Highest Paying Jobs In The U.S.

Hi Friends,

You think that in order to make the big bucks, you have to get involved in the glamour professions, such as acting or professional athletics. You might be surprised to learn, however, that none of those professions made the top 10 or even the top 25 list of highest-paying jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

It should be noted that, according to the Department of Labor, 8 of the top 10 highest-paying professions were in the medical field. To avoid monotony, we excluded most of the medical professions and included the U.S. Department of Labor’s official list at the end of this article. Here are the top 10 highest-paying jobs in the U.S.

Number 10

Natural Sciences Manager

Highest salary: $97,560
Training time: 6 years

Natural science managers oversee the work of other scientists, such as agricultural scientists, chemists, biologists, and geologists. Natural science managers are commonly employed in the research and development field and work in pharmaceutical and environmental consulting or municipal organizations. Natural science managers often own their own consulting or testing firms, and can serve as expert witnesses in court hearings.

A bachelor’s degree is absolutely required, and to work your way up the ladder, an MBA or doctorate is strongly encouraged. Fortunately, many employers will pay for educational costs. The best and highest-paid natural science managers have an aptitude for key business functions, such as marketing, sales and finance. This is common, as it often takes a combination of business acumen and specialized knowledge to present and communicate ideas and concepts in a sophisticated sales environment.

Number 9

Marketing Manager

Highest salary: $100,020
Training time: 4 to 6 years

Marketing managers, like CEOs, span all sorts of industries and levels of responsibility. A small accounting firm may have a marketing manager to help coordinate Yellow Page advertisements and chamber appearances, while this marketing manager's Fortune 500 peer is responsible for the complete tactical execution of a multimillion-dollar marketing budget that encompasses a plenitude of marketing media. Marketing managers can be expected to handle items such as public relations, brand development, media buying, collateral and promotions development, and even the financial metrics and analytics.

The responsibility scope is a function of the organization’s size and the outward focus of the company. For instance, a marketing manager at a Fortune 500 company serving the consumer audience will have a far larger task than the marketing manager at a small, niche business-to-business consulting firm. Communication skills, marketing prowess, and basic management skills all come into play. In most cases, marketing managers have a four-year degree, and an MBA will definitely help in higher-level executive marketing positions.

Number 8

Computer and Information Systems Manager

Highest salary: $100,110
Training time: 4 to 8 years

Computer and information systems managers are responsible for the overall strategy and direction of the company’s information technology (IT) and systems plan. Many start out as programmers or data analysts, but as experience and conceptual knowledge is acquired, one can become capable of overseeing the information systems management of an entire enterprise. In today’s technological environment, most companies regard this as a highly valued position and pay accordingly. Elements of the job include overseeing a company’s IT security, information management, information technology deployment, software and application selection, revenue assurance, and compliance.

When the field was relatively new, there were stories of incredibly gifted programmers who rose to top positions without any formal training or education. Today, however, with the wide corporate acceptance of information technology, more of an emphasis is placed on new candidates having a four-year degree in computer science, computer engineering or mathematics, and even advanced degrees.

Number 7

Air Traffic Controller

Highest salary: $100,430
Training time: 9 years

Employed almost exclusively by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), air traffic controllers are responsible for the safe operation of private and commercial aircraft. Responsibilities include coordinating movement of air traffic to keep planes at safe distances from one another and to minimize traffic delays. Typically, a team works together to help planes position for takeoff and landing, taxi to the gate, and to communicate with pilots and warn about weather patterns.

To become an air traffic controller, you must enroll in an FAA-approved program and pass an aptitude test. Exceptions may be made for those with military or aviation experience. A four-year degree and three years of work experience are typically required, and you must apply to take the exam. If you are selected and you pass, you’ll have to attend a 12-week training session before working as a development controller for two to four years, and after that, you’ll be ready to be hired as an air traffic controller.

Number 6

Lawyer

Highest salary: $110,590
Training time: 7 years

The legal system affects nearly every aspect of our society  and there is no shortage of attorney classifications that you can aspire to. We are all familiar with the personal injury and criminal attorneys, but the scope goes far beyond that. Environmental law, entertainment law, family law, real estate law, intellectual property, and civil law are a handful of the fields that need legal representation. Some attorneys choose to specialize in a particular industry, such as construction, waste management, securities, or insurance, while others will review agreements, represent the court or mediate.

