Other High Paying Jobs

entrepreneurship... but then again the chance of being successful is extremely low

Most c-level execs at F500 companies will make that. Partners at consultancies will make that. Successful entrepreneurs will make that. I know a promoter who makes close to that much. University presidents make that. I could go on for quite a while. The point is, finance does have higher rewards, but if you're good at what you do, you'll get paid.

you can make a million bucks a year doing anything well, what the hell are you talking about?

musicians, producers, songwriters, asset managers, any job on the executive committee of a descent size company, night club owner, actor, elite athlete, crime boss, drug lord, professional poker player, real estate owner, mcdonalds franchisee, plastic surgeon, college sports coach, president of a university.

I'm completely with moneyneversleeps2 on this. Something to note is the relatiively high % of entry level people in finance who will go onto make +1mm. This is actually one of the things that makes WS so attractive to all majors. I've worked in research pretty much all throughout college and interned at engineering firms, and it's very hard to cross 200-250k. I know really smart phds with multiple publications at top engineering firms who have reached a plateau wrt earnings. Now, it's a different thing that lot of these people aren't in it for the money, but if it's purely the 1mm that you're after, WS offers you the best odds.

Anyways, I realize this doesn't answer your question, so here's a good alternate route: Create something -> grow it into a multi-mm source of revenue or sell it for a few million to a larger firm. Unfortunately, outside of Wall-Street you can't really make money without creating something of value.

Lobbyists can make serious bank.

What percentage of 28-year-olds in finance do you think make $1MM per annum? 1%? If you come into the business straight out of college at 22, you spend 2-3 years as an analyst in I-banking/consulting, 1-2 years as a pre-MBA associate at a PE/VC firm, 2 years in business school getting your MBA, and 2 years as a post-MBA PE/VC associate before you're going to make 7 figures all-in. And that's if you're at good shop when you're 28-30 years old (which probably means you were at a good shop out of college and did a top MBA).

If you're in S&T, you're going to spend 1-2 years on an analyst program before getting your books and making associate. You don't have to go back to get your MBA, so you save time there, but associates aren't pulling in $1MM+. You'll spend 2-3 years as an associate before making VP, and only if you're a top performer (making at least $10-20 MM for the bank), you're not going to be making $1MM. And as with all high-reward situations, there is more risk in being a trader than being a banker. You can't really fail at being a banker (not until you're at least a VP), but you can blow up as a trader before making VP.

Within S&T, most MDs will make $1MM, but most directors probably won't. You're going to have to be in the top 20-25% of directors to make > $1MM.

The problem is in thinking that you're in the top 1% of performers. Most of us are in the general populace. If we weren't, we wouldn't be able to go to the world's best schools and graduate summa cum laude. And yet, how many of us are still in the top 1% amongst the set of all people in high finance? You don't have to be a genius to be a banker/trader. Being a top performer doesn't necessarily mean you're the smartest guy in the room (the quants are probably the smartest, and they rarely make $1MM even as MDs). A good salesman can make $1MM+, but that has everything to do with personality. And whilst we all like to think that we're awesome, how many of us are in the top 1% of likeable people? I'm not--I'm an ass. But I'm a trader, so it doesn't matter too much.

Anyway, the point is this: if you're mediocre in high finance, you're never going to make $1MM per annum. And even if you're very good, you also have to be SUPER lucky to be making $1MM per year. Someone has to give you some breaks VERY early in your career for that to happen, and you have to capitalize on them. Some great guys don't get their shots until they are 30 years old. That might seem like a long way away for a 22-year-old, but it's closer that you'd think.

A 30-year-old lobbyist with the same breaks and networking skills could easily make $1MM+. So could an entrepreneur. So could a lawyer at a top 5-10 firm (Wachtell, for instance). But you have to be great at whatever you're doing to make $1MM annually before you're 30, and you have to be lucky. I really can't stress the latter enough. I'd rather be lucky any day.

^Very accurate overview of the field.

OP is correct though

There are few "jobs" that you can ever get that if you just show up to work every day, are talented and do a great job, you will make $1mm / yr. As an M&A / Corp Finance banker, this is true, it will happen.

As a trader / prop trader / research / private equity analyst, it is TOTALLY different. You are making decisions that are generally very visible and quantifiable. And it is easy to judge value. So, here you are not really being paid for a "job" per se, but you are being paid almost like an "entrepreneur" of sorts.

Many of the things said above don't really apply here. Of course, if you are Billy Joel, Madonna, head of the NY Philharmonic or whatever outlier in a profession; or if you work your way through the gutwrenching layers of a fortune 500, or if you invent a great product / startup, these are low probability events, and are not "jobs".

Consulting / lawyers are similar, but it takes a VERY long time to get there and therefore I can't say it is a "job" but more of a very very long career that eventually gets you to that point. And it is probably not at the majority of firms.

Banking is the best job, lowest risk where you can make $1mm a year within 5-6 years post MBA. It is not for everyone, you have to sacrifice a lot and be good at the job and people definitely have to like you. But it is totally doable.

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Wow. Good posts.