50 jobs that pay $50,000
By Kate Lorenz on Sep 4, 2009 in Compensation, Employment Trends, Featured, Mature Workers, News, Salary, diversity
While the unemployment rate edged up in August to 9.7 — the country’s highest in 27 years — the Labor Department has reported that fewer jobs were lost. While employment continued to drop, that decline appears to be slowing: -216,000 jobs in August compared to -463,000 in June and -276,000 in July.
This latest report also shed some light on discouraged workers:
Among the marginally attached, the number of discouraged workers in August (758,000) has nearly doubled over the past 12 months. Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The other 1.5 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in August had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.
It seems many of the people we at The Work Buzz are hearing from these days are discouraged. They say there aren’t enough jobs, there aren’t the right jobs, there aren’t any jobs.
Yes, it is taking more time these days to find a job, but hopefully, we can help you fight that job seeker fatigue. For example, we told you this week about a new CBsalary tool that matches salaries to jobs.
Many of you tell us that you’ll take any job as long as it pays the bills. Here’s one way this tool might fit in. Say you need to earn $50,000 to support yourself and your family. Type in your location and that number and — voila! — you’ll receive a list of jobs that match that pay an average of $50,000 in your area.
While we’re on the subject, we thought we’d give you a list to start with. Here are 50 jobs that pay an average of $50,000 annually in the United States:
- Millwrights
Annual average earnings: $50,040* - Mechanical engineering technicians
Annual average earnings: $50,070 - Industrial engineering technicians
Annual average earnings: $50,130 - Vocational education teachers, middle school
Annual average earnings: $50,150 - Food service managers
Annual average earnings: $50,400 - Vocational education teachers, postsecondary
Annual average earnings: $51,020 - Dietitians and nutritionists
Annual average earnings: $51,540 - Pile-driver operators
Annual average earnings: $51,650 - Aircraft mechanics and service technicians
Annual average earnings: $51,960 - Court reporters
Annual average earnings: $52,150 - Chemical plant and system operators
Annual average earnings: $52,160 - Construction and building inspectors
Annual average earnings: $52,240 - Elementary school teachers, except special education
Annual average earnings: $52,550 - Lodging managers
Annual average earnings: $52,570 - Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education
Annual average earnings: $52,650 - Police and sheriff’s patrol officers
Annual average earnings: $52,950 - Forensic science technicians
Annual average earnings: $52,970 - Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school
Annual average earnings: $53,090 - Tax examiners, collectors, and revenue agents
Annual average earnings: $53,100 - Boilermakers
Annual average earnings: $53,110 - Sound engineering technicians
Annual average earnings: $53,150 - Respiratory therapists
Annual average earnings: $53,170 - Advertising sales agents
Annual average earnings: $53,230 - Radiologic technologists and technicians
Annual average earnings: $53,410 - Appraisers and assessors of real estate
Annual average earnings: $53,460 - Educational, vocational, and school counselors
Annual average earnings: $53,540 - Vocational education teachers, secondary school
Annual average earnings: $53,760 - Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists
Annual average earnings: $53,960 - Insurance appraisers, auto damage
Annual average earnings: $53,990 - Electrical and electronic engineering technicians
Annual average earnings: $54,050 - Medical and clinical laboratory technologists
Annual average earnings: $54,120 - Real estate sales agents
Annual average earnings: $54,700 - Librarians
Annual average earnings: $54,750 - Training and development specialists
Annual average earnings: $54,840 - Music directors and composers
Annual average earnings: $54,840 - Special education teachers, secondary school
Annual average earnings: $55,140 - Surveyors
Annual average earnings: $56,030 - Property, real estate, and community association managers
Annual average earnings: $56,280 - Aerospace engineering and operations technicians
Annual average earnings: $56,560 - Engineering technicians, except drafters, all other
Annual average earnings: $56,660 - Legal support workers
Annual average earnings: $57,060 - Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists
Annual average earnings: $57,080 - Editors
Annual average earnings: $57,300 - Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators
Annual average earnings: $57,630 - Funeral directors
Annual average earnings: $58,820 - Public relations specialists
Annual average earnings: $59,030 - Sales representatives, services
Annual average earnings: $59,150 - Transportation inspectors
Annual average earnings: $59,650 - Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators
Annual average earnings: $59,780 - Instructional coordinators
Annual average earnings: $59,830
*National data according to the BLS
Lisa Nowc | Sep 8, 2009 | Reply
Librarians are a fading profession. Those who are making 50 grand a year are at the top of the profession and ready to retire.
Once they retire, they are replaced by part timers in order to save money on benefits.
This article is false and should have better research. I AM A LIBRARIAN AND CAN NOT FIND FULL TIME WORK BECAUSE THERE IS NONE. I AM CURRENTLY MAKING HALF OF WHAT YOU SAY LIBRARIANS MAKE. WHAT A CROCK OF BULL.
miah | Sep 8, 2009 | Reply
Learn to get out of debt and 50g’s a year is a nice lifestyle.
debtslammer.com
use it.
mr bill | Sep 8, 2009 | Reply
Too generic, with a predilection for teaching positons–and those don’t apply either to the markets I examined. A flawed tool–fix the algorithm please.
Kyle | Sep 9, 2009 | Reply
50k may sound like a lot to most of the country, but in the northeast and west coast cities, 50k is just about good for a single person. With average housing at around 1500/month, you really need like 80k to think about supporting a family.
