While a job is often more than just a paycheck, the reality is that most of us work because we need the money. And, for whatever reasons, some of us are looking for jobs that pay $100K a year but worry that we don’t have a few advanced degrees or specialized training to land that type of job.
Well, not every job that pays $100K requires years of school or a background in STEM. While it’s helpful, there are plenty of options for job seekers in a variety of fields.
How Much Is $100K a Year?
In 1985, approximately 15% of all households earned $100,000 per year. By 2022, that number had doubled to over 36%.
Of course, if you’re the sole income in the house, that $100K is spent differently than if you live with another high-earner or have kids. Not to mention, where you live changes how far that $100K goes. State and local taxes, for example, impact how much of that $100K ends up in your bank account.
10 Types of Jobs That Pay $100K a Year
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) lists approximately 170 jobs with an average (mean) annual wage of at least $100K per year. At the top of the list are medical occupations, including cardiologists, surgeons, and dermatologists. Mixed into these medical professions, other top-paying jobs include chief executives ($265,740) and airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers ($229,470).
But what about those who don’t want to pursue something as specialized as medicine or flying airplanes? Are there jobs that pay $100K for the rest of us?
Absolutely! We’ve rounded up 10 types of jobs that pay $100K a year (or more!) based on BLS data. Keep in mind that the wage information is the mean annual wage. That means it’s calculated using salary data from the high and low earners. Not all entry-level roles in these fields pay $100K right away. It may take several years before you hit that mark.
And to get you on your way to $100K a year, we’ve also included virtual job simulations that will help you build the skills you need for each kind of role.
1. Engineers
While there are many types of engineers (biomedical, environmental, and mechanical, just to name a few), the engineering profession has one thing in common. Engineers design, test, modify, and inspect systems, products, and structures.
To become an engineer, you generally need at least a bachelor’s degree, though sometimes a master’s is necessary. And you’ll usually need to pass a licensing exam and often have your work signed off by a licensed engineer for at least a year (though some jobs, like QA engineer, are exceptions).
No wonder this is a job that pays $100K a year!
Engineering job titles and mean annual wages:
- Mechanical engineer: $100,820
- Environmental engineer: $101,670
- Marine engineers and naval architects: $105,560
- Materials engineers: $105,420
- Health and safety engineers: $103,570
- Electrical engineers: $114,050
- Chemical engineers: $117,820
- Electronics engineers: $118,460
- Aerospace engineers: $127,090
- Nuclear engineers: $124,540
- Computer hardware engineers: $140,830
- Petroleum engineers: $142,800
Learn more about job options for engineering majors, then see what it’s like to work as one:
| Job Title | Virtual Job Simulation | |
|---|---|---|
| Supply chain engineer | GE Aerospace Explore Supply Chain | |
| Civil engineer | John Holland Civil Engineering | |
| Technical specialist | Spectris Measurement Techniques for Sustainability | |
| Aviation engineer | GE Aerospace Explore Engineering | |
| Engineer | Engineers Without Borders UK Globally Responsible Engineering – Forage |
2. Financial Services
Financial services is a broad term that covers activities related to corporate and personal finance. Someone in financial services works in industries such as financial planning, corporate investing, and insurance. Employees in the financial services field help their clients maximize their income and reduce their tax burden.
Financial services job titles and mean annual wages:
- Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents: $100,740
- Personal financial advisors: $137,740
Gain practical skills for jobs in the financial services industry:
| Job Title | Virtual Job Simulation | |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial banker | JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking | |
| Investment banker | Bank of America Investment Banking | |
| Wealth and personal banker | HSBC Wealth and Personal Banking | |
| Investment banker | Citi Investment Banking | |
| Global banker | HSBC Global Banking & Markets | |
| Personal banker | Citi Personal Banking | |
| Financial analyst | New York Jobs CEO Council Financial Analyst | |
| Internal auditor | JPMorgan Chase & Co. Internal Audit Analyst |
3. Post-Secondary Teachers
Postsecondary teachers are those who teach classes beyond the high school level. That includes professors at four-year colleges, teachers at community colleges, and sometimes instructors at professional schools.
To become a postsecondary teacher, you often need a Ph.D., though it is possible to find postsecondary positions with only a master’s degree.
Postsecondary job titles and mean annual wages:
- Business teachers: $108,060
- Physics teachers: $100,810
- Atmospheric, earth, marine, and space science teachers: $107,540
- Engineering teachers: $114,470
- Architecture teachers: $104,370
- Health specialties teachers: $127,640
- Law teachers: $133,950
- Economics teachers: $122,750
These postsecondary teacher job titles have a mean annual wage that’s close to $100K:
- Computer science teachers: $98,610
- Art, music, and drama teachers: $93,440
- Political science teachers: $98,420
- Anthropology and archeology teachers: $98,940
- Agricultural science teachers: $96,650
Build your teaching skills:
| Job Title | Virtual Job Simulation | |
|---|---|---|
| Teacher | Teach First Transferable Teaching Skills | |
| STEM teacher | Teach First Teaching STEM in schools |
4. Project Managers
The next role on our list of jobs that pay $100K a year is project manager. As the name implies, project managers shepherd a project from start to finish. A large part of the role includes collaborating and coordinating with multiple teams and stakeholders to ensure the job gets done on time and on budget.