The industry is highly regulated and adheres to a very stringent code of ethics. Lawyers must pass the bar examination offered by the state they wish to practice in. However, in most cases, to be eligible to sit for the bar, you must have a four-year degree and have graduated from an ABA-accredited law school, which takes about three years.

Number 5

Dentist

Highest salary: $132,660
Training time: 8 years

There are quite a few specialties orthodontics, oral surgery and pediatrics to name a few within the dental field, although many opt to become general practitioners. Dentists in private practice will commonly oversee business operations, including administration and bookkeeping. All states require dentists to be licensed, so candidates must graduate from one of the 56 dental schools accredited by the ADA. Graduates must also pass both written and practical exams. While most dental schools require only two years of college-level education, most candidates obtain their bachelor’s degree. Dental school for general practitioners takes three to four years, and if you wish to specialize, you can plan on an additional two to five years of training.

Number 4

Airline Pilot

Highest salary: $134,090
Training time: 5 to 10 years

A pilot can not only captain a commercial airliner, but he can also fly helicopters, test aircraft, serve as an aviation director, crop dust, monitor traffic, and pilot cargo planes.
While everyone has heard of the grand benefits enjoyed by commercial airline pilots they fly only 100 hours per month due to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations it is not easy to obtain that status. Becoming certified as a pilot is not too stringent you need to be at least 18 years old  and have at least 250 hours of flight experience to obtain the basic licenses. Commercial airline pilots need to be at least 23, have at least 1,500 hours in the air, and pass an array of FAA tests (written, flight and instrument).

A four-year degree is not necessary; however, the increasingly competitive landscape is making many airlines require a bachelor’s degree. Due to the number of required -- and generally expensive flight hours, many airline pilots have earned their experience in the military. There are, however, many private flight training schools. After being hired by an airline, it can take 5 to 15 years to become a captain and reap the rewards in terms of pay, benefits and choice of routes.

Number 3

Engineering Manager

Highest salary: $140,210
Training time: 6 to 7 years

Engineering managers are responsible for plans, coordination, research, design, and production activities. Frequently, engineering managers oversee natural science managers and information systems managers two professions that also made this list.

Typically, engineering managers determine specific technical or scientific goals, provide broad outlines, plan the execution and, in some cases, are responsible for the financial viability of a project. For example, engineering managers may be actively involved in the development of a real estate community, or they may work in the manufacturing space to solve technical problems. However, managers who deal with semiconductors and electronic components manufacturing are among the highest paid.

Most engineering managers have bachelor’s degrees, and many will pursue post-graduate degrees, such as an MBA, a Master of Science or a doctorate.

Number 2

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Highest salary: $140,880
Training time: Varies

A CEO is the highest ranking official within a company (and often the highest paid), and they’re responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operational performance of the company. The CEO usually answers to the board of directors, which is elected by the shareholders. In smaller companies, however, the CEO is not only the Chairman of the Board, but he can also be the entire board of directors.

There are many paths to becoming a CEO. In large Fortune 500 companies, you are just as likely to see an employee with more than 30 years become the head honcho as you are to see the company hire a seasoned executive manager. It is also possible to form your own company and simply name yourself CEO and build your company until you are actually overseeing many levels of management and development.

In the corporate world, a bachelor’s degree is almost ubiquitous and it is encouraged to obtain an MBA, though it’s not necessary we all know that Bill Gates is an inspirational dropout.

Number 1

Surgeon

Highest salary: $181,850
Training time: 10 to 15 years

While many medical professions are high on the pay scale, those who perform surgery are the highest paid  specifically, surgeons who specialize in the treatment of illness or injury. As such, most surgeons opt to specialize in a specific area, like the heart or the brain.

