A lot of the high-paying professions in the U.S. have very little to do with your traditional jobs like that of stockbrokers and lawyers. Those who opt for these professions generally get paid handsomely due to the number of specialized training and skills that they are expected to possess in order to be successful on the professional front. One of the most sought-after degrees happens to be MS in USA for Indian students. Below are the top 10 highest paid professions in the US. Know that for most of these professions, you will be required to study in USA. If you are changing your career trajectory or are just looking to choose the course of your education field, you might want to consider the following options:
Highest Paid Professions in the USA
1. Obstetricians-Gynecologists (OB-GYNs): $296,210
Obstetricians-gynaecologists or OB-GYNs are doctors specializing in vaginal, ovarian, uterine, and cervical reproductive health and childbirth. They make a little more than the annual wages listed for general surgeons.
Successful OB-GYNs are good at conveying information to patients to improve their patients’ health as well as that of their babies. They also excel at managing high-stress situations, most notably childbirth, which can happen at odd hours of the day.
Education required: Being an OB-GYN requires you to graduate from medical school as well as complete an obstetrics program and a gynaecology residency program, which typically lasts for four years. After two years of clinical practice, these physicians are required to pass a licensure exam.
2. Psychiatrists: $249,760
While all psychiatrists help manage mental health issues, this field comes with a vast range of specialities. Some work on child and adolescent psychiatry, while others specialize in addiction psychiatry, forensic (legal) psychiatry, or consultation psychiatry, which is required in a medical setting. Others specialize in psychoanalysis, where the psychiatrist helps the patient remember and analyse past events and emotions to better understand their current feelings and mindset.
These specialists can be found in any number of work environments: hospitals, community agencies, schools, private practice, rehabilitation programs, and even prisons.
Education required: Unlike psychologists, psychiatrists are medical professionals (doctors). After an undergraduate degree, they have to finish medical school, followed by a residency program. According to the American Psychiatric Association, the first year of residency usually entails working in a hospital setting and managing a variety of medical conditions, followed by three or even more years focusing on mental health and its medications following which graduates often apply for certification under the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
3. Chief Executives: $213,020
Chief executives are the highest-paid professionals outside of the medical and dental fields. As the highest-ranking employee of a company, the job of a CEO entails making critical decisions regarding team management, steering the organization toward new markets or product areas, and interacting with the board of directors. Although highly paid, many professionals in this position have daunting schedules. A Harvard Business Review survey once discovered that the average CEO spends around 62.5 hours per week on the job, where nearly half their time is spent in the office and the other half, travelling.
Education required: A Forbes study observed that the majority of Fortune 100 CEOs (nearly 53%) received a bachelor’s degree in business administration (BA) many did their undergraduate majors in unrelated fields. Some of them later received a master of business administration or MBA degree. Another observation made here was that many executives in tech-related companies had studied engineering as undergraduates.
4. Data architect ($143,573 per year)
Data architects are tech professionals responsible for the complex processes that are essential to strategic business decisions. They convert business needs into database solutions and overlook data storage (data centres) and how data is organized. Apart from that, ensuring the security of those databases is also a part of the job.
Education required: The bare minimum qualification requirement required for the candidate to be a data architect is a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, computer science, or another related field. The course should cover application design, big data developments, systems analysis, data management, programming, and technology architectures.
5. Data scientist ($134,427 per year)
These IT professionals use their knowledge of statistics and modelling to make sense of complex data from various sources. Data scientists need communication skills along with a strong background in mathematics, computer science, and statistics. Knowledge of programming languages such as Python and Java is often necessary for the job. Machine learning skills are also valued in this role.
Education required: Data scientist qualifications mainly include an advanced degree in data analysis or Data Science. Some popular postgraduate qualifications are offered in subjects like M.Sc. in Business Analytics, M.Sc. in Data Science and Analytics, M.Sc. in Data Science, and M.Sc. in Big Data, among others.
6. Software engineer ($126,401 per year)
Software engineers plan out and create engineering specs for both software and applications, which indicates they are nearly always in demand. They must know about information systems and, normally, a bachelor’s degree in computer science or any related area. Apart from strong communication skills, specific programming language knowledge is also needed for this position.
