Some of the highest paying careers are found in the finance, medical, legal, engineering, and entertainment fields. In many instances, people have to have both undergraduate and post graduate degrees before they can earn key positions in the highest paying careers. Other people manage to earn lucrative salaries without attending college because certain high paying jobs rely more on personality and talent rather than specialized knowledge.
In the medical arena, surgeons are among the people with the highest salaries. People who conduct heart and brain surgeries must have years of training beyond their basic medical degrees, but their years of studying lead to lucrative jobs at hospitals where they conduct surgeries and develop new surgical techniques. In many countries, anesthesiologists are among the best paid workers in the medical field as are disease specialists, who help to identify new strains of illnesses and attempt to develop cures.
The finance field has some of the highest paying careers, and investment brokers are among the top earners. Traders who work for hedge funds technically have unlimited earning potential because they receive a flat percentage of their clients' annual earnings, and hedge funds contain vast amounts of assets. Executives of banks, insurance companies, and investment firms receive large base salaries in addition to commissions that are based upon the company's annual profits. In the financial services industry, bonuses often exceed the base pay that individuals receive.
People who work as engineers must have college degrees, and engineers who work in specialized fields often need to have post graduate degrees before they can take on senior positions. Engineers who work for energy companies are among the best paid because energy companies stand to make huge profits when new oil and gas reserves are unearthed. Nuclear engineers who work for private energy firms are also well paid due to the dangers that they face and the long hours they work.
Some of the highest paying careers are found in the entertainment arena. Singers and musicians have unlimited earning potential, and successful rock and pop stars can make huge amounts of money from music and concert ticket sales. Athletes involved in soccer, baseball, and basketball are among the best paid, although the most successful athletes often earn far more money than their lesser known teammates. Actors who appear in movies and successful television shows also have the ability to earn significant sums of money.