Even for general surgeons, the very granular knowledge required to effectively perform an operation can only be obtained through additional formal training and many years of hands-on experience. Of course, a four-year degree is required to go down this path, and biology or other sciences are preferred because these provide access to basic knowledge that will be applied in medical school. After college, plan for four years of medical school the first two years will be in classrooms, and the last two will involve working with patients under the direction of physician educators. A residency is the next step, and this can last from three to seven years, depending on the candidate’s desire to specialize. A candidate must also pass a licensing examination.

While the profession can be lucrative, it is certainly not easy or cheap: More than 80% of medical-school graduates carry a debt.

earning six digits

To make the most money, your best bet is to go down the medical path, provided you are willing to participate in the many years of required training and education. Also, before getting too green-eyed, realize that one year in school is one year taken away from building your career. Overall, to do well, note the specialization of each of the top 24 highest-paying careers per the U.S. Department of Labor -- finding your niche and becoming the best certainly pays dividends.

The top 24 according to the U.S. Department of Labor:

1. Surgeon: $181,850
2. Anesthesiologist: $174,610
3. OB/GYN: $174,610
4. Oral and maxillofacial surgeon: $169,600
5. Internist: $156,790
6. Prosthodontist: $156,710
7. Orthodontist: $153,240
8. Psychiatrist: $151,380
9. Chief Executive Officer: $140,880
10. Engineering Manager: $140,210
11. Pediatrician: $140,000
12. Family or general practitioner: $137,980
13. Physician/surgeon, all other: $137,100
14. Airline Pilot: $134,090
15. Dentist: $132,660
16. Podiatrist: $111,130
17. Lawyer: $110,590
18. Dentist, any other specialist: $106,040
19. Air Traffic Controller: $100,430
20. Computer and Information Systems Manager: $100,110
21. Marketing Manager: $100,020
22. Natural Sciences Manager: $97,560
23. Sales Manager: $96,950
24. Astronomer: $96,780

-----------------------------------

By Terence Channon

10 Things to Do When You Leave Corporate America

What’s the best part about not having to get dressed up and go to work every day? Time.

If you're working full time in Corporate America today, eventually you will leave. What are you going to do with all that time? Or, if you’ve already left, what are you doing with all that time?

Here’s my top 10 list for things to do when you leave Corporate America (in no particular order):

1. Go to the gym. I understand (really, I do) when you’re working you just don’t have the time. My first inclination was to make up for lost time by cramming years of workouts into one month while making believe that I can still do what I did in my 20s. But that resulted in one trip to the emergency room and four stitches. Now I’m approaching my workouts more like a 30-something (a-hem).

2. Cook. It’s always been my job to make dinner. But let’s face it making dinner is not quite the same thing as cooking. I’ve known this for a long time even though I did my best to convince my family I was actually cooking. My new approach is causing some disruption though when my husband comes home expecting that I’ll pull something together in twenty minutes or less.

3. Read. Admit it you all have that pile of books that you’ve been collecting from Amazon to read some day. They have been collecting dust and consuming precious shelf space. When you leave Corporate America you just might have time to read those books while simultaneously encouraging the pile to grow larger.

4. Master the laundry process. I used to spend all weekend mass processing the laundry. It was the only time I had to do it, and with kids playing messy sports there was quite a bit to do. I have discovered that it is far more efficient to spread the loads across the week. And the weekends remain free for other things like:

5. Pay attention to what your kids are doing. Your kids won’t like this. It will disrupt the normal order of things. They aren’t likely to give you full Facebook friend status, but there are covert methods that work quite well (which can’t be divulged here for fear that I will lose my sources).

6. Annoy your spouse. When you have time to clean and organize you start to realize that you have collected enormous amounts of junk over the years. So when that yellow t-shirt disappears – and your spouse is annoyed well, just think of it as getting even.

7. Learn what a savasana is. Don’t think about, just do it.

8. Write. Everyone has a story in them, right? You know all that stuff that’s been cluttering up your brain? Now you can write about it. If you’re lucky someone might even read it.

9. Get some Vitamin D – from the sun. Some of you may not know this because you never see the sun, but the sun does actually shine – at least a little on most days. And ten minutes (without sunscreen) is equal to 10000 international units of vitamin D.

