Which Careers Pay Most?

Reaching Hire

I recently wrote an article about how too many colleges and universities aren’t really preparing people well for leadership in society, and a number of people pointed out that for the most part students (and their parents) today see college as job preparation—pure and simple.[i]
College is now mostly about Hire Education, not higher education, as some university billboards pronounce. My first response to this is “how sad.” Education once meant greatness; now it’s just about getting a job.
Don’t get me wrong, getting a job can be a worthy endeavor. But education can be so much more. And let’s be honest, when American education was focused on greatness instead of job training, the employment rate was higher and the overall quality and duration of jobs were better. Plus there were more successful entrepreneurs.
Maybe the old style of education for real learning, not just job training, knew something we’ve forgotten today. The American standard of living has decreased drastically in the last five decades, starting precisely at the same time that education reframed from greatness to job training.
By the way, our standard of living only looks similar to the 1950s because now both parents are working to pay for what one income used to cover. And even with this, most families still have to supplement their two incomes with additional debt.
But I looked even deeper into education and career statistics, just to see if the old promise that a college degree doubles or triples your income potential is true. Guess what? It isn’t.

Myth-Busting

There are some big myths perpetrated in the statistics on the relationship between college degrees and career earnings. The main argument that frequently gets tossed around is that those with a college degree earn much more than those without.
It turns out this is half true, and half false. If you look at some of the most popular college majors and what people do with them after graduation, and compare these to many of the most popular jobs for people without a degree, it turns out that, on average, those with a four-year degree make about 1/3 more.
For example, Sociology graduates earn an average of $47,121 a year, Education grads average $52,241, Religious Studies grads average $61,811, Hospitality/ Tourism $55,476, Nutrition $53,679, Psychology $43,384, Fine Arts $37,819, Journalism/Reporter $37,393, and Communications $52,549.[ii]
Many popular jobs in high growth sectors that don’t require a college degree pay less on average, including Home Care Aide $26,266, Receptionist $30,025, Carpenter $44,778, Office Clerk $31,476, Bookkeeper $39,022, Meeting/Event Assistant $44,189, and Software Developer $57,916.[iii]
This is what people typically mean when they say that a college degree doubles or triples a person’s earning potential. Actually, it doesn’t double or triple it, but on average it boosts it by about 30%. That’s a significant boost in earnings, for sure.
But what is left out of this statistic, what most people don’t realize, is that there are two fields that do triple or quadruple a person’s earning potential. In fact, these fields allow for much more than triple earnings.

Where the Money Really Is

The first is sales, and the second is entrepreneurship or building a business.
The numbers are interesting. For example, the average salary for a Sales Representative is $75,666[iv] and for an Entrepreneur in a sales field it is $165,000.[v] Neither of these require college, though it may help a person get the job. Median pay for a sales executive is $127,000 and for a sales director it is $142,000. But Entrepreneurship beats even sales.
The only major field where the average beats Entrepreneurship is Medicine, where non-surgical physicians average $199,000 - $205,000 per year and surgeons average $192,000 - $299,000 annually.[vi]
Even this statistic is skewed, however, because surgeons spend on average 11 years more in school than most entrepreneurs and also start work with an average of $140,000 in student loans. Factoring in the cost of paying back the principal and interest on this debt and the 11 years of additional work, entrepreneurial earnings are on par with or higher than medical professionals.
Additionally, when stock, dividends and non-salary profits are included, doctor compensation falls far short of successful entrepreneurial careers.

Salary vs. Pay

Why aren’t these statistics frequently shared with young people making education and career decisions? One reason is that most studies and statistics emphasize salaries only, not overall pay.
For example, the median starting salary for attorneys is $80,000 a year; at the height of their earning the average is $155,000 - $170,000.[vii] Overall, the median salary for attorneys is $118,000.[viii]
But those who make partner in top firms, or build their own practices, become entrepreneurs who get paid non-salaried profits out of the firms’ earnings. This ownership compensation in large firms is as much as 4-8 times their annual salary. In short, entrepreneurship frequently pays much more than a job.
Likewise, accountants generally make between $45,000 and $87,000,[ix] while partners in big firms are often compensated in ownership/entrepreneurial payments of more than $400,000 per annum. Engineers make on average between $60,000 and $120,000 per year,[x] while those who own engineering firms make much, much more. A carpenter earns on average just under $45,000 while an owner of a contracting business can make many times this amount.
Successful franchise owners and successful network marketers make a lot more on average than those in non-entrepreneurial careers.
The view that college drastically increases earning persists, however. As one report put it: “Numerous studies over the years have shown that individuals with college degrees significantly out-earn those with high school degrees by $1 million or more over the course of a lifetime.”[xi] A master’s degree boosts earning over high school by an average of $1.2 million, and a professional degree by an average of $1.7.[xii]

