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From MSN: 30 Jobs That Pay at Least $80,000 Per Year
By JLP | October 14, 2009
I saw this yesterday: 30 Jobs That Pay $80,000
Some of the interesting ones to me were…
Management analysts
Do this: Figure out best practices of management by conducting studies and procedures to help companies figure out how to operate more effectively.
Get paid: $82,920
Financial analysts
Do this: Assess the financial situations of an individual or organization.
Get paid: $84,780
Economics teachers, post-secondary
Do this: Teach courses and research topics in economics.
Get paid: $88,330
I’m almost certain that none of these are starting salaries. I do know one of them that seems to be a pretty close to a starting salary these days:
Chemical engineers
Do this: Design chemical plant equipment and create processes for manufacturing chemicals and products.
Get paid: $88,760
My wife is stunned at how much freshly-degreed chemical engineers are making these days. It wasn’t like that when she started back in late 1995. Based on my wife’s starting salary (from memory), the starting salary for chemical engineers has increased over 6% per year since 1995.
Anyway, check out the list and share it with any kids you know who are trying to pick a major.
Topics: Careers | 10 Comments »
October 14th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
I must be doing something wrong… 5 years in the field as a chemical engineer and $60k salary is all I can show for it.
October 14th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I don’t know where they get these numbers but none of these salary report articles reflect real life….
October 14th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Your wife is a chemical engineer? I’m a ChE with 4 years of experience, making around $125k now.
October 14th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
These are defintely averaged salaries. I started working in the engineering field about 4.5 years ago. There is no way an engineer with just a bachelor’s degree can expect to make more than 80k starting (unless they went to M.I.T. or CalTech, but even that is a stretch…)
I just had a friend who recently earned his Electrical Engineering PhD from USC (a highly respected engineering school in Southern California) and his starting salary is a little over 90k (and this is in California, where salaries are about 10% than national average to try to account for cost of living).
@ladam8518: Do you live in an area with an extremely low cost of living? If not, that seems like a pretty low salary. If you consistently are getting good performance reviews, you should talk to your boss about your salary. If you are willing to try somewhere new, start applying for new jobs. If you get an offer, you can either take it or use it as a bargaining chip for a higher salary. Of course, be sure that you are willing to leave, before looking down that path! Good Luck
October 14th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Is it just me, or am I wrong to believe that most every who’s working after 5 years is making at least $80,000/yr?
28 year old MBA students out of Top 25 schools are all making $90-$140K/yr for example.
What are your thoughts?
October 14th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
@ Financial Samurai
I think that you are exactly right. Anyone that went to a halfway decent school with 5 years of work experience in any of those professions should definitely be making at least $80k otherwise there has been some poor choices made along the way.
October 15th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
@ Financial Samurai
Your statement is too general (it implies that a fast food worker with 5 years of experience will make 80k), and your example is too specific…
It really has a lot of factors, such as the field you are in, the city you live in, your highest education level, and of course your ability to do a good job.
@Credit Card Chaser
The only way I would agree is if you are only talking about jobs in large cities, and people with a least a graduate level degree.
October 16th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Wow, management analyst sounds like a cushy job! Let me research best practices and tell you what to do and rake in over $80K. I can handle that one.
November 19th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Just graduated as a chem E and I’m at 60K, a little below average. I need to get up to that 89K figure.
June 22nd, 2011 at 8:18 pm
I just graduated from MecE, working in the petroleum industry, started at $75000 CAD (excluding bonus, etc.). Trouble is I have $25000 loans, which I am making $1000/mth on…yuck.