The 15 Highest Paying Occupations in 2014

Choosing a career path or changing your career path is a big life decision. It’s the type of decision that often causes much debate, plenty of time and a bit of consideration. What you want to do with the rest of your life is a decision that, once made, is not always that simple to change. Many careers require years of college and further education whereas some people prefer to choose an occupation that requires only a few years of occupational education. If you’re in the midst of choosing a potential career path, knowing which occupations are the highest-paying as of 2014, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, might help.

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Accountant – $65,000

The average starting salary of an accountant is $65,000. It’s a generous number that often goes up significantly each year. Accountants are responsible for a number of things in the accounting world. As an accountant, you will work with both businesses and individuals in dealing with their tax needs. This means handling quarterly reports, annual reports and a number of different tax forms each year. It’s a demanding job that requires a great deal of repetitive behavior and a penchant for numbers. The tax laws in the US are ever-changing, which means that you will need to stay up-to-date on all that happens in the tax world.

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Registered Nurse – $65,000

A registered nurse is a job that’s always in demand. Health care is always a big career deal, and it’s something that will employ people no matter what the economy looks like. A registered nurse is one that attends school for two years and is required to pass a state and national board. Once done, he or she will then begin working and earning an average salary of $65,000. There are registered nurses in just about every field of health care, which is another bonus of this rewarding career choice for those who want to enter into the medical field.

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Plumber – $66,000

There’s nothing glamorous about becoming a plumber. However, there is something good about becoming a plumber. Think about it; there are always plumbing emergencies. It’s one of the very few emergencies that can shut down an entire house or office. You have to have running water and working toilets. There’s always work for a plumber, and the work pays well. Opening your own business will pay even better, but the starting pay for an employed plumber is nothing to laugh at.

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Public Relations – $74,000

Working in public relations requires someone with a strong personality and a great deal of communication skills. This type of job is one that requires you to keep the image of your client and/or brand in a favorable light. It means working on press releases, drumming up publicity for your brand and working with many different people to ensure that everyone and everything that is related to a particular workload is presented in a good light. It’s a lot of socialization, a lot of communication and a great deal of emergency work to create an image.

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Market Research Analyst – $85,000

Market research is a great job for someone who wants to spend their days doing something interesting and informative, and make good money in the process. As a market research analyst, you’ll do several things. However, the primary role of your position is going to be researching marketing concepts. Your job is to test different strategies, see if they work and implement them into your business life. You will analyze statistics, input and information that’s provided to you by market research you conduct. Conducting this research will take some of your time, and analyzing the results will make an impact.

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Physician’s Assistant – $90,000

Let’s see here; as a physician’s assistant you get to do everything the doctor does except perform surgery and make hundreds of thousands of dollars each year and spend almost a decade in school. Except that you could make at least a hundred thousand dollars each year. The starting salary for someone who does the same thing as the doctor is an impressive $90,000 per year. The benefits associated with this occupation are always good. And the increase in pay is significant each year. It’s a great occupational choice for those who want a promising career.

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Software Developer – $90,000

Technology is no longer the future. The future is here. Technology is what makes the present work and it’s only going to become more important in the future. In a world that’s virtually dictated by technology, it only makes sense that software developers would be so important. With an average starting salary of $90,000, it’s a lucrative career choice for those who enjoy technology and creating new technology. Designing software requires a special talent, and it’s the perfect job for the people who spend their time working with technology.

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General and Operations Managers – $95,440

Specific job duties for this job vary greatly. This is a job that’s found in almost every industry, which means that the job duties are vastly different. What a general manager in the fashion industry does is very different than the role of an operations manager in the construction industry. However, this popular career is one that can interest a variety of people. The job includes a great deal of responsibility, which makes it something that’s challenging and entertaining for professionals. With a starting salary and possible bonuses at play, it’s always possible that these people will make well over six figures each year.

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Database Administrator – $99,000

This is another great career for those who want to work without a degree or with just a bit of occupational training. This job requires some technological knowledge and a great amount of organization. If you reside in a larger city, your salary will begin close to $99,000 per year. If you reside somewhere in which there is not a lot of demand for this job and the cost of living is relatively low, the starting salary is closer to $60,000. However, both incomes are impressive and in a career path that comes equipped with significant job security.

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Computer Systems Analyst – $100,000

A computer systems analyst is one that is going to help you figure out plenty of technological information. If you are computer savvy and interested in this type of job, you’re going to want to spend some time working in this field. The average starting salary is around $100,000 in bigger cities and around $63,000 at the low point in areas that are not as in demand. This particular job does not require a special degree, but it does require some occupational training that is not difficult to come by. This is a good job with job security as technological jobs are highly in demand.

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Nurse Practitioner – $106,000

When you work in a bigger city with more demand, you will find that an NP makes as much as $106,000 as a starting salary. In smaller cities in which demand is not as great and in hospitals not nearly as big, you will find that the starting salary is closer to $78,000 per year. Either way, it’s an impressive starting salary in the health care industry. The best part about this job is the security. You’ll find it in any office, hospital and even in many nursing homes and other private facilities.

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Political Scientist – $107,420

This is just the starting salary of a political scientist. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the base starting rate to increase by more than 8 percent in coming years, as well. It’s also the kind of job that many people take up to make a good living as well as begin a career in politics. Most of the world’s politicians begin their careers in some type of political aspect. In fact, former US Secretary of State Condolezza Rice was a political science major with a PhD in the subject.

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Marketing Manager – $108,000

It’s a great job for a creative mind. Those who take part in the marketing industry are people with creative minds, an interest in making business successful and a way of ensuring that clients and businesses are happy with the product. It’s a job that often requires extensive travel, good benefits and a great deal of creativity. The average starting salary of a marketing manager in an impressive $108,000 per year. This amount increases significantly over time, and this is a role that often deals in big bonuses, which means most marketing managers make well over the starting pay grade.

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Construction Manager – $109,000

While most construction managers will not make this much money working for small company, the salary for a construction manager with a major operation will bring home this much cash each year. The job is a difficult one when it’s with a major firm. It requires overseeing many jobs, many different projects and relaying information, answers and opinions as well as overseeing several crews and locations all at once. For this reason, the starting salary is quite impressive, and it requires no minimum education depending on where you reside.

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Petroleum Engineer – $114,000

This particular occupation is one that is growing in popularity. Part of the reason for this is the fact that fossil fuel deposits are becoming depleted at a record level. These fossil fuels are in need of new technology. The type of technology needed in this industry is going to help engineers extract fuels from the earth’s oils and deposits. For this reason, this type of career is quickly growing and becoming one of the highest paid occupations in the world. The starting salary in this field is $114,000, which is high above the national average.

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Written by Tiffany Raiford

Tiffany Raiford is a lifelong Floridian, wife to my high school sweetheart and mother of four littles (two girls and boy/girl twins...no, they are not identical and yes, I'm sure). My kids love to whine, so I love to wine. My loves include nap time, bed time, date night, travel and evenings and weekends when my husband is home because he handles all diaper changes.