Top-Paying Jobs in America

WEALTH CREATION

1. Anesthesiologist
Median salary: $292,000
Top pay: $408,000

The high pay for anesthesiologists reflects inherent stress in a job that is literally about life and death. "Anesthesiologists get patients safely and intact through operations while surgeons do things that would otherwise kill them," says Roger Moore, president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. The big salaries are also a payback for the 12-plus years of training required before an anesthesiologist can start practicing.

2. Physician/Obstetrician/Gynecologist
Median salary: $222,000
Top pay: $338,000

OB/GYN salaries reflect the high malpractice insurance premiums they must pay, due to the riskiness of the job and the need to regularly perform surgery. High demand boosts compensation, too: Since OB/GYNs function as the primary doctor for many women and generally treat patients for long stints of time (think nine months), there's always a need for their services.

3. Psychiatrist
Median salary: $177,000
Top pay: $279,000
Psychiatrists typically charge a hefty hourly fee, and have little trouble collecting since most of their patients pay for the services out of pocket. Independent practitioners require little overhead and pay relatively low malpractice insurance rates, which helps keep profits flowing.

4. Nurse Anesthetist
Median salary: $157,000
Top pay: $214,000
Like the anesthesiologists to whom they report, nurse anesthetists get paid to never make a mistake. Anesthesia mortality rates have fallen from two deaths per 10,000 in the 1980s to 1 per 200,000 today. That means nurse anesthetists must be at the top of their game, even when working a 2 a.m. shift or staffing the ER on New Year's Eve.

5. Sales Director
Median salary: $140,000
Top pay: $239,000
Sales directors make big bucks because they bring in big bucks for their employers. "Sales is the lifeblood of any company, and that's why it's one of the highest-paid professions," says Robert Boroff, managing director of recruiting firm Reaction Search International. Sales directors also get compensated for recruiting, mentoring and managing the most productive team possible.

6. Actuary
Median salary: $129,000
Top pay: $257,000
Companies know that it's worth paying a hefty salary to keep a competent actuary on staff: A major error in an actuarial task like pricing a product or securing cash reserves could mean lights out for the entire firm. The salary also takes into account hefty education requirements: To become fully knighted as an actuary, professionals must go beyond an undergraduate degree to complete an additional 10 years of study and exams.

7. Finance Director
Median salary: $121,000
Top pay: $214,000
Finance directors have high-profile positions with salaries to match. They also shoulder the hefty responsibility of managing financial risk. Companies are willing to pony up to ensure that their finance director has the book smarts (CPA and an MBA at most large companies) and the business acumen to generate accurate forecasts and budgets.

8. Software Architect
Median salary: $117,000
Top pay: $166,000
Software architects are the masterminds behind the design for products and tools we use every day. There aren't nearly enough top code masters to fill the openings that exist at nearly every major company around the world. That demand has driven paychecks for the best software architects sky-high.

9. Attorney/Lawyer
Median salary: $115,000
Top pay: $262,000
Not all attorneys rake in the dough; plenty of prosecutors and public interest lawyers make meager salaries. But lawyers at corporate firms still frequently earn starting salaries that exceed six figures, even with well-publicized layoffs, falling rates, and controversy in the industry over the standard billable hour. The high pay reflects the high stakes involved in corporate litigation and transactions--lawyers are involved in deals and cases worth millions.

10. Insurance Broker
Median salary: $114,000
Top pay: $273,000
Big commissions can boost earnings for driven insurance agents. Those who specialize in working with companies in high-liability industries -- such as oil, construction and pharmaceuticals -- can do especially well, since commissions can amount to 10% to 15% of the total contract. Agents with significant tenure tend to become the "go-to" people in their area of specialty, which allows them to capture bigger deals and bring home even bigger commissions.