High Paying Jobs Requiring a Bachelor’s Degree

Have you just finished college and are looking at the different career options available?

Or perhaps you’re struggling to decide which college course to apply for?

If so, then take a look at some of the High Paying Jobs Requiring a Bachelor’s Degree. This might even come in useful for you young ’uns looking to apply for college in a few years’ time!

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average weekly salary for workers with Bachelor’s degrees is $1,305, while the highest-paid Bachelor’s degree occupations can pay up to six figures.

Lower unemployment rate…

With a bachelor’s degree, you’ll be able to choose from roughly 174 distinct job routes, according to the BLS, which are expected to rise by 10% from 2016 to 2026, far faster than the overall growth rate of 7%. Perhaps this is why workers with Bachelor’s degrees had a lower unemployment rate of 2.7 percent than those with less education.

Of course, you will apply for the job you have the credentials for, but remember that depending on your location, your salary may differ. For example, a software engineer graduate in San Francisco’s average wage is between $92,000 to $105,000 compared to the same job role in Massachusetts, where the base pay is expected to be around $82,000 to $100,000.

What Is A Bachelor’s Degree?

A bachelor’s degree is an undergraduate degree earned after completing secondary school. This degree is the most traditional of all college degrees. It covers social sciences, natural sciences, computer science, history, math, English, and general education or liberal arts courses.

Is There A Better Chance Of Employment?

Statistically speaking, yes, having a Bachelor’s degree makes you more employable and brings a level of stability to your future career. Regardless of worldwide economic growth or depression, having at least a Bachelor’s degree gives you far better and more diverse opportunities than having only a high school GED.

High Paying Jobs Requiring A Bachelor’s Degree

Systems Manager

Salary: $151,150

What you need:

A bachelor’s degree in systems management or a similar degree is required. And a minimum of at least five years of relevant work experience is usually necessary for a managerial role. Organization, communication, computer, multitasking, leadership, and analytical abilities are also all required.

A systems manager is more typically known as an IT manager or IT project manager. In May 2020, the average annual income for computer and information systems managers was $151,150.

Gained work experience helps…

Of the total number of people employed in this position, the bottom ten percent made less than $90,430, while the top ten percent made more than $208,000. While you are only required to have a Bachelor’s Degree for this role, it would also be great if you had gained some work experience to make you stand out from the crowd when applying for the job role.

Engineering Manager

Salary: $150,000

What you need:

To work as an Engineering Manager, you’ll typically need a bachelor’s degree in engineering with honors. Or, for higher or more sought-after positions, you will need a master’s degree in engineering, which usually takes five to six years to complete, depending on the study path.

Engineering managers plan, organize, and supervise an organization’s technical and engineering tasks. They are in charge of planning engineering projects, ensuring that they are managed efficiently, and advising other engineers.

Engineering Manager salaries in the United States range from $40,000 to $400,000, with a median income of $150,000.

Petroleum Engineer

Salary: $137,000

What you need:

Petroleum engineers should have an undergraduate engineering degree, at least four years of experience, and must have passed a certification exam. They must also complete sixteen hours of professional development courses each year to keep their certification.

Petroleum engineers assist in the discovery of oil and gas to meet the world’s energy needs. They also devise ways for obtaining oil and gas from underground sources. Petroleum engineers are also developing novel techniques for extracting oil and gas from older wells. Sounds tricky, right?

A healthy paycheck…

This does come with a bonus, the more experience you have as an engineer, the higher you are paid. Petroleum Engineers can look forward to a very healthy paycheck as they grow in their career.

Financial Managers

Salary: $129,800

What you need:

A bachelor’s degree in finance or a somewhat similar field, such as economics, accounting, or business, is usually required for financial manager employment. Financial managers must have at least five years of experience in a finance-related role, such as financial analyst or accountant, as well as on-the-job training.

Finance managers usually work for large organizations and are required to coordinate and organize their finances. In 2019, the median salary for financial managers was $129,890. The top 25 percent earned $181,980 and above, while the bottom 25 percent earned $92,310 or less.

Sales Manager

Salary: $126,600

What you need:

Aspiring sales managers must have at least a bachelor’s degree and majored in sales, marketing, economics, management, or business. A degree roughly takes four years to finish, and then several years of professional experience on top to get the best positions.

A sales manager is responsible for leading and guiding a team of salespeople. A successful sales manager will maximize sales throughout their team, motivate their team to exceed sales expectations, and of course, meet their customer’s needs.