What I’d like to see are jobs that START at 50k.
megswiz | Sep 9, 2009 | Reply
it took me 7 years as an elementary teacher and a district switch in order to come close to $50,000, but it is possible for it to happen sooner if you keep going back and getting master’s degrees
Arthur Joseph | Sep 9, 2009 | Reply
at 47,500 it is almost impossible to keep current with bills. Family of 5 with a daughter in College and a mortgage, 3 cars, it is next to impossible to make ends meet. I often thought about finding a new job but at 45
its hard. No benefits, no pension, no nothing.
I have 14 years in and nothing to show for it when I move on. God I hope I die before I have to live on social security because I can not keep my house on that income. What if I get sick. I think you get the point.
I would leave if I had a place to grow with those benifits that used to be regularlly avail. Those jobs are few and far between.
Lu | Sep 11, 2009 | Reply
Keep the faith and pray!
JW. | Sep 22, 2009 | Reply
Teachers annual average salaray over $50k… maybe if you count the teachers who’ve been there for 30 years with guaranteed annual raises… My wife’s been teaching 6 years and makes $35k.
You going to post an article on Carreer Builder, post a “50 ENTRY LEVEL JOBS that earn $50k”
Food Service | Sep 22, 2009 | Reply
Food service manager: More like 28K-35K here.
ed | Sep 22, 2009 | Reply
Like much on Career Builder it promises far more than it delivers. It found 68 pages of jobs. Career Builder has far less than that when searching on all jobs. It comes up with jobs that pertain to ocean harbors and I specified a place 100’s of miles from the ocean.
Algorithm is way too generic.
Tom M | Sep 23, 2009 | Reply
I agree Lisa,
It isn’t just Librarians, but most of the jobs on this list do not pay even $40,000. The people who write this nonsense are not living in the real world.
Dawn | Sep 23, 2009 | Reply
I think a lot of people are upset about the present day economy and lack of jobs. People have worked and done the right thing for their families just to get their jobs and homes ripped away from them. I think Career Builder is trying to work with what they have. I live in NC and our state has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, and our governor cut our teacher’s pay to balance the state budget ! What I wish people would do is start putting the blame on the politicians that helped send our jobs away from the USA. How about they loose their jobs and homes and try to find a job on Career Builder !!!!!!!!!!!
John | Sep 27, 2009 | Reply
This article may be true but ONLY IF you are at the top of your field. It touts itself as a tool to assist in selecting a Job paying $50K or more. If you want to change jobs you will be lucky if you can find any of these with a starting salary near half that. If you have a family to support, home to maintain then you will get maybe four hours sleep a night trying to juggle those responsibilities AND take classes in your new chosen field.
Article such as this are like statistics, they can be made to “prove” whatever the writer/statistician wants them to say.
Jukesgrrl | Sep 30, 2009 | Reply
This article is the best version of “how to lie with statistics” I’ve seen in years. IF there were more than a handful of these jobs available in America today, they might pay $50,000, but in most places NOT. Editor? Seriously? For one of the many newspapers going out of business? Court reporter? They’re being laid off nationwide and replaced by machines. Librarian? Just like retail positions, almost all new hires are part-time. Real estate assessor? Ha ha ha. Aircraft mechanic? You mean like my unemployed neighbor? Public relations specialist? I was one of those for 18 years for a Fortune 100 company … before it went belly-up. Gimme a break.
Sharon | Oct 1, 2009 | Reply
the thing today is network marketing. I got tired of the same thing. now in networking and it is awesome. can make 50,000 a month if you are serious.
ovcigs@aol.com
Juan | Oct 23, 2009 | Reply
It says AVERAGE INCOME learn to read people. If your looking to start at 50k try nursing. Starting pay is about 50-60k depending where you live in the US. My wife is a nurse of three years and pulls in 70k+ and Im a nursing student and we are both in our mid 20’s.
LJ | Oct 24, 2009 | Reply
I know how discouraging it is out there but as a recruiter I’m seeing the best candidates getting jobs and even multiple offers. These are people who understand that they probably won’t get the inflated salary they had before. As a county, there is no one person or entity to blame. We’ve all done this to ourselves and it will take all of us to make it change. The best thing we can do to help ourselves is start with a positive attitude. Positivity breeds positivity and can implement change. People with positive attitudes get hired.
Disenchanted Drexel Alum | Oct 25, 2009 | Reply
I agree with Lisa Nowc’s statement. I am a “dislocated” librarian and am getting discouraged with my search for a new job. I know that I’m suffering age discrimination – there have been a few jobs in Phila. but younger candidates without experience are the ones hired. I even had one employer mention in the interview that they preferred “new blood” in their candidate pool, and if that isn’t a code word for age discrimination, I don’t know what is!
I saw that my alma mater, Drexel’s iSchool, was having an open house today. I hope that anyone considering librarianship is given the real truth about this fading profession – if you take it up, you’ll probably be out of luck in the job front. And the salaries for something that required a graduate degree are pitiful.
John | Oct 30, 2009 | Reply
the problem is the mentality of Americans. As a whole we have come to expect that we will be paid top dollar for sub standard work ethics. MADE IN USA is a joke. When we were the economic power house, most of our work force was not college educated. We actually produced things that people wanted. There were very few mortgage brokers, systems analyists, and other fancy job titles then.. hell the trash man is now a Sanitation Engineer!! This recession is OUR fault! Perhaps if a person cant afford college, they shouldnt be there. Perhaps if a person isnt making enough money in a given position, they should look for another one instead of demanding the employeer pay more. Everyone wonders why jobs go overseas.. besides the horrible taxes business have to pay, the cost of employement of an american worker is through the roof.
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