While many people pursue a career doing something they truly love, it doesn't hurt if that job comes with a healthy salary, too.
Of course, there are obvious paths one can travel that are lined with money trees, like becoming a surgeon or lawyer, but some are simply not cut out for those jobs. Not to mention the cost of education and time needed to pursue those fields may prevent some from embarking on the journey.
However, there are plenty of other jobs out there that still that pay well — actually, extremely well — that are not the obvious medical or judicial position.
The jobs and recruiting website Glassdoor released a list that features 11 of the highest-paying jobs.
Those looking to pick a major in college or in the need of a career change may want to consider some of the types of positions on the list, which surprisingly pay $100,000 and more.
The salaries on this list are impressive, considering that the average man makes a little over $50,000 and the average woman makes just under $40,000 in the U.S.
However, prospective employees have to keep in mind that many of these jobs require specific training or skills, which may help college students thinking about their future, but means that some interested won't get hired for these positions despite the high demand. This is true for a job like a physician assistant or a geophysicist, but not true for jobs like a sales executive or software architect or other white collar jobs on this list.
Glassdoor learns about job salaries by anonymous employees who choose to share information like their base salary and other details such as commission, bonuses, tips, etc.
Here are 11 jobs that surprisingly pay $100,000 or more, in no particular order:
1. Software Architect
Total median pay: $139,000
Median base salary: $130,000
What you need: Bachelor's degree in math, software engineering or online program and coding skills. There are 642 job openings.
2. Regional Sales Executive
Total median pay: $103,000
Median base salary: $65,000
What you need: College degree may not be needed. There are 345 job openings.
3. Equity Research Associate
Total median pay: $100,000
Median base salary: $85,000
What you need: Bachelor's degree in finance or economics. There are 300 job openings.
4. Airline Pilot
Total median pay: $134,000
Median base salary: $120,000
What you need: Pilot's license and possibly a bachelor's degree in aviation or physics, or have a military background. There are 116 job openings.
5. Drilling Engineer
Total median pay: $116,500
Median base salary: $106,680
What you need: Bachelor's degree in petroleum or mechanical engineering. There are 49 job openings.
6. Reservoir Engineer
Total median pay: $143,000
Median base salary: $125,000
What you need: Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, plus field experience. There are 23 job openings.
7. Physician Assistant
Total median pay: $100,392
Median base salary: $100,000
What you need: Physician assistant program master's degree. There are 3,499 job openings.
8. Nurse Practitioner
Total median pay: $101,600
Median base salary: $100,000
What you need: Master's degree in nursing, plus certification, depending on state. There are 6,784 job openings.
9. Dentist
Total median pay: $143,000
Median base salary: $125,000
What you need: Bachelor's degree in pre-dentistry or other science field, good score on the Dental Acceptance Test, doctoral degree in dental surgery or dental medicine. There are 1,952 openings.
10. Special Agent
Total median pay: $125,000
Median base salary: $121,000
What you need: Bachelor's degree in criminal justice, law enforcement background or military experience. There are 85 job openings
11. Geophysicist
Total median pay: $129,968
Median base salary: $125,000
What you need: Bachelor's or master's degree in geology. There are 117 job openings.
Source: Glassdoor
Photo: Pictures of Money | Flickr
