Careers
The 20 highest-paying careers you can switch into
Sorted by mid-career median pay. Each page has a salary ladder by level, every verified route in, a roadmap with hours, certification costs and an honest FAQ.
| Career | Field | Entry | Mid | Senior | Fastest route (months) | Roadmap hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private Equity Associate | Finance | $330,000 | $450,000 | $650,000 | 18 | 622 |
| Quantitative Analyst (Quant Researcher / Quant Trader) | Finance | $225,000 | $400,000 | $600,000 | 12 | 1,380 |
| Investment Banking Analyst | Finance | $190,000 | $375,000 | $650,000 | 12 | 692 |
| Product Manager | Business | $123,000 | $230,000 | $270,000 | 12 | 900 |
| Machine Learning Engineer | Data & AI | $140,000 | $200,000 | $270,000 | 18 | 1,360 |
| Tech Sales Account Executive | Tech | $85,000 | $180,000 | $280,000 | 3 | 7,607 |
| AI Engineer (LLM / Agent Applications) | Data & AI | $118,000 | $155,000 | $215,000 | 9 | 1,020 |
| Management Consultant | Business | $101,860 | $145,000 | $240,000 | 9 | 995 |
| Data Scientist | Data & AI | $110,000 | $140,000 | $180,000 | 12 | 890 |
| Software Engineer | Tech | $100,000 | $135,980 | $195,000 | 9 | 1,140 |
| Cloud / DevOps Engineer | Tech | $95,000 | $134,050 | $170,500 | 12 | 850 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | Tech | $90,000 | $124,000 | $180,000 | 9 | 1,230 |
| Financial Planner (CFP) | Finance | $68,000 | $115,000 | $195,000 | 12 | 1,400 |
| Financial Analyst (Corporate FP&A) | Finance | $78,000 | $110,000 | $145,000 | 9 | 880 |
| Actuary | Finance | $70,000 | $105,000 | $160,000 | 12 | 4,880 |
| UX / Product Designer | Tech | $75,000 | $104,000 | $170,000 | 9 | 1,570 |
| Project Manager (PMP) | Business | $68,000 | $102,320 | $135,000 | 4 | 925 |
| Certified Public Accountant (CPA) | Finance | $73,750 | $94,750 | $125,000 | 9 | 1,240 |
| Data Analyst | Data & AI | $68,000 | $88,000 | $115,000 | 6 | 630 |
| Real Estate Agent / Investor | Business | $8,000 | $52,830 | $88,500 | 4 | 3,588 |