--- title: "Jobs That Pay $500k a Year" description: "Careers whose typical pay is $500,000 a year or more, ranked by that typical figure. BLS stops short here: it folds most of these careers into broad…" canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/jobs-that-pay-500k-a-year" last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z" --- # Jobs That Pay $500k a Year Careers whose typical pay is $500,000 a year or more, ranked by that typical figure. BLS stops short here: it folds most of these careers into broad codes (a neurosurgeon is counted with every other physician), so where a career carries industry-reported pay from a named survey, scale or filing (Medscape, MGMA, Levels.fyi, AmLaw, union contracts and similar), that figure is used and its source is on the career page. Everything else is BLS OEWS. 48 occupations, in the ranked order the career bank computed. Wages are BLS OEWS, May 2025. Growth figures are BLS Employment Projections and education is the BLS "typical education needed for entry". | # | Occupation | Median annual wage | Projected growth | Typical education | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | [NFL Head Coach](https://nuecareer.com/careers/nfl-head-coach) | $47,320 | +6.1% | Bachelor's | | 2 | [College Basketball Head Coach](https://nuecareer.com/careers/college-basketball-head-coach) | $47,320 | +6.1% | Bachelor's | | 3 | [Public Company General Counsel](https://nuecareer.com/careers/public-company-general-counsel) | $159,670 | +4.7% | Doctorate | | 4 | [College Football Head Coach](https://nuecareer.com/careers/college-football-head-coach) | $47,320 | +6.1% | Bachelor's | | 5 | [Hedge Fund Portfolio Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/hedge-fund-portfolio-manager) | $166,570 | +9.7% | Bachelor's | | 6 | [Chief Marketing Officer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/chief-marketing-officer) | $166,790 | +6.9% | Bachelor's | | 7 | [Chief Human Resources Officer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/chief-human-resources-officer) | $149,280 | +5.5% | Bachelor's | | 8 | [Chief AI Officer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/chief-ai-officer) | $175,140 | +15.8% | Bachelor's | | 9 | [Private Equity Partner](https://nuecareer.com/careers/private-equity-partner) | $166,570 | +9.7% | Bachelor's | | 10 | [Global Macro Trader](https://nuecareer.com/careers/global-macro-trader) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 11 | [Structured Finance Banker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/structured-finance-banker) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 12 | [Trading Desk Head](https://nuecareer.com/careers/trading-desk-head) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 13 | [BigLaw Equity Partner](https://nuecareer.com/careers/biglaw-equity-partner) | $159,670 | +4.7% | Doctorate | | 14 | [Distinguished Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/distinguished-engineer) | $135,980 | +10.2% | Bachelor's | | 15 | [Congenital Heart Surgeon](https://nuecareer.com/careers/congenital-heart-surgeon) | $559,030 | +2.0% | Doctorate | | 16 | [Debt Capital Markets Banker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/debt-capital-markets-banker) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 17 | [Private Capital Markets Banker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/private-capital-markets-banker) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 18 | [Institutional Sales Director](https://nuecareer.com/careers/institutional-sales-director) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 19 | [Credit Trader](https://nuecareer.com/careers/credit-trader) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 20 | [Investment Banking Managing Director](https://nuecareer.com/careers/investment-banking-managing-director) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 21 | [Restructuring Banker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/restructuring-banker) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 22 | [Syndicate Banker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/syndicate-banker) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 23 | [Equity Capital Markets Banker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/equity-capital-markets-banker) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 24 | [Equity Derivatives Trader](https://nuecareer.com/careers/equity-derivatives-trader) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 25 | [Private Equity Fundraising Director](https://nuecareer.com/careers/private-equity-fundraising-director) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 26 | [Hedge Fund Capital Raising Director](https://nuecareer.com/careers/hedge-fund-capital-raising-director) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 27 | [Cardiac Electrophysiologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cardiac-electrophysiologist) | $496,010 | +4.8% | Doctorate | | 28 | [Interventional Cardiologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/interventional-cardiologist) | $496,010 | +4.8% | Doctorate | | 29 | [Neurosurgeon](https://nuecareer.com/careers/neurosurgeon) | $358,550 | +4.0% | Doctorate | | 30 | [Women's College Basketball Head Coach](https://nuecareer.com/careers/womens-college-basketball-head-coach) | $47,320 | +6.1% | Bachelor's | | 31 | [Leveraged Finance Banker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/leveraged-finance-banker) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 32 | [Cardiothoracic Surgeon](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cardiothoracic-surgeon) | $358,550 | +4.0% | Doctorate | | 33 | [Private Equity Principal](https://nuecareer.com/careers/private-equity-principal) | $166,570 | +9.7% | Bachelor's | | 34 | [Mohs Surgeon](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mohs-surgeon) | $328,730 | +6.8% | Doctorate | | 35 | [Private Equity Operating Partner](https://nuecareer.com/careers/private-equity-operating-partner) | $213,990 | +3.2% | Bachelor's | | 36 | [Orthopedic Spine Surgeon](https://nuecareer.com/careers/orthopedic-spine-surgeon) | $358,550 | +4.0% | Doctorate | | 37 | [AI Research Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/ai-research-engineer) | $140,300 | +21.8% | Master's | | 38 | [Radiation Oncologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/radiation-oncologist) | $420,860 | +3.4% | Doctorate | | 39 | [Private Credit Investor](https://nuecareer.com/careers/private-credit-investor) | $166,570 | +9.7% | Bachelor's | | 40 | [Vascular Surgeon](https://nuecareer.com/careers/vascular-surgeon) | $358,550 | +4.0% | Doctorate | | 41 | [Pediatric Surgeon](https://nuecareer.com/careers/pediatric-surgeon) | $559,030 | +2.0% | Doctorate | | 42 | [Non-Equity Partner](https://nuecareer.com/careers/non-equity-partner) | $159,670 | +4.7% | Doctorate | | 43 | [Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon](https://nuecareer.com/careers/plastic-and-reconstructive-surgeon) | $358,550 | +4.0% | Doctorate | | 44 | [Principal Software Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/principal-software-engineer) | $135,980 | +10.2% | Bachelor's | | 45 | [Investment Banking Vice President](https://nuecareer.com/careers/investment-banking-vice-president) | $78,660 | +1.4% | Bachelor's | | 46 | [Endowment Chief Investment Officer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/endowment-chief-investment-officer) | $166,570 | +9.7% | Bachelor's | | 47 | [Interventional Gastroenterologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/interventional-gastroenterologist) | $256,560 | +4.0% | Doctorate | | 48 | [Pediatric Anesthesiologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/pediatric-anesthesiologist) | $391,490 | +3.6% | Doctorate | Full record for any row, including wage percentiles and state-level pay: https://nuecareer.com/careers/{slug} or https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/{slug}. --- This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105). O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/collections/jobs-that-pay-500k-a-year