In 2019, the median wage for sales managers was $126,640. The top 25 percent earned $177,830, while the bottom 25 percent earned $85,150.

Pilot

Salary $121,000

What you need:

Although every company requires a college diploma, most airlines prefer to hire pilots with Bachelor’s degrees. And a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical science from a university with a Federal Aviation Administration-approved flight school is the best option to prepare for a career as a pilot.

Your expected salary will depend on the type of aircraft you fly and the company you are employed by. The salary I listed is not your typical salary for a pilot of basic domestic flights for a budget airline. However, you can expect a higher salary if you work for a large airline doing long-haul flights.

Non-jet aircraft earn less…

The median annual income for a large jet pilot is a lovely $121,408. The average yearly income for a small jet is $104,219. Pilots of non-jet aircraft earn much less on average, at around $79,106.

Marketing Manager

Salary: $108,000

What you need:

A bachelor’s degree is required for the majority of marketing manager roles, if not all. Business law, management, economics, finance, computer science, mathematics, and statistics courses are the best options.

A marketing manager is responsible for a company’s brand promotion and positioning as well as marketing the products and services it sells. Marketing managers are typically hired to increase brand awareness and attract new customers by creating marketing campaigns.

As of October 29, 2023, the average Marketing Manager pay in the United States is $108,463. However, it ranges between $94,518 and $127,697.

Human Resources Manager

Salary: $106,000

What you need:

Most HR managers have a bachelor’s degree in human resources or a related subject like finance, business management, education, or information technology, but higher-level roles require a master’s degree in human resources, labor relations, or business administration.

A Human Resources manager is responsible for hiring, firing, training, and the overall satisfaction of employees. If there is a problem in the workplace, HR will be the department that will have to find the route of the problem as well as a solution to it.

Therefore, HR managers should be knowledgeable about all company procedures and how to deal with difficult situations.

Excel In Your Sales Manager Job!

Well, firstly I’ve put together some great sales job descriptions and what they entail to help you decide which one suits you best. So, check out our Sales Associate Job Description and Sales Associate Interview Questions, or my Sales Representative Job Description, Inside Sales Representative Job Description, and Sales And Marketing Manager Job Description. As well as our Top Highest Paying Retail Job and Top Highest Paying Sales Jobs for alternative job ideas.

We’ve also done some final sales research with the LinkedIn Riches: How To Use LinkedIn For Business, Sales and Marketing! and The Sales Development Framework: How to Build and Scale a Highly Productive Sales Development Program, or how about How To Get A Sales Job, and Sales Secrets: The World’s Top Salespeople Share Their Secrets to Success, or even Every Job Is a Sales Job: How to Use the Art of Selling to Win at Work, and finally Objections: The Ultimate Guide for Mastering the Art and Science of Getting past No all available online in 2023.

Essential customer service…

Customer service needs to be maintained in any sales job, so why not try to improve your skills by reading up on Customer Service Training 101 and Surviving Customer Service: Avoid Burnout, Develop Valuable Career Skills or even Amazon’s Customer Service Experience. We also found Customer Service & Its Significance: Learn And Grow, and Customer Service Skills for Success, or the ManageFirst: Customer Service w/ Answer Sheet for an interactive guide and the Powerful Phrases for Effective Customer Service, which we found very insightful.

Sometimes, sales will be based in a call center, and managing your team means you need to understand best what is needed in the role. For that, try the Call Centers For Dummies, The Call Center Handbook, and Advice from a Call Center Geek, or maybe Contact Center Management on Fast Forward, and of course Mastering the Irate Caller, the Call Center Management on Fast Forward, and Call Center Fundamentals, as well as the Call Center Rocket Science: 110 Tips to Creating a World Class Customer Service Organization and lastly Call Center Optimization to help achieve your best!

Final Thoughts

Getting a bachelor’s degree is bound to put you ahead of someone without a degree when applying for a job. Of course, experience is also beneficial, so it should be noted that having a degree with experience in that field is going to put you at a higher advantage of receiving a good salary in a career that is appealing to you.

All the jobs noted above state clearly that a degree is preferred. If you have already obtained a degree in any of the specific fields listed, then you can look ahead to an exciting career in the future.

And if you are a college student, these are some degrees to consider if you are interested in making a high salary and the professions are of interest to you.

All the very best in obtaining your Bachelor’s Degree!