Education required: You should first earn a degree in computer science or a related field followed by a bachelor’s degree to start your career as a software engineer. Majoring in computer science will offer you the most practical and useful background for designing software.
7. Information systems security manager (between $124,282 and $152,380/year)
Information Systems Security Managers provide their services when it comes to analyzing and evaluating networks and security vulnerabilities, and managing security systems such as firewalls, patch management, anti-virus, intrusion detection, and encryption on a regular basis. In the case of system disasters that result in data loss, these security managers are responsible for helping with data recovery.
An Information Systems Security Manager will typically require knowledge of several areas, such as hardware/software security implementation, various communication protocols, security tools and programs that are currently available, encryption techniques/tools, and business security practices and procedures. On top of that applicants should also possess sound decision-making and analytical skills and be able to pass background checks.
Education needed: Companies and organizations often require that their information security managers have a bachelor’s degree in a technology-related field, such as information security, information technology, or computer science. Another key requirement of becoming an information security manager is getting some on-the-job experience. It is highly unlikely for a company to hire someone for this role without a strong background in information security and technology, one that can be established by working in roles like that of network/computer systems administrator and information security analyst. A master’s degree can be advantageous to attaining competitive positions in information security, but it isn’t always a requirement for companies.
8. Network/cloud engineer ($121,198 per year)
Network or cloud engineers need to be experts in networking as well as cloud hardware and software since they are responsible for the design, execution, day-to-day support and the upkeep of network and cloud services. Employers look for someone with a strong background in interfacing, server and network infrastructure, security, as well as analytical and problem-solving skills. A certification like the CCNP, CCNA, Cisco or CCIE, also holds value.
Education required: Cloud engineers are usually holders of at least a bachelor’s degree in information technology or computer science. People in this field often hold years of software development experience, working with a range of programming languages such as AngularJS, C++, Java, and Python. Cloud engineers are also often familiar with a number of tech tools and platforms, like Kubernetes, SQL, Spark, Scala, Kafka, Hadoop, and Redshift.
9. Big data engineer ($119,246 per year)
Big data engineers deal with massive data processing systems as well as databases in large-scale computing environments. They sort through heaps of data to find relevant sets for further analysis, which organizations then use to predict behaviour. These data professionals provide organizations with assessments that help them identify market demographics, analyse their performance, and predict upcoming changes and market trends. Almost every field in the current day and time requires big data engineers since they produce insights that are beneficial in business, government, healthcare, finance, telecommunications, science, and other industries.
Education required: After graduating from high school, aspiring data engineers need to earn a bachelor’s degree, ideally in computer science. While it’s not a necessary step, earning a computer science master’s degree can be beneficial for those who wish to leave their options open for crossover roles between data science, data engineering, as well as management. While not a requirement, short-term engineering courses do provide hands-on experience and can culminate in a professional certificate. Ultimately, in a young and dynamic discipline like data engineering, professional certification offers one of the most concrete ways to verify one’s skills and capabilities.
10. Mobile application developer ($81,973 per year)
If you just look at your mobile phone or tablet applications, it is pretty easy to comprehend why mobile application developers are in demand now. They look over a wide variety of tasks associated with managing an application lifecycle, including understanding the requirements of the client to create specifications for applications they’re going to develop, creating prototypes for the application according to the specifications, and writing quality code to create the completed applications within a set amount of time, performing testing before launch, evaluating existing applications and adding new features, reprogramming them or completing updates, troubleshooting and debugging the application, developing handbooks and documents that symbolize the design and code for the application.
Education required: Most employers nowadays look for developers with at least a bachelor’s degree in one of the following disciplines:
- Mobile Application Development
- Software Engineering
- Computer Science
- Mobile Computing
Or any related field of study that is program based
While a big decision like that to study in USA is an easy decision for many, there are still people who require help with this but considering the fact that the education needed to get into almost all of the above-mentioned professions requires you to study in the USA, it is inevitable. For those people exists overseas education consultation. They are specialists with a lot of experience in assisting students to achieve their dream to study abroad.
Nowadays, getting your master’s degree or MS in USA for Indian students is not a cause of concern. All you have to do is ensure you are equipped with the right documents and from the sea of study abroad consultants, make your pick. They can even assist you with the application, admission and interview processes.