Highest Paid Jobs

Im surprised by this article.... Anyone else seen it?

Highest paid jobs in the UK 2011

According to this an actuary is about £40k, a broker is about £52k and a pilot is an amazing £74k! Im genuinely surprised by this as I thought finance paid the best?

The USA version was quite similar:

10 Highest Paying Jobs in America

30 Comments
 
Best Response

It's all about effort in, effort out (what they actually went through) and what their earnings cap is - this data set doesn't tell the whole story.

I am a pilot and considered trying to go the airline route as an alternate to finance. Although a captain of a large corporation (American Airlines) can reach a salary in excess of 300K, this is not likely. It is incredibly time consuming and expensive to gain all the necessary licenses to even begin to build hours before joining an airline. In order to join an airline, you will probably need either military experience flying or get your instructor rating ($$ and time) to build flight hours required by the airlines for application by teaching students (now typically in excess of 1000 hours and very expensive multi-engine time). Then after massive amounts of debt, when you finally get taken in by an airline (most also require a college degree in addition to the above), you get shitty routes, terrible hours and low pay. After 20 years, you can work your way up the ranks and POTENTIALLY make 300K+. but, by that point everything you do is so routine and the work is equivalent to driving a large bus day after day (or so I hear). Also, if you switch airlines, or if yours shuts down, you start at the bottom of the hierarchy, there are no lateral hires because after a certain point, you really don't get much better.

My point in all of this is that statistics don't take into account the whole story. Doctors go through the same rigorous/expensive training in order to make the big bucks. Finance is the quickest way to boost your income, with no real cap on your earnings potential.

 
eriginalFinance is the quickest way to boost your income, with no real cap on your earnings potential.
...this is basically how I see it as well. The downside is a lack of security. In your opinion, what area of finance is the best balance between risk/security?
Get busy living
 
UFOinsider
eriginalFinance is the quickest way to boost your income, with no real cap on your earnings potential.
...this is basically how I see it as well. The downside is a lack of security. In your opinion, what area of finance is the best balance between risk/security?

I'm not near experienced enough to answer this question, you would know this better than I would. From how I see it, S&T would be the least secure obviously and regulation has limited earnings potential. IB seems to be riskier than it has in the past, with lethargic deal activity killing once incredible earnings potential. CF is probably the most secure, but also the most limited in the earnings potential category.

This elimination basically leaves ER/AM, that for me, looks like the best balance between security and risk/potential earnings. I will be starting my career in this category in a few months... so we will see if I'm anywhere near close in my broad generalization. Anyone that feels otherwise please feel free to correct me. As a note, I omitted HF/PE as those are not so much "entry-level" as the others I mentioned.

 
eriginalIn order to join an airline, you will probably need either military experience flying
good thing I graduated from Top Gun academy with Iceman in 1986

RIP GOOSE WE MISS YOU

 
eriginalIt's all about effort in, effort out (what they actually went through) and what their earnings cap is - this data set doesn't tell the whole story.

I am a pilot and considered trying to go the airline route as an alternate to finance. Although a captain of a large corporation (American Airlines) can reach a salary in excess of 300K, this is not likely. It is incredibly time consuming and expensive to gain all the necessary licenses to even begin to build hours before joining an airline. In order to join an airline, you will probably need either military experience flying or get your instructor rating ($$ and time) to build flight hours required by the airlines for application by teaching students (now typically in excess of 1000 hours and very expensive multi-engine time). Then after massive amounts of debt, when you finally get taken in by an airline (most also require a college degree in addition to the above), you get shitty routes, terrible hours and low pay. After 20 years, you can work your way up the ranks and POTENTIALLY make 300K+. but, by that point everything you do is so routine and the work is equivalent to driving a large bus day after day (or so I hear). Also, if you switch airlines, or if yours shuts down, you start at the bottom of the hierarchy, there are no lateral hires because after a certain point, you really don't get much better.

My point in all of this is that statistics don't take into account the whole story. Doctors go through the same rigorous/expensive training in order to make the big bucks. Finance is the quickest way to boost your income, with no real cap on your earnings potential.