10. Watch Mad Men. I can’t be the only person on the planet who had no idea this AMC TV show existed until a few months ago. If you’ve worked in Corporate America this might become your new favorite show. You get bonus points if you were born in the 50s or 60s.

What’s on your list?

By Colette Martin

Will Obama reveal back?

As a U.S. Senator, the President-Elect Barack Obama Voted for Legislation which would have to Killed Gianna Jessen who was Born Alive after a BOTCHED Abortion
Gianna Jessen is 31 years old whose life and survival has been the subject of intense media interest in light of the debate that she sparked during the recent U.S. presidential campaign. She was born in California in 1977 to a mother who tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to undergo an abortion. At the age of 17, when many girls her age were planning what they would be wearing on prom night, Gianna's mother, who was six weeks pregnant, decided to end her pregnancy and her unborn baby's life by submitting to an injection of saline solution whose purpose was to burn the embryo she was carrying. Demonstrating a fierce will to survive, even at that tender age, Giana, diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and numerous other disabilities because of the attempted abortion, managed to survive when the odds were decidedly against her. By pure chance, the abortionist was not present when Gianna was born, for had he been present, there is almost no chance that she would have lived. An experienced nurse quickly sent Gianna for emergency care at a local neonatology intensive care department where the doctors kept her alive, assuming that there was no chance she could. Weighing only 2 pounds there was little hope, and when she did "make it" she was placed in foster care. The diagnosis was she would probably never be able to walk or crawl, lift her head or sit up by herself. Eventually, demonstrating a fierce sense of personal drive, she eventually learned to sit up, crawl, then stand. She learned to walk with leg braces and a walker by the time she was four years old. Physical therapy became a routine in her life, and after undergoing four surgical procedures, she learned to walk unassisted. Walking led to walking faster and eventually she overcame the obstacles and started running. Running led to racing, led to competitions and she soon entered marathons (26.2 miles) a rare achievement for a person who started out in life on such shaky ground. What does this have to do with America's dazzling president-elect - himself a "poster image" of excellent health? Little other than the fact that according to Ms. Jessen, early in his political career, Mr. Obama was unwilling to support legislation which would have protected the lives of "botched abortions". Gianna views Mr. Obama's opinions on the matter as being seriously detrimental to the chances of people like her surviving if they manage to do so by some miraculous means. Gianna went so far as to publicize her concerns about Mr. Obama's legislative record, and her views, and the candidate's positions were widely viewed as opposing campaign advertisements. The advertisements and attendant publicity resulted in public statements, accusations and denials becoming part of their outspoken debate. As Gianna sees it, Mr. Obama has lost his sense of objectivity due to political ambition and expediency, as reflected in his attack on her during the campaign. All she asked of him publicly was to support medical care and protection for infants who survive abortion. Gianna claims that Obama voted against such legislative protection and care four times even though the U.S. Senate voted 98-0 in favor of a bill identical to the one Obama opposed. Again, according to Ms. Jessen, in the words of Mr. Obama's own misleading ad, his position is totally unacceptable. In defending his position, Mr. Obama said that the question of when babies should receive human rights was above his pay grade. Gianna's response to that very wishy-washy explanation: That type of vacillation in public policy almost left her to die. No one should have to go through what she experienced.

