Highest Paying Jobs in the U.S.
Looking for a bigger paycheck in the US? If you’re not in the medical industry, you’re pretty much out of luck.
Health care jobs, ranging from dentists to surgeons, dominate the list of the 20 highest paying jobs, but there are some other professions sprinkled in.
Click ahead for the jobs that pulled the highest pay last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some similar jobs have been grouped together.
Pyschiatrists: $163,660
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry and is certified in treating mental disorders.[1] All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy. As part of their evaluation of the patient, psychiatrists are one of the few mental health professionals who may prescribe psychiatric medication, conduct physical examinations, order and interpret laboratory tests and electroencephalograms, and may order brain imaging studies such as computed tomography or computed axial tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography scanning
Psychiatrists pulled in a median hourly wage of $77.04 last year
Family & General Practitioners: $168,500
Medical professions, including oral surgeons and orthodontists, dominated the government’s latest list of the top-paying jobs in America. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its summary of American jobs and salaries in 2009. Overall, the average annual salary across all professions in the U.S. was $43,460 — an median hourly rate of just $15.95.
CEO: $167,280
CEOs pulled in a median hourly wage of $77.27 in 2009. (Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd Blankfein, pictured on the left, pulled in a total of $9 million last year. Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz did far better, bringing in a pay package worth $47.2 million.)
Physicians & Surgeons: $173,860
Physicians and surgeons — including all the doctors not covered in the other categories — earned an average hourly wage of $83.59.
Internists: $183,990
America’s 48,270 internists earned an hourly wage of $88.46 on average in 2009.
Obstetricians and Gynecologists: $204,470
Average hour wage for an OB/GYN in America was $98.31 in 2009.
Orthodontists: $206,190
The average hourly wage for an orthodontist was $99.13 in 2009.
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons: $210,70
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons brought home an average wage of $101.30 per hour.
Anesthesiologists: $211,750
The nation’s 37,450 anesthesiologists were paid an average of $101.80 per hour in 2009.
Surgeons: $219,770
U.S. Surgeons pulled in an average of $105.66 per hour last year.