If you want “high pay” without relying on internet anecdotes, start with standardized benchmarks. This 2025 edition uses the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) to highlight six roles with $100k+ median pay. On the referenced BLS pages, the latest published median wages shown are May 2024.
- A short list of six‑figure median wage occupations from BLS OOH (latest medians shown: May 2024)
- What “median pay” means (and what it does *not* mean)
- A practical way to validate pay claims before you invest in training
- How credentialing barriers + responsibility often correlate with higher pay
Quick Answers
What does this research measure?
It summarizes median annual wages from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook for a small set of occupations that many people don’t think of first when they hear “high-paying job.” On the cited pages, the latest median wages shown are for May 2024.
What’s the highest median wage in this list?
Air Traffic Controllers: $144,580 median annual wage (BLS OOH; May 2024).
Are these guaranteed salaries?
No. BLS medians are national benchmarks. Your pay can differ substantially by geography, employer type, union coverage, seniority, hours/overtime, and specialty.
Why focus on medians?
Medians reduce the influence of extreme outliers and are broadly comparable across occupations. They’re useful for setting expectations, not for predicting individual outcomes.
- → Air Traffic Controllers: $144,580 median annual wage (May 2024).
- → Medical Dosimetrists: $138,110 median annual wage (May 2024).
- → Physician Assistants: $133,260 median annual wage (May 2024).
- → Information Security Analysts: $124,910 median annual wage (May 2024).
- → Elevator & Escalator Installers/Repairers: $106,580 median annual wage (May 2024).
- → Radiation Therapists: $101,990 median annual wage (May 2024).
Median wages by occupation (BLS OOH; medians shown: May 2024)
Comparison of median annual wages across the shortlist. Higher bars = higher median pay.
The shortlist uses a $100k+ median threshold, but it’s often useful to compare adjacent roles in the same clinical “family” (some of which fall below $100k on median).
Healthcare imaging & radiation roles (BLS OOH; medians shown: May 2024)
These roles are frequently discussed together, but their median wages differ materially.
Methodology (public-data only)
We compiled a shortlist of occupations by:
- Starting from BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook occupation pages
- Recording the median annual wage shown on each page (May 2024 in the citations below)
- Selecting roles with $100,000+ median annual wage
“Niche” here means “less commonly top-of-mind,” not “rare in the economy.” This report is about standardized wage benchmarks, not popularity.
The median is the midpoint: half earn more, half earn less. It does not show overtime-heavy schedules, business-owner profit, or unusual contract/day‑rate arrangements.
The shortlist: six-figure median pay occupations
How to validate a “high-paying job” claim (fast)
- Standardize the title: map to a BLS OOH occupation page (or a closely related BLS category).
- Check the median: use the published median annual wage as your anchor.
- Ask what’s assumed: overtime, shift differentials, travel, contract rate vs wages, union scale, etc.
- Validate the credential path: licensing, hours, clinical rotations, apprenticeship length, background checks.
- Sanity-check in your region: wages vary materially by metro area and employer type.
Takeaways
- 1Public, standardized wage data (BLS OOH) is the cleanest starting point for “high pay” research.
- 2Several less-discussed roles clear six figures on median pay in the latest BLS OOH medians shown on pages (May 2024).
- 3Use median pay as an anchor, then validate assumptions like overtime, geography, and credentials before you commit to training.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is this called a 2025 edition if the medians are May 2024?
Because the BLS OOH pages commonly publish the latest available wage year, and for the cited pages here the latest medians shown are May 2024. This page packages those public benchmarks for a 2025 reading context.
Where do the numbers come from?
Each figure is taken directly from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook occupation page for that role (median annual wage shown on the page).
How to cite
Careery Research (2025). “High-paying niche jobs (BLS data): 6 roles with $100k+ median pay (2025 edition)”. https://careery.pro/research/high-paying-niche-jobs-bls-2025 (accessed YYYY-MM-DD).
- Link to the canonical URL: https://careery.pro/research/high-paying-niche-jobs-bls-2025
- Include the accessed date when you publish.
- If you reuse numbers, keep the same definitions/timeframe and attribute the source line to Careery.
Sources & References
- BLS OOH: Air Traffic Controllers (median wage shown: May 2024)
- BLS OOH: Medical Dosimetrists (median wage shown: May 2024)
- BLS OOH: Physician Assistants (median wage shown: May 2024)
- BLS OOH: Information Security Analysts (median wage shown: May 2024)
- BLS OOH: Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers (median wage shown: May 2024)
- BLS OOH: Radiologic and MRI Technologists (related occupations table includes Radiation Therapists median shown: May 2024)