Top 5 Highest Paying Jobs in America

When we're young, our parents almost always try to inculcate in us the idea that we should grow up to have extravagant careers like becoming a doctor or a lawyer. Career paths like these obviously require many years of schooling besides getting a basic Bachelor's degree. Our parents were always right about this, because doctors are the highest paying jobs in America, according to Forbes. Upcoming is an analysis of the top 5 highest paying jobs in America classified their by mean annual wage, what they do exactly, and how many years of school one needs to make it there.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons are the fifth highest paying job in America that specialize in the anatomical area of the face, jaws, mouth, and skull and must be qualified as dentists to begin practice. All oral surgeons have a DDS and MDs and have to stay in school 4 more years that dentists do. After 4 years of undergraduate, they must attend 4 years of dental school, then two years of medical school, topped off with a residency that varies from 2-4 years. It seems like all this studying pays off because they earn an average of $164, 760 a year.

The fourth highest paid workers in America are Orthodontists who specialize in the treatment of incorrect bites and misalignment of the jaw. This is where one goes to get braces, retainers, and other teeth aligning equipment. After undergraduate school, aspiring orthodontists must attend 4 years of dental school and then pass a licensing exam before they can practice on patients. Orthodontists make an average of $176, 900 a year.

Obstetricians and Gynecologists is the third highest grossing career in America; these are the doctors that focus on the care of women and children during pregnancy and the health of the female reproductive system, respectively. Today, almost all gynecologists are obstetricians. To be an OB/GYN, 4 years of undergraduate school as well as four years of medical school are required. Upon gaining an MD, one must also undertake 4 years of paid residency at a hospital and after the residency is completed, one must take an exam. Obstetricians and gynecologists have a mean annual wage of $178, 040 a year.

The second highest paid workers in America are Surgeons, which are doctors who perform surgery but almost always have a specific specialty. The specialties are numerous and range from plastic surgery to cardiac surgery and from urology to neurosurgery. They must spend 4 years at the university level and obtain a Bachelor's degree (most likely in science) and then 4 years of medical school (where they pick their specialization). Then they must complete a residency at a hospital which can take between 3 to 8 years. After the completion of the residency, one must take a licensing exam to work in that particular state and only then will they be award the title of 'surgeon'. Surgeons make on average each year $184, 150.

Finally, the highest paying job in America is being an Anesthesiologist, which is a doctor that specializes in administering and monitoring anesthesia to patients before, during, and after their operation. Like other medical specializations, to become an anesthesiologist students have to complete the 4 undergraduate years at a university and then 4 years at medical school. After medical school, 4 years of residency are required leading up to board certification in anesthesiology. The first year of residency is surgical training while the last 3 is training by senior anesthesiologists. The mean annual wage for anesthesiologists in America is $184, 340 and they can make up to as much as over $300, 000 a year.