These Are the 10 Highest-Paying Jobs in the U.S.

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Want a career with an impressive salary? You’re going to have to work for it.

According to online jobs marketplace CareerCast, the highest-paid job in the U.S. for 2016 is a surgeon — a career choice that’s not for the faint of heart. In addition to earning an undergraduate degree, surgical candidates must also complete four years of medical school and devote several years to an internship and residency.

That’s quite the commitment. But those who succeed and become a surgeon are paid handsomely. CareerCast says their median annual salary exceeds $357,000.

Depending on the surgeon’s specialty, the pay can be even more. According to CareerCast:

“Orthopedic surgeons, for example, command a median salary of more than half-a-million dollars every year, and cardiologists are not far behind.”

Of the top 10 highest-paid jobs in the U.S., five are in the medical field and require a medical degree, which can be expensive to attain. CareerCast says medical school students typically graduate with loan debt nearing $170,000.

Stress often accompanies high-paying jobs in the medical field and other industries included in CareerCast’s highest-paid jobs list. Kyle Kensing, CareerCast’s online content editor, says in a statement:

“Surgeon, physician, orthodontist, dentist and psychiatrist all rank among the most stressful professions in our 2016 job stress rankings.”

According to CareerCast, these are the 10 highest-paid jobs in the U.S.:

  1. Surgeon: $357,192 median annual salary
  2. Psychiatrist: $207,153
  3. Military general: $205,144
  4. Public relations executive (senior level): $201,250
  5. General practice physician: $199,155
  6. Corporate executive (senior level): $173,256
  7. Dentist: $155,267
  8. Orthodontist: $131,214
  9. Petroleum engineer: $129,990
  10. Data scientist: $128,240

What do you think of the careers included in the highest-paid jobs list? Share your thoughts below or on our Facebook page.

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