Millionaires in their Industries
The top industries that have produced and will continue to produce millionaires.
According to the
National Stat and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, survey, the mean annual pay for most jobs with required post-secondary education is $37, 440. However, what industries prevail above the typical, offering more money and more opportunity?
Surgeons continue to triumph at the No. 1 spot, earning over $181, 850 annually, the next seven spots are occupied by various sorts of specialists in the medical field. The only two occupations that do not involve medical practitioners are Chief executives at No. 9 and airline pilots at No. 13. Jobs in the leisure business such as restaurant and hotel employees remain at the opposite end of the scale with fast-food cooks, dishwashers and waiters.
Based on BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) projections, data and mathematical models, of the top ten occupations expected to post the strongest growth employment by 2012, eight are health care related. “Health care services will rise drastically,” according to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. The baby boom generation will start hitting retirement in 2008 and demand assistance to physical therapy and home aid. Below is a graph resulting from a survey conducted by the BLS, demonstrating the percentage increase in demand for certain occupations between 2002-2012.
| Medical assistants | 59% |
| Network systems and data communications analysts | 57% |
| Physician assistants | 49% |
| Social and human service assistants | 49% |
| Home health aides | 48% |
| Medical records and health information technicians | 47% |
| Physical therapist aides | 46% |
| Computer software engineers, systems software | 46% |
| Computer software engineers, applications software | 45% |
| Physical therapist assistants | 45% |
Representing the No. 3 on the list,
AAPA (The American Academy of Physician Assistants)
will experience the largest amount of increase, growing 59% according to the survey. Their job is to fulfill clinical duties for health professionals, updating charts, drawing blood, taking blood pressure and answering phones. On average, considering the strains of a medical assistant, and being everything short of examining and diagnosing a patient, their annual salary is $24, 810.
In terms of job conception, second to people’s health will be the nurturing of technology. One weapon in the armory of system analysis will be computer care in the form of a data specialist, who is able to design technology solutions for business assistance. From 2002-2012, the industry occupies No. 8 and No. 9, increasing in demand by 57% according to BLS reports. According to Information Technology Association of America spokesman Bob Cohen, the programmer’s category is the largest in the IT field with 2.1 million.
Another survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics demonstrated the results of the best paying jobs. Contributing factors to the analysis are the required training and cost for each profession. According to the Medical Association, on average, after four years of medical school, students emerge with $110, 000 in loan dept.
| Occupation | Annual salary | Avg. hours per week |
| Surgeons | $189,590 | 63 |
| Anesthesiologists | $181,420 | 60 |
| Obstetricians, gynecologists | $179,640 | 57 |
| Internists, general | $158,350 | 60 |
| Pediatricians, general | $142,360 | 53 |
| Family, general practitioners | $136,260 | 54 |
| Psychiatrists | $135,220 | 46 |
| CEOs | $134,960 | Varies greatly |
| Dentists | $133,350 | 37.6 |
Forbes
Magazine included William Gates, whose source of money sprouted from Microsoft, as a man worth $46.6 million dollars. Paul Allen, who is also known for his work with Microsoft computer technology, is worth $21 million according to the survey. The collective net worth of the nation’s wealthiest climbed to $1.25 trillion, as published in the Forbes 400 list, presenting information verifying that the medical field, health and social services in the humanitarian field and computer technology are predicted to be the industries that are paying the most now and will continue to produce millionaires.
28 Comments
A well researched article that does not bog down in hyperbole. I was able to read the entire piece without dropping off; engaging yet highly informative.
…someone hire this writer FAST!!!
A PA is not an MA.
PAs average salary is aroun $86,000 and NOT $24,000
physician assistants practice medicine in conjunction with physicians, by examining, diagnosing, and treating patients, prescribing medications, and first-assisting surgeries. in rural areas PAs can function fairly independently from physicians. most have bachelors or masters degrees with years of health care experience.
medical assistants answer phones, give injections, help with clerical tasks, etc.
didnt even bother to check wikipedia as a source before writing an article? do not hire this writer fast!
Ditto what others have said. You screwed up the Physician Assistant role in your description. Please correct it.
I think you meant that a MEDICAL ASSISTANT, not a PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT, makes 24,000 a year and answers phones.
Do more research, like everyone said above MEDICAL assistants answer phones, PHYSICIAN assistants diagnose illnesses and treat patients. An idiot wrote this article.
Your reporting is innacurate and dangerous. You have given your readers an unrealistic view of physician lifestyle and what the physician assistant career is about.
“Their job is to fulfill clinical duties for health professionals, updating charts, drawing blood, taking blood pressure and answering phones”
Youre kidding right?!?!?! The AAPA has NEVER described the duties of a PA as such. Granted Im not a PA and obviously neither are you but I can say the difference is, at least TOOK time to research the profession before making such absurd assumptions. I TRULY hope that you had a temporary lapse of sanity and mistakingly mixed up the words physician and medical because you CLEARLY described a medical assistant NOT a physician assistant.
Why is there only a “Like It” button…..for a more accurate representation on how someone feels about the content, there should also be a “Hate It” button……..