Project manager job titles and mean annual wages:
- Project management specialists: $101,610
Learn what it’s like to work as a project manager:
| Job Title | Virtual Job Simulation | |
|---|---|---|
| Agile project manager | Cognizant Agile Methodology | |
| Project manager | Accenture North America Project Management | |
| Product manager | Electronic Arts Product Management | |
| Project manager | CBRE Project Management |
5. Computers
While a computer isn’t exactly a job that pays $100K a year, or even an industry or sector, it is an area where many $100K jobs are clustered.
For example, software developers design and create the programs that most of us use every day.. Quality assurance analysts and QA testers make sure those programs are bug-free. And web and digital interface designers make sure what we see on a website looks good.
Computer-related job titles and mean annual wages:
- Web and digital interface designers: $101,740
- Database administrator: $102,530
- Computer programmers: $102,790
- Quality assurance analysts and testers: $105,750
- Computer network architects: $129,490
- Software developers: $132,930
- Database architects: $136,540
- Computer and information research scientists: $155,880
Try your hand at software engineering in one of these virtual job simulations:
6. Life Sciences
Life sciences is a specific branch of science that focuses on life — things like plants, animals, and humans. Under that broad umbrella term, life scientists have a specialty like biomedical engineer, medical scientist, or pharmacist.
Almost all jobs in the life sciences field require a bachelor’s degree at a minimum, but many also require advanced degrees or training.
Life sciences job titles and mean annual wages:
- Bioengineers and biomedical engineers: $108,060
- Medical scientists: $110,670
- Biochemists and biophysicists: $114,740
- Pharmacists: $129,410
Experience what it’s like to work in life sciences:
| Job Title | Virtual Job Simulation | |
|---|---|---|
| Biology researcher | LifeArc Life Sciences: Biology Research | |
| Lab technician | Thermo Fisher Scientific Mass Spectrometry |
7. Consulting
Another umbrella term, consulting is the field of providing expert advice. Consultants help their clients determine what to do and how to do it. In terms of business, consultants provide their services in specialties like management consulting, strategy consulting, and IT consulting, just to name a few.
Though you don’t necessarily need a degree to get into consulting, most major consulting firms require consultants to have a bachelor’s degree and often an MBA.
Consulting job titles and mean annual wages:
- Management analysts: $104,660
- Computer systems analysts: $107,530
- Financial and investment analysts: $108,790
- Financial risk specialists: $116,140
- Information security analysts: $119,860
Practice and build your consulting skills in any of these virtual job simulations:
8. Data Science
While we often think of data with regard to chem lab, data science is often used to help businesses make critical decisions. This data comes from various sources, such as A/B testing messaging on a website, looking at subscription information, or calculating who completes a task (like signing up for an account).
And though data scientists often work in data science, the field also includes statisticians, actuaries, and mathematicians.
Data science job titles and mean annual wages:
- Statisticians: $105,510
- Data scientist: $115,240
- Actuaries: $127,580
- Mathematicians: $113,860
Try your hand at data science jobs:
| Skill | Virtual Job Simulation | |
|---|---|---|
| Data visualization | Tata Data Visualisation: Empowering Business with Effective Insights | |
| Data analytics | KPMG AU Data Analytics | |
| Artificial intelligence | Cognizant Artificial Intelligence | |
| Data science | British Airways Data Science | |
| Data science | BCG Data Science |
9. Sales
For a job that pays $100K a year, sales has a lot of options. Some jobs require a degree, while some don’t. But in either case, working in sales often requires being willing to reach out to total strangers and be tenacious (often in the face of many, many, nos).
To be clear, “sales” can include part-time work at an e-commerce site or in a brick-and-mortar store. Those are generally not the kinds of jobs that pay $100K a year. Jobs with that salary are often at companies that sell a product or service to other businesses. And even if you land that kind of sales role, making $100K a year is not guaranteed. Some sales roles have a small base salary that’s guaranteed, while the rest of your take-home pay comes from commissions you earn from your sales.
Sales job titles and mean annual wages:
- Sales representatives (wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products): $109,950
- Sales managers: $150,530
Test-drive different sales jobs:
| Job Title | Virtual Job Simulation | |
|---|---|---|
| On-premise sales | Red Bull On-Premise Sales | |
| Sales | PepsiCo Sales | |
| Presales | Hewlett Packard Enterprise Presales | |
| Advertising sales | The New York Times Advertising Sales | |
| Digital sales | Hewlett Packard Enterprise Digital Sales |
10. Legal Jobs
The final type of career on our list of jobs that pay $100K a year is legal jobs. Across the board, all legal occupations make well over $100K per year. However, that includes roles like judges, arbitrators, and mediators. However, not all jobs in the legal field come with a $100K per year salary. As an example, the BLS notes that paralegals and legal assistants make, on average, $62,840 per year.
Legal job titles and mean annual wages:
- Lawyers: $163,770
- Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates: $153,700
Experience a day in the life of a legal professional in these virtual job simulations:
Plentiful $100K Job Options
As you can see, there are many jobs that pay $100K across a variety of industries and job types. Some require specialized education and training, but not all do, giving job seekers from all backgrounds the chance to earn six figures a year. And, depending on the field, you may even be able to find jobs that pay $100K a year without a degree!
Not sure which career is right for you? Sign up for a free Forage virtual job simulation today and experience what it’s like to work in one — or all — of these fields.
Image credit: Canva
