IF you want to make a lot of money working in a traditional job rather than being an entrepreneur, these are the highest paying professions on the planet.
In general, people who have specialized skills within an industry or profession are the most financially rewarded. This is true even in occupations that are not on the top of the highest paid list.
Plumbing is a system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to move fluids. A plumber is a tradesperson who installs and maintains systems used for potable (drinking) water, and for sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.
However, the highest paid “plumbers” are not the ones who can unclog a kitchen sink but those who specialize. Steamfitters install and repair pipe systems in power plants, heating and cooling systems in large buildings and specialize in systems that are designed for the flow of liquids or gases at high pressure.
Physicians and nurses can make a lot of money. But those who specialize in surgery and anesthesiology make the most.
The next highest paid jobs are in the financial world. Bankers make good income, as do stockbrokers. But investment bankers and analysts make the most, particularly if they specialize in mergers and acquisitions or are experts in a particular industry like energy.
Have a computer wizard in the family? High-level software engineers and data scientists are in good demand in the 21st century when information is more powerful than ever before. There is a mad scramble and much money to find the best algorithm to crunch the data to sell the most products.
However, at the top of the income food chain is the person who occupies the most luxurious executive chair in the corporate “C-suite”: the Chief Operating Officer and the comparable Chief Medical Officer of a hospital. The reason for the high income is that this man or woman is responsible for managing and getting the highest quality performance of those in critical but subordinate positions and functions.
The CEO is not expected to be able to do the jobs of the people holding those crucial positions. But he or she is expected to choose the best qualified persons for those positions and get the best out of them, not unlike a president picking cabinet secretaries.
The US president has the Council of Economic Advisers while the UK Prime Minister has a Chief Economic Adviser. India and South Africa both call their economic teams the Economic Advisory Council. The Philippines has the National Economic and Development Authority, which is the premier social and economic development planning and policy coordinating body. Its members include the Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Secretaries of Budget and Management, Finance, Trade and Industry, Public Works and Highways, Transportation, Energy, and Urban Development and the Mindanao Development Authority.
The voters choose the Philippines’ “CEO.” But the people that are responsible for the success of the economy sit on the Neda Board, formulating the economic goals and the methods to achieve those objectives.
It is probably too much to expect presidential candidates to give the voters the specifics on who will be the members of the cabinet. But maybe not. Like the old saying, you do not just marry the man or woman. You marry the in-laws too. The voters deserve to know if not the specific names of who will be directing the economy, at least the general direction the next president wants to take. Feel-good statements are no longer enough.