15 best high-paying business jobs

A wealth of career opportunities

If you haven’t considered working in business, maybe you should make it your business to learn more about the field. Sure, visiting an office can look boring, with people typing at their keyboards and making phone calls. But there’s actually a lot of drama and excitement going on in those cubicles and on those laptops. After all, the daily choices you make will help or hurt the business you work for.

You don’t necessarily need a college degree to be in business, though for some positions, it helps. So if you’re thinking about finding a job in business, learn more about the salaries and growth potential for a slew of business positions drawn from the U.S. News Best Jobs ranking. Data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Compliance Officer

Median Salary: $71,650
Education Needed: Bachelor’s degree
Projected Jobs Growth by 2031: 4.3%

If all goes well, a compliance officer keeps a company or organization from making decisions that run afoul of the law. This isn’t easy, if you’re working with a multi-million dollar corporation in an industry that is highly regulated, such as health care or oil and gas. Making an innocent mistake, of course, isn’t going to land you or your CEO in jail, but you do want to keep your company from being heavily fined. Save your company money, and you’ll make good money.

Learn more about compliance officers.

Social and Community Service Manager

Median Salary: $74,000
Education Needed: Bachelor’s degree
Projected Jobs Growth by 2031: 11.7%

Social and community service managers are found at a lot of different places, doing different types of jobs. They often work directly with a segment of the community, like the homeless or special needs or impoverished children, and try to find solutions for fixing certain problems. Or they could be spending much of their time writing grant proposals. But the main thing to remember: They help society’s most vulnerable people.

Learn more about social and community service managers.

Logistician

Median Salary: $77,030
Education Needed: Bachelor’s degree
Projected Jobs Growth by 2031: 27.7%

When the government has a big job to complete, like coordinating the response to a hurricane or earthquake, or cleaning up an oil spill, a logistician is called in. Fortunately, logisticians also work when things are going well — helping companies manage an international supply chain, for example. Logisticians work in various industries including manufacturing, the federal government and wholesale trade. Through 2031, an estimated 54,100 jobs are expected to open up within this field.

Learn more about logisticians.

Accountant

Median Salary: $77,250
Education Needed: Bachelor’s degree
Projected Jobs Growth by 2031: 5.6%

Accountants help people make sense of their money. Business owners who want to see why their companies are always losing money might hire an accountant, and so might someone who needs help preparing their taxes. There has been a shortage of accountants in recent years, which has helped fuel demand and should keep this a high-paying business job.

Learn more about accountants.

Fashion Designer

Median Salary: $77,450
Education Needed: Bachelor’s degree
Projected Jobs Growth by 2031: 2.5%

Fashion designers are the people who envision how we should dress and then manage to see their vision come true. They figure out how to create the outfit that once was merely an idea in their mind. They’re similar, in that way, to artists and writers.

The career of fashion designer is one that never seems to go out of style. People always need new clothes, and something about human nature makes some of us want to continually update our wardrobes.

Learn more about fashion designers.

Financial Analyst

Median Salary: $81,730
Education Needed: Bachelor’s degree
Projected Jobs Growth by 2031: 9.3%

Financial analysts often work with businesses, offering financial advice to corporations in the same way a financial advisor might offer advice to an individual. They really dive deep into the numbers, often analyzing economic trends. In short, if a company is going to make an investment, the company will probably hire, or have on staff, a financial analyst. Keep in mind, financial analysts work long hours: 1 in 3 report working 50 to 70 hours per week.

Learn more about financial analysts.

Operations Research Analyst

Median Salary: $82,360
Education Needed: Bachelor’s or master’s degree
Projected Jobs Growth by 2031: 23.2%

This is a job that requires you to use your mind and innovate. Operations research analysts crunch a lot of numbers, statistics and data, developing strategies for businesses and organizations to achieve company goals in a faster and much more cost-efficient manner.

Through 2031, an estimated 24,000 jobs should open up in this career field.

Learn more about operations research analysts.

Management Analyst

Median Salary: $93,000
Education Needed: Bachelor’s degree
Projected Jobs Growth by 2031: 11.4%

A management analyst is also sometimes referred to as a management consultant. Management analysts are typically hired by businesses to give advice and suggest strategies that will help a company work better. Management analysts have arguably never been needed as much as they have in recent years, with all of the challenges businesses are currently facing. Issues such as the pandemic, supply chain problems and inflation have helped keep this a high-paying business job.

