Highest-Paying Jobs That Require a Doctoral or Professional Degree
- BLS lists 68 detailed occupations where the typical entry credential is “doctoral or professional degree.” 68 of them have a U.S. median wage at or above the all-jobs median of $50,980.
- The best-paid is cardiologists, at a median of $496,010 in May 2025.
- The job in this group with the most projected openings each year is lawyers, with about 28,700 openings a year through 2035.
This list covers jobs that typically need a doctoral or professional degree. It combines the government’s May 2025 wage survey (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025) with the education level BLS says is typical for entry and its 10-year employment outlook (BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35). “Typical” means what most new workers have when they start; some people in each job have more or less schooling.
The 15 highest-paying jobs that typically need a doctoral or professional degree
Occupations with at least 2,000 U.S. jobs, ranked by median annual wage. Growth is the BLS projection for 2025–35.
| Occupation | U.S. median | Jobs | Growth 2025–35 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiologists | $496,010 | 17,290 | +4.8% |
| Radiologists | $420,860 | 26,770 | +3.4% |
| Anesthesiologists | $391,490 | 38,760 | +3.6% |
| Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | $358,550 | 14,100 | +4.0% |
| Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons | $352,220 | 4,910 | +5.6% |
| Emergency Medicine Physicians | $335,550 | 32,880 | +3.2% |
| Dermatologists | $328,730 | 11,370 | +6.8% |
| Physicians, Pathologists | $312,400 | 11,110 | +4.8% |
| Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $300,080 | 8,950 | +4.5% |
| Obstetricians and Gynecologists | $292,910 | 21,260 | +1.7% |
| Orthodontists | $289,140 | 6,210 | +6.0% |
| Psychiatrists | $281,870 | 27,980 | +7.2% |
| General Internal Medicine Physicians | $256,560 | 67,150 | +4.0% |
| Neurologists | $248,560 | 10,590 | +6.4% |
| Family Medicine Physicians | $244,180 | 107,510 | +3.3% |
Above-median pay and the fastest growth
Of the jobs in this group that pay at least the all-jobs median, these are projected to grow fastest. For comparison, BLS projects total U.S. employment to grow 3.5% over the decade.
| Occupation | U.S. median | Jobs | Growth 2025–35 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | $107,310 | 221,270 | +17.9% |
| Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary | $80,250 | 77,960 | +17.1% |
| Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists | $103,410 | 172,340 | +12.6% |
| Biochemists and Biophysicists | $127,410 | 33,830 | +12.3% |
| Physical Therapists | $102,760 | 267,330 | +11.9% |
| Clinical and Counseling Psychologists | $100,580 | 75,990 | +11.7% |
| Audiologists | $95,780 | 13,660 | +11.0% |
| Optometrists | $136,570 | 42,790 | +9.5% |
| Veterinarians | $130,100 | 83,900 | +9.4% |
| Chiropractors | $79,200 | 39,630 | +8.7% |
Where the openings are
Openings include new jobs plus replacements for workers who retire or change careers, so even slow-growing jobs can hire a lot. Average annual openings, 2025–35:
| Occupation | Openings per year | U.S. median |
|---|---|---|
| Lawyers | 28,700 | $159,670 |
| Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | 24,900 | $107,310 |
| Physical Therapists | 13,400 | $102,760 |
| Pharmacists | 12,500 | $140,910 |
| Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists | 10,500 | $103,410 |
| Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary | 8,500 | $80,250 |
| Business Teachers, Postsecondary | 7,600 | $99,080 |
| Education Teachers, Postsecondary | 5,300 | $75,350 |
What this means for you
- The median job in this group pays $103,290 (the middle value of the 68 occupation medians).
- Pay spreads are wide. Each wage above is a midpoint; click any occupation for its full 10th-to-90th percentile range and its best-paying states.
- Training matters too. Many of these jobs also require on-the-job training, an apprenticeship or a license on top of the entry credential.
Published October 27, 2026. Sources are linked in the text.
Header image: original chart by JobPayRaise.com using BLS OEWS May 2025 data.
Comments (1)
A related data point from a different BLS survey: full-time workers age 25 and over whose highest education was a doctoral degree had median weekly earnings of $2,307 in 2025 and an unemployment rate of 1.8%, compared with $1,268 and 3.4% for all workers. The professional-degree group (law, medicine, pharmacy and similar) was close behind at $2,294 a week and 1.9% unemployment. Source: BLS “Education pays” table (Current Population Survey, 2025).