What you do now ? if you are a pilot Wondering what make u interested in WSO?
 

My friend's dad is a pilot. He flies like 8-10 days per month and probably makes $250,000 - 300,000.

My name is Nicky, but you can call me Dre.
 

1) Nobody on this forum is trying to be a broker. 2) Most people (99.9%) don't have a clue what investment bankers do, or how much they make.

 

I have my private pilots' license (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_pilot_licence) which I earned at age 17. I am a pilot, but there is a big difference between being a pilot, a pilot for hire, a flight instructor, and especially actually working for the airlines. Each requires successive ratings, and each level takes progressively more time and money. I am graduating this year with a degree in finance at age 21 and will be doing buyside equity research starting in a few months.

Now I just fly for fun, kind of a cool hobby - makes it easier to check the surf.

In case anyone is interested in the different ratings: - PPL (your typical pilot, what I have) - costs ~12K, 70 hours flight time avg., ~200+ hours study time - IFR rating (to fly in clouds, bad weather, requires PPL) - costs ~15K, same above study time/hours - Commercial rating (fly for hire, requires PPL +250 hours) - CFI (flight instructor, requires above 3) - this is typically how people build hours for the airline because flight time runs in the $100/hr. plus range. - ATP (air transport rating for airlines, requires 1500+ hrs. of flight time and multi-engine rating)

 
eriginalI have my private pilots' license (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_pilot_licence) which I earned at age 17. I am a pilot, but there is a big difference between being a pilot, a pilot for hire, a flight instructor, and especially actually working for the airlines. Each requires successive ratings, and each level takes progressively more time and money. I am graduating this year with a degree in finance at age 21 and will be doing buyside equity research starting in a few months.

Now I just fly for fun, kind of a cool hobby - makes it easier to check the surf.

In case anyone is interested in the different ratings: - PPL (your typical pilot, what I have) - costs ~12K, 70 hours flight time avg., ~200+ hours study time - IFR rating (to fly in clouds, bad weather, requires PPL) - costs ~15K, same above study time/hours - Commercial rating (fly for hire, requires PPL +250 hours) - CFI (flight instructor, requires above 3) - this is typically how people build hours for the airline because flight time runs in the $100/hr. plus range. - ATP (air transport rating for airlines, requires 1500+ hrs. of flight time and multi-engine rating)

Awesome ! Sigh...my dad didnt even paid of my DL ......yeah I know my brother just got commercial pilot licence, if he didnt get a job then he will go for CFI...

 

Interesting.

Okay with all of your knowledge how would you 'rank' your list

Eg 1. Investment Bankers 2. Traders And so on (I know the best trader can earn more then a banker and the best banker can earn more then a trader - just an example)

 
hopesanddreamsInteresting.

Okay with all of your knowledge how would you 'rank' your list

Eg 1. Investment Bankers 2. Traders And so on (I know the best trader can earn more then a banker and the best banker can earn more then a trader - just an example)

In terms of "Potential"

its by far and away 1. Trader 2. Investment Banker

 
Management consultant/actuary/statistician £40,199 +0.4%

An actuary doesnt even deserve to be grouped with these hack professsions ("management consultant")

__________
 

Experienced actuaries in certain areas make about 7-10x that. That's just a bit above a trainee actuary salary. Which is still a lot less than many areas of finance.

 

UK - excited over 24K? Seriously?

Then again, you do realise that the average player on this forum has his eyes set on the upper 1% of US society. The median salary in the US is about $50, which makes what most of you lot expect for entry level jobs quite fantastic.

Face it lads, we're all living in a bubble.

But Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought bravely. And Rhaegar died.
 

The average salary in the UK is £26,000 last time I checked, which is obviously driven up a bit by all the high rollers, for most people I would say £20-24k is about right. I'm on a graduate scheme here so I make quite a bit more than the average. I grew up in the US/Canada so I guess my perception of salaries is different. At a GBP:USD=1.62 rate that would equate to $42k/year.

 

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