Business Insider Edition
If you want to make a lot of money in your career, a medical occupation may be right for you.
Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment Statistics program, we identified the 30 detailed occupations with the highest mean annual salaries as of May 2017.
Unsurprisingly, doctors and other medical professionals are very well compensated. The top 11 highest-paying jobs are all various medical and dental occupations.
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Here are the 30 highest-paying jobs in America, along with their mean annual salary, estimated number of people employed in each occupation as of May 2017, and, where available, a brief description of the occupation from the Labor Department's O*NET occupational database .
Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images
Average annual salary: $123,880
Number of people employed: 28,100
What they do: Plan, direct, or coordinate advertising policies and programs.
Justin Sullivan/Getty
Average annual salary: $124,140
Number of people employed: 200,920
What they do: Advise clients on financial plans using knowledge of tax and investment strategies, securities, insurance, pension plans, and real estate.
Reuters
Average annual salary: $127,690
Number of people employed: 67,300
What they do: Plan, direct, or coordinate activities designed to create or maintain a favorable public image, raise issue awareness, or raise funds for their organization or client.
University of California, Irvine School of Law
Average annual salary: $129,840
Number of people employed: 16,900
What they do: Teach courses in law.
Carlos Osorio/AP
Average annual salary: $130,010
Number of people employed: 15,520
What they do: Plan, direct, or coordinate the compensation and benefits activities of an organization.
AP
Average annual salary: $133,670
Number of people employed: 56,210
What they do: Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, and statistics, and research and development in these fields.
Chris Hondros/Getty Images
Average annual salary: $136,650
Number of people employed: 371,410
What they do: Plan, direct, or coordinate the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer.
Minerva Studio/Shutterstock
Average annual salary: $141,890
Number of people employed: 628,370
What they do: Represent clients in criminal and civil litigation and other legal proceedings, draw up legal documents, or manage or advise clients on legal transactions.
create jobs 51/Shutterstock
Average annual salary: $143,530
Number of people employed: 569,380
What they do: Plan, direct, or coordinate accounting, investing, banking, insurance, securities, and other financial activities.
Glassdoor
Average annual salary: $145,620
Number of people employed: 218,970
What they do: Plan, direct, or coordinate marketing policies and programs.
YP_photographer/Shutterstock
Average annual salary: $146,290
Number of people employed: 179,990
What they do: Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as architecture and engineering.
Tomas Bravo / Reuters
Average annual salary: $148,470
Number of people employed: 9,670
What they do: Diagnose and treat diseases and deformities of the human foot.
UC Davis/flickr
Average annual salary: $149,730
Number of people employed: 365,690
What they do: Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as electronic data processing, information systems, systems analysis, and computer programming.
Bureau of Land Management/flickr
Average annual salary: $154,780
Number of people employed: 32,010
What they do: Devise methods to improve oil and gas extraction and production.
Sergio Perez/Reuters
Average annual salary: $161,280
Number of people employed: 84,070
What they do: Pilot and navigate the flight of fixed-wing, multi-engine aircraft (usually on scheduled air carrier routes) for the transport of passengers and cargo.
Getty Images/Carsten Koall
Average annual salary: $169,450
Number of people employed: 42,620
What they do: Administer anesthesia, monitor patients' vital signs, and oversee patient recovery from anesthesia.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Average annual salary: $174,110
Number of people employed: 110,400
What they do: Examine, diagnose, and treat diseases, injuries, and malformations of teeth and gums.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP Images
Average annual salary: $187,540
Number of people employed: 28,990
What they do: Physicians who diagnose, treat, and help prevent children's diseases and injuries.
AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert
Average annual salary: $196,050
Number of people employed: 210,160
What they do: Determine and formulate policies and provide overall direction of companies or private and public sector organizations within guidelines set up by a board of directors or similar governing body.
Dmitry Kalinovsky/Shutterstock
Average annual salary: $196,960
Number of people employed: 430
What they do: Construct oral prostheses to replace missing teeth and other oral structures.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Average annual salary: $198,370
Number of people employed: 42,280
What they do: Physicians who diagnose and provide non-surgical treatment of diseases and injuries of internal organ systems.
John Amis/AP
Average annual salary: $199,980
Number of people employed: 4,590
What they do: Various dental specializations.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Average annual salary: $208,560
Number of people employed: 126,440
What they do: Physicians who diagnose, treat, and help prevent diseases and injuries that commonly occur in the general population.
Shutterstock
Average annual salary: $211,390
Number of people employed: 355,460
What they do: Various medical specialties.
Elise Amendola/AP Images
Average annual salary: $216,090
Number of people employed: 25,250
What they do: Physicians who diagnose, treat, and help prevent disorders of the mind.
Wonderlane/flickr
Average annual salary: $229,380
Number of people employed: 5,080
What they do: Examine, diagnose, and treat dental malocclusions and oral cavity anomalies.
Orlin Wagner/AP Images
Average annual salary: $235,240
Number of people employed: 18,880
What they do: Physicians who provide medical care related to pregnancy or childbirth and those who diagnose, treat, and help prevent diseases of women.
Mikhail Olykainen/Shutterstock
Average annual salary: $242,740
Number of people employed: 4,800
What they do: Perform surgery and related procedures on the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial regions.
Thomson Reuters
Average annual salary: $251,890
Number of people employed: 38,600
What they do: Physicians who treat diseases, injuries, and deformities by invasive, minimally invasive, or non-invasive surgical methods.
Wikimedia Commons/ISAF Headquarters Public Affairs Office
Average annual salary: $265,990
Number of people employed: 30,590
What they do: Physicians who administer anesthetics prior to, during, or after surgery or other medical procedures.
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