How to make more number of hits to Your blog

Traffic is the reflection of success of a blog and blogger. A blog can be regarded as successful if it gets more number of hits and it is unsuccessful if it has lesser number of those. This is the reason why every serious blogger is quite obsessed to get a lot of traffic and constantly tries to get more number of hits on his blog. Here in this post I would like to share some of the tips (some new little known and some old goodies) to generate more number of hits on your blog.
First of all I would like to give you a little idea about the basics of traffic. It is quite necessary to get these basic ideas before switching to the strategies to get more hits on your blog. ( you would discover later in this post tat why it is necessary to have those basic ideas)
What is web traffic?
I know you are quite comfortable answering this question if yo are blogging for a while. But let us take a look at the definition of web traffic as defined by wikipedia.
Web traffic is the amount of data sent and received by visitors to a web site. It is a large portion of Internet traffic. This is determined by the number of visitors and the number of pages they visit.
Source: Wikipedia
It is clear from this definition that traffic is a measure of site’s activity usually reflected by the number of visitors and number of pageviews visitors generate.
Now the visitors can be of two types-
• New visitor who has come to your blog for the first time
• Revisitor who has visited your blog in past
My point of telling all this is, since new visitors and revisitors are separate groups ,so, the strategies you should ploy to get more hits from these group should be separate. Furthermore, The strategies are separate but they go hand in hand and not one at a time.
Traffic = New visitors + Revisitors
How to get more hits from new visitors?
Before planning a strategy to increase hits through new visitors you must have some knowledge on the sources that send these new visitors. I have identified 4 sources that send new visitors to a blog. If you have some more to add you are most welcome to do that through comments. Those four sources are-
• Search engines
• Referring sites like , other blogs of the niche and forums
• Social media sites
• Word of mouth
Each of these has a great potential to send a few hundred or even more visitors to your site provided that you use them wisely. Now I will discuss each of these sources separately.

How to get more hits on your blog through search engines?