Real News

While these statistics are compelling, what is left out of most articles on this topic is actually much bigger news. Successful sales entrepreneurship increases earning over high school by a lifetime average of $5.4 million,[xiii] (or $7.4 million when bonuses, dividends, options and other non-salary income is included).[xiv]
Why isn’t this the real news? The difference is huge. It’s great that a college degree can bring on average an extra million dollars of earning in life, or that a law or medical degree can greatly increase this amount, but it’s downright fantastic that entrepreneurial success can bring $5.4 - $7.4 million of additional lifetime income. Again, this is the real story.
This is downplayed by many professionals who find that leaving corporate pay to start their own companies reduces their immediate income, but the real test is how much they’d have made if they had started their own company in the beginning and built it over the years—instead of working for salary. Those who follow this path typically make a lot more.
Some people argue that it’s not fair to only count successful entrepreneurs, since many who start businesses fail. But the other statistics (of people with college and graduate degrees making more than high school graduates) also only count those who succeed—not the many who dropped out or failed along the way.
The statistics and data show that entrepreneurship is the most realistic road to high-level financial success. The truth about the connection between college degrees and career earnings, while true, simply isn’t the most important news.

Fixing Priorities

For years I have promoted getting a great education, because I consider it an incredibly high priority. If college is the place you want to get a great education, then go for it. Find great mentors, hit the books, study and learn. I think every person should pursue a great education, whether in college or elsewhere. I’ve even written several books about the vital importance of getting a great education, including the bestselling book A Thomas Jefferson Education.
In short, I’m a fan of quality learning. Reading great books, listening to great audios, working with great mentors, and really learning is a very important lifetime pursuit.
But if the point of college is earning potential rather than getting a great education, let’s get our facts straight.
The truth is clear: Those who entrepreneur and build a business into a successful venture earn a lot more on average than other career paths. Many who try this path don’t succeed, but that is true in all career fields. In the end, over 80% of America’s millionaires are self-made,[xv] and two-thirds of America’s millionaires are self-employed entrepreneurs building a business.[xvi] The reality is the reality.
However you get a great education (and I think everyone should!), if you want a career that will triple or quadruple (or even more) your income and earning potential, building a business is it. Nothing else even comes close.[i] Oliver DeMille, The Center for Social Leadership, 2013.
[ii] salary.com
[iii] salary.com
[iv] salary.com
[v] simplyhired.com
[vi] MedicalNews.medrounds.org; Salary.com differs on this statistic, placing the median for surgeons at $340,000 per annum. Salary.com lists Oral Surgeons at a median of $250,000 per year and specialized surgeons between $348,000 and $572,000. See also CNNMoney.com, “Best Jobs in America: Median Pay.”
[vii] thelawdictionary.org; Salary.com puts the median amount between $77,000 and $150,000.
[viii] CNNMoney.com
[ix] salary.com
[x] salary.com
[xi] salary.com
[xii] dba-oracle.com, based on annual averages with required schooling factored in. The statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau reported on about.com are $900,000 more for college graduates and $1.3 million more for people with masters degrees.
[xiii] See the U.S. Census Bureau report details at usgovinfo.about.com and entrepreneurial sales executive average pay of $165,000 per annum at simplyhired.com.
[xiv] This amount may actually be higher. This rate is figured at 37%, which is actually less than half the average because salary only accounts for approximately 20% of base pay for many CEO’s while 80% is paid in other compensation; see salary.com, Executive Compensation. Not all entrepreneurs are CEO’s, but many receive significant non-salary pay.
[xv] See Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko, The Millionaire Next Door.
[xvi] See Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko, The Millionaire Next Door. See also, Robert Kiyosaki, The CashFlow Quadrant; Andrew McAfee, “Stop Requiring College Degrees,” Harvard Business Review Blog Network.

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Oliver DeMille is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling co-author of LeaderShift: A Call for Americans to Finally Stand Up and Lead, the co-founder of the Center for Social Leadership, and a co-creator of TJEd.
Among many other works, he is the author of A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the 21st Century, The Coming Aristocracy, and FreedomShift: 3 Choices to Reclaim America’s Destiny.
Oliver is dedicated to promoting freedom through leadership education. He and his wife Rachel are raising their eight children in Cedar City, Utah