Careers. The word that makes most of us sweat even in an air-conditioned room. We hustle through our school and university life basically to ensure that we get into a career that helps us settle down for good. In todays day and age with new career options opening every day, there is a job opening for almost every skill set. It is hence getting even more daunting to know and prepare for careers that will be worth the time and money in preparing for it. With new and new companies coming up every day, there are some careers that are becoming much more important and celebrated than the others.
With more career choices, the motivators of choosing one of them are varied too. While interests and beliefs are important, money is, in the end, the biggest motivator of them all. If you look at the industry trend, many people look for a high-status job which pays really good.
Hence, we bring to you a list of 10 highest paid jobs in 2020 that are central to the industries that are growing today and hence are also some of the highest paying jobs currently:
1. Investment banking
2. Data Science
3. Chartered Accountancy
4. Doctors
5. Business Analyst/ Management Professionals
6. Legal Professional
7. Commercial Pilot
8. Software Engineer
9. Merchant navy
10. Oil & Natural Gas Professionals
1. Investment banking:
With startups and mid-size firms increasing in number, there is an increased need in managing the assets of a company. This is simply so that the businesses can optimize their investments and make some good profits on them. Investment bankers essentially help clients make the right investment choices and also help in facilitating them. And because of this essential role they play, investment bankers get a starting package of Rs. 3 lakh to 50 lakh per annum. The median pay package is about 10 lakhs.
To become an investment banker a strong background in finance is an absolute must. Chartered Financial Analysts are usually preferred for these roles since they have a strong knowledge of finance and investment products. The next best way to enter at the junior level (Analyst) is a BBA in Finance and an MBA Finance could land an Associate role. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan are some companies that actively recruit for the analyst and associate roles.
2. Data Science:
Today every business decision is motivated by data. Be it customer interaction data or how many times a certain word was associated with a public figure, data plays a crucial role in making sure that informed decisions are taken. Data scientists hence help businesses find the right data and conclude their strategy based on it. The professionals hence work in a wide range of industries such as healthcare, banking, e-commerce, business and consultancy services. Depending on their role, expertise and industry data scientists get a package of 3.5lakhs to 20 lakhs.
Data scientists require a combination of maths, statistics, data visualisation, advanced computing, data engineering and the domain expertise of the field they are working in. A bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, social sciences or statistics is the ideal way of getting into this field. Other ways include doing certification courses along with building domain expertise and then clubbing both these fields together.
3. Chartered Accountancy:
Chartered Accountants play a crucial role in helping businesses plan their financials and take care of the accounting, taxation and auditing. CAs are advisors to most companies in how to make sure that they stay financially strong to tackle events of uncertainty in business. Because of the crucial role a CA plays in any business, this career choice is sure to be highly rewarding. CAs usually get a starting package of 4 lakhs with an average package with a few years of experience being that of 7 lakhs and the highest being 20 lakhs.
CA aspirants need to go through 3 rounds of exams viz. CPT (Common Proficiency Test), IPCC (Integrated Professional Competence Course) and FC (Final course). Apart from these 3 levels of exams to become a certified CA, students also need to complete a bachelor’s degree, which is usually completed in the commerce stream.
4. Doctors:
The importance of health infrastructure is evident now more than ever. We have seen the sheer shortage of doctors in every aspect of the field. Increased advancements in this field combined with a greater need for a better lifestyle means an increased demand for doctors on the ground. Hence, this time of high demand and low supply is the right time to enter the field. This mismatch also makes it a high paying job since the gap is so huge that it will never be filled.
Aspirants in this field often begin with a general medicine degree (MBBS in India, MD in other countries) and then go on to take additional training and education in their fields of choice such as primary care, surgery, ob-gyn and the like. If you want to enter the non medicine fields of healthcare such as a Physical Therapist, Chiropractor, Optometrist etc, instead of an MD/MBBS a bachelors in the respective fields would be a good place to start followed by a master’s degree. Since this field is so varied, the pay scale ranges as per the expertise and the city they practice in. The average fresher gets about Rs. 25,000 per month. Senior professionals especially MDs could earn all the way up to Rs. 15 lakhs with seniors in other fields such as ophthalmology earning up to Rs. 6 lakhs per annum.
5. Business Analyst/ Management Professionals:
The need for management professionals is proportionate to how many companies exist in the industry and what is their scale of growth. Every company needs at least a small bench of leaders that grows larger as it grows. This is because management professionals not only manage teams but also help create a better vision for the company. They also play the crucial role of business analysts who identify the gaps in the companies functioning and find solutions to these problems. Management professionals are hence employed in multiple roles from junior analysts in finance corporations to senior leaders in eCommerce companies. The average pay of this field is Rs. 6 lakhs. The pay band starts from Rs. 3 lakh and can go all the way up to Rs. 12-15 lakhs a year.
