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What are the highest paying jobs in the U.S.?

You think that in order to make the big bucks, you have to get involved in the glamour professions, such as acting or professional athletics. You might be surprised to learn, however, that none of those professions made the top 10 or even the top 25 list of highest-paying jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

It should be noted that, according to the Department of Labor, 8 of the top 10 highest-paying professions were in the medical field. To avoid monotony, we excluded most of the medical professions and included the U.S. Department of Labor’s official list at the end of this article. Here are the top 10 highest-paying jobs in the U.S.

Number 10

Natural Sciences Manager

Highest salary: $97,560

Training time: 6 years

Natural science managers oversee the work of other scientists, such as agricultural scientists, chemists, biologists, and geologists. Natural science managers are commonly employed in the research and development field and work in pharmaceutical and environmental consulting or municipal organizations. Natural science managers often own their own consulting or testing firms, and can serve as expert witnesses in court hearings.

A bachelor’s degree is absolutely required, and to work your way up the ladder, an MBA or doctorate is strongly encouraged. Fortunately, many employers will pay for educational costs. The best and highest-paid natural science managers have an aptitude for key business functions, such as marketing, sales and finance. This is common, as it often takes a combination of business acumen and specialized knowledge to present and communicate ideas and concepts in a sophisticated sales environment.

Number 9

Marketing Manager

Highest salary: $100,020

Training time: 4 to 6 years

Marketing managers, like CEOs, span all sorts of industries and levels of responsibility. A small accounting firm may have a marketing manager to help coordinate Yellow Page advertisements and chamber appearances, while this marketing manager's Fortune 500 peer is responsible for the complete tactical execution of a multimillion-dollar marketing budget that encompasses a plenitude of marketing media. Marketing managers can be expected to handle items such as public relations, brand development, media buying, collateral and promotions development, and even the financial metrics and analytics.

The responsibility scope is a function of the organization’s size and the outward focus of the company. For instance, a marketing manager at a Fortune 500 company serving the consumer audience will have a far larger task than the marketing manager at a small, niche business-to-business consulting firm. Communication skills, marketing prowess, and basic management skills all come into play. In most cases, marketing managers have a four-year degree, and an MBA will definitely help in higher-level executive marketing positions.