Your reporting embarrasses this website. Please check your grammar and courses in the future. My mother is a physician assistant of 20years who cares/treats her patients and holds a doctoral degrees. She does not answer phones.
Also, learn how to cite your sources. The only one you mentioned was the AAPA and you did so innacurately.
A horrible misrepresentation of the PA profession. No wonder most of America is still confused as to what a PA really is and does. In the future there is a term called “research”, you as the writer should try it.
On top of all the above comments about the PA profession, Greenspan is still the chair of the Fed!!!! This is ridiculous!! Have you heard of Ben Bernanke???
Ms Hodges….1 year of physician assistant program tuition would cost a student the yearly salary you quoted….I seriously doubt someone would incur that type of debt to make that kind of money.
PA=2 yrs + college level education
MA=18 mos at a tech school
PA=1 yr clinical rotation
MA=clinical rotations? what for…
PA=education costs 30,000 or more in most cases for tuition alone
MA=maybe 5000 if you throw in books, certification exams, uniforms, gas, rent, etc
PA=the one you see…the one who orders your tests…the one who figures out whats wrong with you
MA=the one who took your vitals….the one who set up the chart….the one who collects your copay on the way out
PA=the one making 40+ dollars an hour fresh out of school
MA=the one making 14 dollars an hour fresh out of school
Just thought I would put some differences out there for you…..
Writing an article with a lack of knowldge on the subject of Physician Assistants is a disservice to not only the public, but to those professionals who provide highly competent and compassionate care as Physician Assistants. I strongly suggest you write a retaction and apology.
For the love of god lady! Please, please, puhleaseee get the statistics and facts straight about Physician Assistants before you ever attempt to write an article about them again! This article is degrading to the profession, of which I hope one day to be a part. While this satirical, ignominious response to your article is obviously in jest, the overall sentiment is not. I agree with all previous responses.
DITTO!! Shame on you for insulting an entire profession. How about an apology, a retraction, and new job.
There is a village missing it’s idiot…and I am not referring to Chairman Greenspan. Do some research and write based on facts, not conjecture. Have a great day.
Please fact check your articles before publishing them. A Physician Assistant and a Medical Assistant are two very different things. Your article has mixed up the two.
A Physician Assistant (PA) is trained to diagnose and treat illnesses and their duities includes taking a history and performing a physical exam, ordering diagnostic studies (labs, MRI’s, CT’s, etc), formulating a plan of care, writing prescriptions, referrals, etc. These folks for the most part hold Master’s degrees and are paid more than 80,000 dollars a year.
Quite a bit different than what you describe. The only sensible thing is for you to post a correction/retraction. Please show these professionals the respect they deserve.
Thank you.
-Mike
Please correct your gross error on a PA salary – Avgs are approximately 84k per year. And, by no way, is a Physician Assistant comparable to a Medical Assistant!!!!!!!!!!!!
You have no business writing -ever. Your complete lack of knowledge is degrading and has no place on the internet of anywhere else. At least have the decency to correct your mistake.
I am shocked that a supposed Business site has offered up such inaccuracies and misrepresentation of my profession as a physican assistant. The number of comments regarding this misrepresentation of my profession speak for itself. The fact that these type of inaccuracies have been brought to light should prompt this site to offer up a correction and perhaps feel compelled to cite some real statistics about the physician assistant profession..otherwise this site looses it’s validity on all information offered up for the public to read.
Congratulations! You have erroneously identified physician assistants. The first post is so ironic.
“A well researched article that does not bog down in hyperbole. I was able to read the entire piece without dropping off; engaging yet highly informative.
…someone hire this writer FAST!!!”
Joseph Goebbels was “engaging, yet highly informative” too.
No credibility at this site. No more reading here…..
This is a poorly researched article. An embarassment to the PA profession and to this website.
“…Someone fire this writer FAST!”
….and the avg internet journalist makes min wage…..or at least this one should…..
Just to reiterate, get your facts straight. What a terrible job of erroneously citing inaccurate information. Do your research next time – before attempting to enlighten others.
Ditto – someone fire this writer fast!
The info about physician assistants on this site is grossly wrong and as about mis-leading as it can get.
Physician Assistants DO diagnose, perform physical exams, order tests and imaging studies, and read them, and are, in fact, practitoners. For me, although my gradute Masters PA program was 2 full years, I had a pre med degree totling 6 years.
While I agree with the sentiment of the previous posters, as a PA I would encourage everyone posting to maintain a professional sense of decorum…after all we are highly educated, well-compensated, professionals who diagnose and treat illness and injury.
As for Ms. Hodges, if you consider yourself a professional journalist, please respect yourself and your profession by thoroughly and accurately researching your sources. Then, and only then should you compile your information into a cogent and salient tome, replete with correct grammar and punctuation.
Your article is so rife with inaccuracies and false information that if I were to turn out such a product in my practice, the plaintiff attorneys would be slitting each others’ throats to get to me…
PA are not MA, last I checked 50% of my Rx’s I fill are by PAs…..That is so wrong…….but something that goes unnoticed….why are pharmacists not mentioned. Are we not part of the medical field. We are the last line between a patient and a possible medical error. They mention Internist….but no pharmacists.