You must have heard bout search engine optimization if you are blogging for a while. I am fan of this topic and has written many post on it including a full series of posts titled- Organic search engine optimization.
Search engines are one of the best sources of getting traffic to your blog but you have to rank high for the targeted keywords if you want some purchase from this. Although I am not vastly experienced in this area but with whatever experience I had with search engines for past one and half years, I can tell you that ranking high is not a problem if you just target your keywords judiciously. Keywords are the base of all SEO campaigns and you need a solid keyword research to get some hits from search engines.
Although a lot has been said about Search engine optimization all over the web (including this blog) but the very basic steps of search engine optimization is-
• Solid in depth keyword research
• A good keyword density of about 5-6%
• Internal linking to related posts
• Use of html tage like heading ,bold and italic tags
• Link building
This is just the basic and a detailed account of all these above points can be found at the organic search engine optimization series that I had written earlier.
How to get more hits on your blog from referring sites?
For most of the bigger blogs referring sites are the the single best and largest source of traffic. In fact they are also he most reliable and a source of long time traffic. Search engines algorithm can change, your rankings can change and this would affect number of visitors on your blog. But if you are for a long haul , I would advice you to focus upon this source of traffic. I have identified 5 types of sites which can act as a media to send visitors to your blog-
• Other blogs
• Forums
• Article directories
• Website directories
• Sites like google groups and yahoo answers
Getting hits from other blogs-
One of the highly talked source of hits to your blog is another blog of the same niche as yours. Now there are three ways you can utilize these blogs to get hits on your blog.
• By commenting on them- Choose some highly trafficked blog in your niche and regularly pour in some useful and thoughtful comments on them with a signature link back to your blog. Let us suppose you just comment on 10 posts. In months time you will have 300 comments and if each of these sent just 1 visitor a week you will have 300×4 = 1200 visitors a month. Isn’t this incredible. But make sure your comments are unique, thoughtful and make the visitors inquisitive.
• By Guest posting- Guest posting brings in a huge amount of traffic to your blog if you persuade a key layer in your niche to write in his blog. There will be an instant spike in traffic and many of those who visit your site will become regular visitor and subsribe to your feeds.
• Through Trackbacks- Trackbacks are a tool that enables a blogger to write about someone else’s post in your blog. You just post your opinion about some other blogger’s post on your own blog. The trackback link appears in yours as well as other blogger just below the posts. This link can bring in some hits to your blog.
You can either use one of them or all these three methods. If possible use all these three methods to get better results.
Getting hits from forums-
Forums are sites where people ask question o other forum memebers and others answer them. All the forums allow you to leave a signature link below the posts you make. Just identify some high trafficked forums in your niche and make useful contribution to it by answering people’s question. You might get some visitors if you are doing this job perfectly well with an intention to help others.
Getting hits from article and web directories-I
I don’t have an idea about the amount of success you get through these sites but some bloggers has advised to submit articles and links in some quality directories like Dmoz and yahoo directory. I had limited success with these but I think you must try this out as you might not get some hits from these but they will pass some link juice to you.
The same can be said about article directories.Although in terms of traffic article directories give better results than web directories but still the amount of traffic they send is not impressive. (at least it hasn’t worked for me). I think they are better sources to build links and gfetting more hits from them is hard to accomplish.
Getting hits from sites like google groups and yahoo answers-
I had some success with google groups. I have answered many questions in google groups and it sends some visitors to this blog on regular basis. Similarly , I had some success with yahoo answers which sent some visitors to my “India travel guide” site.
I haven’t been much active in these type of sites. Just commented and answered some questions on a couple of occassions. I am of opinion that these sites can be milked for even more hits for your blog. Just you need to answer the questions and post your useful opinions. You have to be active here to get some traffic out of it. 10 postings in these sites daily can give you good results.
How to get more hits to your blog through Social media sites-
Web 2.0 has come to its full effect on the net and it can be seen on the sites like stumbleupon, digg, facebook ,Myspace and many other networking portals present on the net. With rise of web2.0 social media sites can’t be overlooked if you are looking for a long time haul in blogging. Actually your blog can also be regarded as a mini social site where you put your opinion forth and readers put their own opinion through comments.
Social media sites are not only effective in bringing your blog to limelight in short span of time but also it has potential to long term and consistent hits on your blog. But how to usce them is a big question that need s to be answered.Here I will discuss just the basic points that you need to remember while using these sites.
• Choose a social site that meets your need. Not all social sites are suited for everyone. For example , Digg is best suited for those bloggers who write about news items or tech stuffs. A blog about shoes might not get anything in Digg. So, be choosy in deciding the social sites. For most of the bloggers stumbleupon is quite suited. It has a large number of categories ,so, there is all liklihood that your blog will be accomodated in one of those categories.
• Use these sites to help others- One f the reasons most of the bloggers fail in these sites is because their action is driven by making traffic or sales. Please keep in mind that social media sites are a place where poeople share stuffs and socialise. So, over promotion on these sites can bounce back on you by bringing a bad reputation to you and your blog.
• Network with other like minded people to vote your posts- I don’t find anything wrong in asking people to vote your posts. But don’t do this for every posts you have written. Just do it for a post that you think is useful and is value packed.
Getting more hits on your blog through word of mouth
This is perhaps the most effective way of getting more hits on your blog. No traffic generation strategy can equal the potential of word of mouth spread of your blog. One of the finest way to do this type blog promotion is by placing a ‘tell a friend’ script at the bottom of each of your posts. Many of your readers might just email your posts to others in their network thus bringing in some new visitors to your blog.
Even better technique to do this is by giving away something in return like, free ebooks and reports in return of referring a friend. That did the trick for some of the bloggers I know although I haven’t tried it yet.
How to get more hits on your blog through revisitors
Uptill now I have covered the strategies to bring in more hits through new visits. In my opinion it is easier to get new visitors but it is quite tough to mke your visitors come back to you unless you have a quality and unique content.
People surf the web to get information and they return to only those sites that provide it quite regularly. Some of the strategies that you can ploy to make your visitors repeat again and again are-
1) Giveaway something free to get your visitors isubscribed to your feeds or newsletter. They might return to your blog once they find some of your items if it souded appealing to them.
2) Organise competitions on your blog on regular basis. Many of the visitoirs like to take part in competitions if you are giving away something exciting to winner. They will come again and again in search of those contests.
3) Write quality content on regular basis. The primary reason why a visitor come to your blog is because he needs some information or answer to some questions. If you are providing the content the visitor demands then he will return time and again to see updates from you. They won’t come to your blog unless you are providing solid reason to come back in form of quality content.
Traffic generation and getting more hits on a blog is a time taking process. It is not an overnight process. But once you are doing the things that I just mentioned rightly , Iam sure you would get many many hits on your blog. Referring sites and social media sites are the biggest source of traffic and you should a pay particular attention to them.
What are your traffic generation strategies. I welcome everyone to share their traffic generation tips through comments section.
Over to you !!

Choose Your Career To Define Success: Living with a Lack of Job Security

Choose Your Career To Define Success: Living with a Lack of Job Security: "Coping with uncertaintySome of the people you know may have only had a few jobs - or even one job - in their lives. If so,..."