An MBA in the field they wish to enter is usually the choice of degree for any aspirants in this field. Business Analysts also can go through certification with the Institute of Management Consultants to become Certified Management Consultants.
6. Legal Professional:
Just like CAs, legal professionals have become essential elements of every business and quite obviously too. Right from starting a company to hiring to client contracts and merger and acquisition contracts, everything needs a legal eye. And in this ever-changing legal world where more and more information is available to the end-users, a legal glitch could mean a customer suing a company and leading to the company shutting down. Hence, the legal profession is in high demand. If you work for a high court the salary is about Rs. 15,000 per month. A corporate lawyer’s salary starts at Rs. 5 lakh per annum to 30 lakhs and even more depending on clients and experience.
The 5 year BA LLB followed by internships is the only way currently to enter this field. These courses are regulated by the Bar Council of India which also sets the standards of legal practice in the country.
7. Commercial Pilot:
While COVID-19 may have slowed this industry down but with increased competitions and more countries developing strategies to grow their economies based on tourism, this is a very lucrative field to enter in. This also is a very challenging job involving hours and even days of travelling. The complexity also increases since you are the one in charge of the safety of lives of hundreds of people. But this complexity pays high. Starting package for commercial pilots is Rs. 1.5 lakhs to Rs. 6 lakhs.
Pilots need to have a degree with Physics, Chemistry and Maths as their subjects since these subjects set the base for the Pilot training. Apart from a degree, pilots need to go through medical assessments and flight training followed by at least 200 hours of flying before applying for a commercial pilot license.
8. Software Engineer:
This career field has been a rage in recent times. With the rise in computing-based business solutions, software engineers are a de facto hire in every company today. Software engineering is essentially a branch dealing in the development and maintenance of applications, software and computer systems. Computer science, engineering and mathematics are all put to play in this field. The average salary of a software engineer is about Rs. 7 lakhs and a senior professional could easily earn up to 20 lakhs.
The essential courses to get into this field are BE Software Engineering, BSc Software Engineering, BTech Software Engineering, M Tech Software Engineering, MSc Software Engineering and ME Software Engineering. Apart from these educational courses, students should also focus on doing courses outside to build their skills required for this field.
9. Merchant navy:
Merchant navies are the strongest links in the chain of international trade. Unlike the armed naval forces, the merchant navy is involved in shipping cargo, ore, oil etc across borders. The opportunity to travel and even get a high pay are key reasons most people get into this field. Freshers on the deck earn about Rs. 2 lakh per annum and the highest position of Captain brings about Rs. 7 lakh - Rs. 12 lakhs. Engineers can earn in a similar band starting from about Rs. 2 lakhs and all the way up to Rs. 10 lakhs as Chief Engineers.
B.E. Marine Engineering, B.E. Electrical & Electronics Engineering, B.Sc. Nautical Science and B.E. Naval Architecture and Offshore Engineering are the courses you should get into if merchant navy is your choice of careers.
10. Oil & Natural Gas Professionals:
No matter what happens, the world’s consumption of fuel will never stop. Right from industries to our personal vehicles, everything works on a direct or indirect product of the oil and natural gas industry. But to make sure this fuel reaches the final consumers in time and without significant costs to the company producing it, Oil & Natural Gas Professionals play a crucial role. These professionals may be petroleum engineers managing the assessment and development of gas fields or energy engineers harvesting energy from the various available sources or even geologists who play crucial roles in the finding of natural reserves and plan out how to harvest these. Depending on the role and your educational and technical expertise, professionals in this field earn from Rs. 15,000 per month to Rs. 70, 000
Best courses to enter this industry are a BSc in Oil and Gas Management or an MSc in the same field or a Bachelor’s in Petroleum Engineering. Other options involve an MBA in Oil and Gas Management or a Post Graduate Diploma in Oil and Gas Management, or a Bachelor’s in engineering in mechanical, chemical or civil engineering.
All the above-mentioned careers are central to our industries today and hence are surely high paying. The fields are not only high paying but also promise phenomenal growth. Also, this is not an exhaustive list. There are many careers that are on the rise today and a few years will be equally high paying. If you have any confusion as to which career you should choose, do visit us at www.edumilestones.com to get help from our top career coaches.
