America's Top 50 Salaries

Meg Donohue, CareerBuilder.com writer

It's only natural that you're curious. Who doesn't want to sneak a peek at the paychecks of America's wealthiest workers?

In the spirit of disclosure, here's a look at the median salaries of America's 50 highest-paying jobs, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The list of America's top earners contains many expected results (chief executives and lawyers), as well as some that may come as a surprise (air traffic controllers, construction managers). And, of course, there's proof positive that it pays to have an MD: surgeons and physicians dominate the list.

1. Surgeons -- $177,690
2. Anesthesiologists -- $174,240
3. Obstetricians and Gynecologists -- $171,810
4. Orthodontists -- $163,410
5. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons -- $160,660
6. Internists, General -- $156,550
7. Psychiatrists -- $146,150
8. Prosthodontists -- $146,080
9. Family and General Practitioners -- $140,370
10. Chief Executives -- $139,810
11. Pediatricians, General -- $139,230
12. Airline Pilots, Copilots and Flight Engineers -- $135,040
13. Dentists, General -- $133,680
14. Podiatrists -- $111,250
15. Lawyers -- $110,520
16. Air Traffic Controllers -- $105,820
17. Engineering Managers -- $105,470
18. Computer and Information Systems Managers -- $102,360
19. Marketing Managers -- $101,990
20. Astronomers -- $101,360
21. Natural Sciences Managers -- $99,140
22. Sales Managers -- $98,510
23. Petroleum Engineers -- $97,350
24. Financial Managers -- $96,620
25. Law Teachers, Postsecondary -- $95,570
26. Optometrists -- $95,500
27. General and Operations Managers -- $95,470
28. Computer and Information Scientists, Research -- $94,030
29. Judges, Magistrate Judges and Magistrates -- $91,500
30. Physicists -- $91,480
31. Actuaries -- $90,760
32. Nuclear Engineers -- $90,690
33. Industrial-Organizational Psychologists -- $89,980
34. Human Resources Managers -- $89,950
35. Pharmacists -- $88,650
36. Securities, Commodities and Financial Services Sales Agents -- $87,990
37. Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners -- $87,630
38. Computer Hardware Engineers -- $87,170
39. Public Relations Managers -- $85,820
40. Aerospace Engineers -- $85,450
41. Political Scientists -- $84,820
42. Physical Scientists -- $84,380
43. Computer Software Engineers, Systems Software -- $84,310
44. Personal Financial Advisors -- $82,970
45. Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary -- $82,450
46. Chiropractors -- $82,060
47. Industrial Production Managers -- $81,960
48. Construction Managers -- $81,760
49. Purchasing Managers -- $81,440
50. Advertising and Promotions Managers -- $81,250

Copyright 2007 CareerBuilder.com.


DD Note . . . At first blush I was a bit disappointed to find that my annual salary fell short of the median salary for my occupation on this list. I've quickly sobered . . . it's better than the best salary I ever earned in my prior occupations (teacher and member of the Armed Forces), and who knows, if I get a "bonus" this year, I could get close to the median mark!