Learn more about management analysts.

Financial Advisor

Median Salary: $94,170
Education Needed: Bachelor’s degree
Projected Jobs Growth by 2031: 15.4%

Financial advisors have a useful life skill: They know how to make money and keep it. They offer advice to clients on everything from investing to saving for retirement. They can help clients with budgeting, and some of them even sell insurance.

Meanwhile, it’s the type of high-paying business job that can help you remain wealthy indefinitely: Financial advisors also know how to create a successful retirement portfolio for themselves.

Learn more about financial advisors.

Statistician

Median Salary: $95,570
Education Needed: Master’s degree
Projected Jobs Growth by 2031: 32.7%

Our world is in information overload. Statisticians make sense of data available and interpret it to help executives make decisions in everything from public safety to health care and sports. This Information Age we live in seems here to stay, and so odds are, being a statistician will be a high-paying business job for years to come. Through 2031, an estimated 11,200 jobs in this field are expected to open up.

Learn more about statisticians.

Business Operations Manager

Median Salary: $97,970
Education Needed: Bachelor’s degree
Projected Jobs Growth by 2031: 6.7%

All companies, big and small and in every industry, need business operations managers. You may not be making the biggest decisions at the company — the CEO does that — but you will have a lot of responsibility (i.e., you may be hiring people or negotiating contracts). Your job is essentially to make sure departments get things done. Through 2031, an estimated 209,800 jobs should open up, according to the BLS.

Learn more about business operations managers.

Medical and Health Services Manager

Median Salary: $101,340
Education Needed: Bachelor’s degree
Projected Jobs Growth by 2031: 28.3%

Medical and health services managers are to a health care organization what a conductor is to an orchestra. A hospital, nursing home or any other health care facility may look like it runs itself, but medical and health services managers are the people making sure everything is operating smoothly. These professionals are detail-oriented with exceptional interpersonal and communication skills. The BLS estimates that 136,200 jobs should open up through 2031.

Learn more about medical and health services managers.

Actuary

Median Salary: $105,900
Education Needed: Bachelor’s degree
Projected Jobs Growth by 2031: 28.3%

If you love numbers, an actuary is a career to consider. You’re using math, statistics and financial theory to analyze financial risks. The insurance industry is where you’ll likely end up, though you could easily work in a variety of businesses or at a government agency. This career path has good employment growth, according to the BLS; through 2031, an estimated 5,900 jobs are expected to open up.

Learn more about actuaries.

Mathematician

Median Salary: $108,100
Education Needed: Typically a master’s degree
Projected Jobs Growth by 2031: -0.1%

Kids always complain that they’ll never use the math they learn in school as an adult, but they will if they become a mathematician. Often, mathematicians become financial analysts, systems analysts or math professors or teachers. Mathematicians are also often hired by businesses, especially in the engineering and science industries.

And don’t let the projected jobs growth number fool you. It does mean that, statistically speaking, there will be no growth in the field, but people will still retire or quit jobs. There will be positions to be filled, and they will be high-paying.

Learn more about mathematicians.

Financial Manager

Median Salary: $131,710
Education Needed: Bachelor’s degree
Projected Jobs Growth by 2031: 16.8%

Companies need financial managers to make sure, among other things, that the departments are staying within the budget, that cash flow doesn’t go out of whack and that financial reports get written, so executives can see where the money is going.

It is worth noting that many financial managers do often get their master’s after securing their job, and that higher degree will likely translate into higher dollars on your paycheck.

Learn more about financial managers.

The best business jobs include:

— Compliance Officer

— Social and Community Service Manager

— Logistician

— Accountant

— Fashion Designer

— Financial Analyst

— Operations Research Analyst

— Management Analyst

— Financial Advisor

— Statistician

— Business Operations Manager

— Medical and Health Services Manager

— Actuary

— Mathematician

— Financial Manager

See the full rankings of Best Business Jobs.

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15 Best High-Paying Business Jobs originally appeared on usnews.com

Update 05/12/23: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.

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