The 25 most lucrative jobs of 2020

The advent of artificial intelligence and automation may be creating a demand for highly technical roles in the IT sector. But in the US, anaesthesiologists and surgeons remain the highest paid professionals, according to a new job market study.

US News & World Report compiled a list of the best paying jobs of 2020 based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Jobs in health care dominated the top 10. The results come as no surprise, however, given how students often have to spend more to attain higher-quality education and break into the field.

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In fact, the Class of 2019 reportedly spent about US$250,000 to $330,180 to attend four years of medical school, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

However, those who go on to graduate with a medical degree are also more likely to become part of the top 1% of earners, a study from the Brookings Institution showed.

Fourteen of the 25 highest-paying jobs on the list also require workers to have a doctorate degree and almost all of them belong in the medical industry.

The only exception are lawyers, who are considered part of the social services industry by US News. These professionals earn a mean salary of $144,230 a year.

Meanwhile, only nine of the highest-earning jobs require workers to have a bachelor’s degree:

1. Anaesthesiologist – mean salary: $267,020 per year
2. Surgeon – $255,110 per year
3. Oral and maxillofacial surgeon – $242,370 per year
4. Obstetrician and gynaecologist – $238,320 per year
5. Orthodontist – $225,760 per year
6. Psychiatrist – $220,380 per year
7. Physician – $196,490 per year
8. Prosthodontist – $191,400 per year
9. Paediatrician – $183,240 per year
10. Dentist – $175,840 per year
11. Nurse anaesthetist – $174,790 per year
12. Petroleum engineer – $156,370 per year
13. IT manager – $152,860 per year
14. Podiatrist – $148,220 per year
15. Marketing manager – $147,240 per year
16. Financial manager – $146,830 per year
17. Pilot – $146,660 per year
18. Lawyer – $144,230 per year
19. Sales manager – $140,320 per year
20. Business operations manager – $123,880 per year
21. Pharmacist – $123,670 per year
22. Financial advisor – $121,770 per year
23. Optometrist – $119,980 per year
24. Actuary – $116,250 per year
25. Political scientist – $115,300 per year