | $106,730 | High school diploma or equivalent | 0.7 |
| First-line supervisors of police and detectives | $106,040 | High school diploma or equivalent | 10.6 |
| Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay | $103,020 | Postsecondary nondegree award | 1.8 |
| Power plant operators | $102,040 | High school diploma or equivalent | 2.3 |
| Makeup artists, theatrical and performance | $97,150 | Postsecondary nondegree award | 0.6 |
| Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers | $96,710 | High school diploma or equivalent | 2.7 |
| Postmasters and mail superintendents | $96,660 | High school diploma or equivalent | 0.9 |
| Electrical power-line installers and repairers | $95,320 | High school diploma or equivalent | 10.9 |
| Detectives and criminal investigators | $93,790 | High school diploma or equivalent | 7.8 |
| First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers | $93,530 | Postsecondary nondegree award | 6.6 |
| Gambling managers | $93,220 | High school diploma or equivalent | 0.6 |
| Signal and track switch repairers | $92,460 | High school diploma or equivalent | 0.8 |
| Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels | $92,460 | Postsecondary nondegree award | 3.8 |
| Transportation inspectors | $92,100 | High school diploma or equivalent | 2.3 |
| Transit and railroad police | $90,230 | High school diploma or equivalent | 0.3 |
How pay and entry education were compared
For the top no-degree role, the published annual openings figure is 5.2 thousand. Multiplying by a thousand gives about 5,200 openings a year, including replacement openings.[1]
Limits of a high-pay ranking
Wages cover employees and exclude self-employed earnings, overtime, shift differentials and benefits. The May 2025 wage period predates current job advertisements.[1]
Employment projections cover 2025 to 2035 and are scenarios, not promises of vacancies. Annual openings include people leaving an occupation as well as new jobs.[1]
What this means for a career decision
Shortlist roles by both entry requirements and likely openings. Then check training cost, licensing and local demand before committing to a program.
The career change guide helps compare routes. The salary negotiation guide helps turn a specific offer into a pay discussion.
Data and method
Employment projections and pay by occupation, 2025 to 2035
One row per detailed occupation in BLS's 2025 National Employment Matrix: employment in 2025 and projected for 2035, annual openings, the May 2025 median wage, the typical entry education (and whether that is a degree), and BLS's relative AI exposure category.
- Source
- Employment Projections, Table 1.2, with the AI exposure categories, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Release
- 2025 to 2035 projections, released August 27, 2026
- Period
- 2025 to 2035 (projections); wages May 2025
- Method
- Rows are the "Line item" (detailed occupation) rows of Table 1.2 in BLS's occupation.xlsx; summary rows are left out and titles are trimmed of their indentation. Figures are copied as published; "—" is left empty. The degree column groups BLS's typical entry education: no formal credential, high school, some college and postsecondary nondegree award are "No degree"; associate's and above are "Degree". The AI exposure category is joined by SOC code from BLS's ai-exposure-categories.xlsx and is empty where BLS gives none.
- License
- Public domain
- Retrieved
Limits
- Projections are BLS scenarios for 2035 under assumptions about the economy and population, not forecasts of any one employer's hiring; they are revised every year.
- Wages are OEWS May 2025 medians for wage and salary workers. They exclude the self-employed, overtime, shift differentials, bonuses and benefits. BLS publishes no wage for six occupations (actors, dancers, musicians and singers, disc jockeys, other entertainers, and fishing and hunting workers); those cells are empty.
- Typical education is BLS's assignment of the usual entry path, not a legal requirement: many people enter with more or less education (registered nurses are assigned a bachelor's degree although many enter with an associate's degree).
- AI exposure categories are relative and are not forecasts. In BLS's words, "Exposure does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability, or wage effects" and "An exposure category is not a forecast of employment growth or decline." The theoretical measures reflect AI models available by about mid-2023.
- Figures are national only. Employment and openings are in thousands, rounded to the nearest hundred jobs.
Sources & approach
Scope: US wage and salary estimates for the stated period, not a quote for an individual job or a promise of earnings. Check the written offer and the applicable employer terms before deciding.
Based on the public sources linked below. Job.com selected and organized the data; no internal company data is used.
- Employment Projections, Table 1.2, with the AI exposure categoriesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Accessed October 23, 2026
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