A Breakdown Of Forbes’ List Of The Best-Paying Jobs For Women

======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ==== ======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ====

Wondering what the best job is to pursue as a woman in the workforce? Luckily for you, Forbes has released their list of the best-paying jobs for women in 2015. Sorted by salary, they also indicate the positions that pay women more than their male counterparts, which is great for my ego. What’s bad for my ego is that it doesn’t look like I’ll be applying to any of these jobs anytime soon with my Bachelor’s and 3-5 years of related administrative experience. But for those of you with LinkedIn profiles a little more flushed out than mine, take a look because you may just be looking at your future career.

20. Aircraft Mechanic and Service Technician

Oh, okay. This is that kind of list. The kind where the lowest-paying job is one I’m highly under qualified for. Also, how does one even achieve this job? I’m 100 percent sure that “Airplane Mechanic” was NOT a major offered at my liberal arts college. But if you, reader, are somehow, magically qualified for this job, you’re looking at making a nice 79K per year, at 143 percent of a man’s salary in the same position.

19. Natural Sciences Manager

What’s this job? Playing outside while taking cute Instagrams on mountaintops? Count me in. As long as you can convince your hiring manager that your social media posts about this job count as good publicity, you’ll be making over a 79K salary in no time.

18. Computer and Informations Systems Manager

If you know more about computers than how to screenshot a passive aggressive comment to discuss in a group chat, you may want to check this career path out: you’ll be making 79.5K in no time, AND there’s a 1:4 female-to-male ratio, so I’d bet that you save a little extra cash on buying yourself lunch as well.

17. Sociologist

Do you actually want a rewarding career where you help people? I guess if I still can’t get paid to nap, this is the next best thing. You’ll be pulling in a salary of nearly 80K at 140 percent of what a man would make in the sale role. #YesAllWomen

16. Aerospace Engineer

Like science AND want to say that you work in space? Become an aerospace engineer as a female for an 80K salary and a really, really badass LinkedIn job title e-mail update, because why wouldn’t you want your friend who just got a legal assistant position to feel bad?

15. Chief Executive

Now that’s what I’m talking about. I’m from the South, so saying “yes ma’am” is going to give me a huge power trip instead of making me worry whether or not I need to start looking into Botox at 24. Only a quarter of all chief executives are women, making you stand out from your peers (in another way than your nearly 82K salary, that is).

14. Lawyer

Sure, you’ll have a mountain of debt, a severe alcohol problem, and no friends after suffering through 3 years of hell, but at least you’ll be making almost 83K which totally validates this life-ruining decision of law school, right? RIGHT??

13. Nurse Practitioner

I hear this is more involved than pulling out your Halloween costume from freshman year of college and giving sponge baths, but I haven’t had that confirmed yet. What I CAN confirm is that as a NP, you’ll be making over 87K a year AND you get to wear pajamas to work. Someone remind me why I wasn’t a nursing major again??

12. Economist

At first I thought this was the person who studies fish and streams, so I’m clearly unfit for this role. But if you understand numbers and can split your bill at a group dinner with figuring out your percentage of the tip, I’m assuming you’re more than qualified for this position that brings in an 88K per year salary.

11. Electrical and Electronics Engineer

I have almost no idea what this job is, but if you do, you’re in luck: you’ll be making 90K, at 110 percent of what a man earns, and you’ll be in a career role with a 1:10 female to male ratio. Goodbye work gossip, hello free coffee.

10. Architectural and Engineering Managers

Only 6 percent of people in this position are females, but if you’re one of them, you’ll be making 90K a year to look at drawings and boss people around. I’m assuming that’s what this job involves, anyway. I think I’ll apply.

9. Nuclear Technician

If you want to die a Marie Curie death in the name of science, apply for this position that pays a nice 91K salary. The weird thing about this job is that it’s 100 percent female. Is there only one nuclear technician in the country? Are men not allowed to apply for this position? If you’re a woman, are you guaranteed to get the job? I have so many questions, but with that salary offer, I’d be ok with a little bit of radioactive poisoning and cat fights at the water cooler.

8. Helper, Construction Trades

I have so many questions about this. The job title is helper? What is a construction trade? Is this like trading on the stock market? Are you carrying lumber to one construction manager and coming back with nails? If this “helper” job pays 92.5K, how much does the person I’m helping make?? So. Many. Questions.

7. Upholsterer

That’s right – if you spend your days following Pinterest directions for how to make a Goodwill chair look like it belonged to Queen Elizabeth, you may be qualified for this job that pays a nice 95K per year. The best part? You’ll be making 314 percent of your male counterparts’ wages.

6. Pharmacist

Four years of studying drugs at grad school (not studying on drugs, like you did in undergrad) will yield you a nice salary of 99K, working out to $1,902 per week. Or what most of us make in a month.

5. Petroleum Engineer

You’ll make 106 percent of a man’s salary at 105K in this position. The downside? You’ll probably have to move to Texas and allocate a nice chunk of that budget to no-frizz hairspray.

4. Nurse Anesthetist

Let me repeat myself. YOU GET TO WEAR PAJAMAS TO WORK. And not only that, but you’ll make bank doing it at 114K per year. I have never wished I had paid attention in biology class more than right now.

3. Astronomer and Physicist

These are the people that write your horoscopes, right? If so, they’re making a killing at their jobs while making almost 119K per year. For that amount, I’d better be finding that tall dark and handsome man who I didn’t realize was right under my nose….

2. Miscellaneous Math and Science Occupations

Ok, Forbes. This isn’t exactly helpful. “What do you do for a job?” “Oh, you know….math.” While I have no idea what this entails, I would assume it’s some sort of research, but I hope it’s code-breaking like in the DaVinci Code. If you want this miscellaneous position, you’ll be making a nice 129K per year to be smart, and I’m pretty ok with that.

1. Sales Engineer

Was anyone else expecting brain surgeon? Wall Street Executive? Something other than sales engineer? While I have no idea what a sales engineer actually does, I know I’m certainly going to look it up now that I know they make 134K per year at 136 percent of what men make. Now, after that incredibly disheartening list, I have to go back and commit to another 150K of graduate school to ever qualify for one of these successful positions. See you guys on the other side..

[via Forbes]

Image via Shutterstock

37

Respond

Email this to a friend

Hey, I saw this on Post Grad Problems. Check it out.

Steph W.

Steph W. is a new Master's degree graduate with an intern's salary and six-figure taste. She realizes her expectations far exceed reality, so she spends her days pinning away Loubs she pretends are in her physical closet instead of her virtual one. Her hobbies include attempting to trapping her boyfriend into marriage before he finds out how insane she is and pretending that Black Box wine tastes as good as the kind she could afford when she was gainfully employed. Send her tips for getting out of student debt at recruitchairtsm@gmail.com

• @therecruitchair