Occasionally I am surprised to be unable to find basic information on the internet, especially information in which I would expect many people to be interested. On my old Myspace blog I wrote about the lack of per sexual act probabilities of contracting various sexually transmitted diseases, for instance.
I searched most of this morning for a ranking of professions by salary. There were plenty of “best careers” rankings based on salary, job satisfaction, and other factors, but I couldn’t find a simple list by salary. I finally bit the bullet, downloaded the data from the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, and sorted it myself. Below I pasted a chart of the top 100 professions by salary using US national data from 2006. There are a few surprises. On average dentists make more than lawyers, for example, and human resources managers make more than aerospace engineers. Enjoy!
| Rank | Occupation (SOC code) | Annual mean wage(2) |
| 1 | Anesthesiologists(291061) | 184340 |
| 2 | Surgeons(291067) | 184150 |
| 3 | Obstetricians and Gynecologists(291064) | 178040 |
| 4 | Orthodontists(291023) | 176900 |
| 5 | Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons(291022) | 164760 |
| 6 | Internists, General(291063) | 160860 |
| 7 | Prosthodontists(291024) | 158940 |
| 8 | Psychiatrists(291066) | 149990 |
| 9 | Family and General Practitioners(291062) | 149850 |
| 10 | Chief Executives(111011) | 144600 |
| 11 | Physicians and Surgeons, All Other(291069) | 142220 |
| 12 | Pediatricians, General(291065) | 141440 |
| 13 | Dentists, General(291021) | 140950 |
| 14 | Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers(532011) | 140380 |
| 15 | Podiatrists(291081) | 118500 |
| 16 | Lawyers(231011) | 113660 |
| 17 | Air Traffic Controllers(532021) | 110270 |
| 18 | Engineering Managers(119041) | 110030 |
| 19 | Dentists, All Other Specialists(291029) | 108340 |
| 20 | Natural Sciences Managers(119121) | 107970 |
| 21 | Marketing Managers(112021) | 107610 |
| 22 | Computer and Information Systems Managers(113021) | 107250 |
| 23 | Sales Managers(112022) | 102730 |
| 24 | Petroleum Engineers(172171) | 101620 |
| 25 | Financial Managers(113031) | 101450 |
| 26 | General and Operations Managers(111021) | 99280 |
| 27 | Optometrists(291041) | 98550 |
| 28 | Computer and Information Scientists, Research(151011) | 96440 |
| 29 | Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates(231023) | 95640 |
| 30 | Physicists(192012) | 95580 |
| 31 | Astronomers(192011) | 95000 |
| 32 | Human Resources Managers, All Other(113049) | 94910 |
| 33 | Law Teachers, Postsecondary(251112) | 94290 |
| 34 | Pharmacists(291051) | 93500 |
| 35 | Public Relations Managers(112031) | 92250 |
| 36 | Nuclear Engineers(172161) | 92040 |
| 37 | Management Occupations(110000) | 91930 |
| 38 | Actuaries(152011) | 91810 |
| 39 | Computer Hardware Engineers(172061) | 91280 |
| 40 | Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary(251071) | 91260 |
| 41 | Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents(413031) | 90380 |
| 42 | Industrial-Organizational Psychologists(193032) | 89920 |
| 43 | Aerospace Engineers(172011) | 89260 |
| 44 | Managers, All Other(119199) | 87250 |
| 45 | Computer Software Engineers, Systems Software(151032) | 87250 |
| 46 | Mathematicians(152021) | 86780 |
| 47 | Personal Financial Advisors(132052) | 86730 |
| 48 | Training and Development Managers(113042) | 86670 |
| 49 | Political Scientists(193094) | 86370 |
| 50 | Purchasing Managers(113061) | 86020 |
| 51 | Legal Occupations(230000) | 85360 |
| 52 | Physical Scientists, All Other(192099) | 85310 |
| 53 | Advertising and Promotions Managers(112011) | 85140 |
| 54 | Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes(131011) | 84070 |
| 55 | Industrial Production Managers(113051) | 83970 |
| 56 | Economists(193011) | 83500 |
| 57 | Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners, All Other(291199) | 83110 |
| 58 | Sales Engineers(419031) | 83080 |
| 59 | Education Administrators, Postsecondary(119033) | 82820 |
| 60 | Electronics Engineers, Except Computer(172072) | 82820 |
| 61 | Construction Managers(119021) | 82760 |
| 62 | Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary(251042) | 82110 |
| 63 | Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary(251032) | 82080 |
| 64 | Compensation and Benefits Managers(113041) | 82010 |
| 65 | Computer Software Engineers, Applications(151031) | 82000 |
| 66 | Engineers, All Other(172199) | 81750 |
| 67 | Chemical Engineers(172041) | 81600 |
| 68 | Veterinarians(291131) | 81490 |
| 69 | Medical and Health Services Managers(119111) | 81160 |
| 70 | Chiropractors(291011) | 81070 |
| 71 | Biochemists and Biophysicists(191021) | 80900 |
| 72 | Psychologists, All Other(193039) | 80360 |
| 73 | Real Estate Brokers(419021) | 80230 |
| 74 | Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers(192042) | 79890 |
| 75 | Economics Teachers, Postsecondary(251063) | 79370 |
| 76 | Education Administrators, Elementary and Secondary School(119032) | 79200 |
| 77 | Electrical Engineers(172071) | 78900 |
| 78 | Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers(113071) | 78560 |
| 79 | Art Directors(271011) | 78420 |
| 80 | Biomedical Engineers(172031) | 78030 |
| 81 | Atmospheric and Space Scientists(192021) | 77810 |
| 82 | Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers(231021) | 77730 |
| 83 | Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers(172151) | 77620 |
| 84 | Financial Analysts(132051) | 77280 |
| 85 | Management Analysts(131111) | 77270 |
| 86 | Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary(251041) | 77190 |
| 87 | Materials Scientists(192032) | 77010 |
| 88 | First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Non-Retail Sales Workers(411012) | 76840 |
| 89 | Materials Engineers(172131) | 75960 |
| 90 | Marine Engineers and Naval Architects(172121) | 75400 |
| 91 | Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary(251051) | 74880 |
| 92 | Physics Teachers, Postsecondary(251054) | 74650 |
| 93 | Athletes and Sports Competitors(272021) | 74440 |
| 94 | Physician Assistants(291071) | 74270 |
| 95 | Administrative Services Managers(113011) | 72840 |
| 96 | Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products(414011) | 72700 |
| 97 | Environmental Engineers(172081) | 72590 |
| 98 | Mechanical Engineers(172141) | 72580 |
| 99 | Postsecondary Teachers, All Other(251199) | 72310 |
| 100 | Computer Systems Analysts(151051) | 72230 |
July 2, 2009 at 20:48 |
check this out…
this is mine…