In theory, anyone can become a millionaire regardless of occupation. All you have to do is save your money diligently and invest it consistently and intelligently.
But there’s no doubt that specific careers lend themselves better to becoming a millionaire than others.
Careers That Make The Most Millionaires
An excellent place to start is by looking at the raw numbers of careers that make the most millionaires.
Ramsey Solutions conducted the largest survey of millionaires top five careers for millionaires are:
- Engineer
- Accountant
- Teacher
- Executive management
- Attorney
In broader terms, the finance and investment profession has the most millionaires. It also has the most billionaires, with 371.
Here’s a list of the seven best careers if you want to be a millionaire.
When considering these careers, understand that all income figures quoted are the most recent from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics pages.
Some of these careers represent a fast track to millionaire status because of high income. But with many of them, it’s also the fact that they are working in fields that put them in a position to take advantage of the opportunities that lead to big investment payoffs.
Bonus: you don’t always need a college degree to land a high-paying job.
But let’s get to the list, which is in no specific order.
1. Lawyers
For 2022, lawyers earned a median annual income of $135,740. That number may even be a bit of an understatement. Salaries for lawyers vary significantly based on geography.
For example, attorneys who work in large cities, particularly New York and Washington, DC, can earn considerably more.
The area of specialization also has an important impact on income. Corporate attorneys and those maintaining private practices often make substantially more than the median for the group.
Law is also one of those fields that create parallel opportunities. For example, a corporate attorney has a reasonable chance of becoming a top executive at the company.
This can include generous stock options in addition to a very high salary. A self-employed attorney may have significant investment opportunities as a result of working with various clients.
These investments, by themselves, could present million-dollar opportunities.
2. Engineers
Income-wise, engineering depends mainly on the area of specialization. For example, here are the 2022 median salaries in five common engineering capacities:
- Chemical engineers, $106,260
- Mechanical engineers, $96,310
- Computer hardware engineers, $132,360
- Aerospace engineers, $126,880
- Petroleum engineers, $131,800
Above-average income isn’t the only reason why the engineering field can be an inside track to millionaire status. Engineers typically enjoy a higher level of career stability than most other fields.
In addition, they also tend to be “well employed” – working for companies that offer career paths and above-average benefits.
A stable career, with regular double-digit contributions to an employer 401(k) plan, could put an engineer into millionaire status within 20 years.
3. Medical Doctors and Surgeons
For 2022, physicians and surgeons earned a median annual income of $229,300. Many specialists earn considerably more.
With that income, you earn nearly $1 million every five years. Regular savings and investing will produce a million-dollar bankroll in short order.
Doctors are also often able to sell their practices for a large windfall. That windfall alone could fetch over a million dollars in a successful practice.
4. CPA
The BLS income information for CPAs includes “accountants and auditors” and is listed as an annual median income of $78,000. However, since CPAs are a specific group of high-level accountants, their annual income is likely significantly higher.
Much like lawyers, CPAs also have substantial opportunities available to them. A CPA who becomes a partner in a medium or large accounting firm can earn well above the median income for the group.
It also presents an opportunity to build equity in the practice that could eventually produce millionaire status.
CPAs are often on the front line in taking advantage of related business opportunities they come across as a result of their clients. These opportunities, combined with the fact that CPAs usually have above-average investing knowledge, make this one of the best fields for creating millionaires.
5. Investment Banker
Whenever we hear about multi-million dollar and billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions, there’s an opportunity to earn substantial money. That income often flows to investment bankers.
This is particularly true of those with experience in the economic sectors where mergers and acquisitions tend to be richer and more frequent.
For 2022, investment bankers are lumped in with “financial managers” who earned a median annual income of $139,790 in the BLS report. Once again, geography and specialization have a major impact.
As well investment banking is a field that commonly involves out-sized bonuses.
6. Real Estate Broker or Agent
It’s often said that more millionaires are created in real estate than anywhere else. That refers primarily to those who invest in real estate and not so much to those who sell it for a living.
However, anyone working in real estate as an agent or broker has a front-line position in taking advantage of potentially rich investment opportunities. That may be the primary road to riches for anyone in the real estate business, particularly on the sales side.
Real estate agents had a median income of $49,980, but top agents can easily make twice that much. Real estate brokers earn a median income of $62,190, but the top 10% of earners make a median of $173,000, which puts them close to physicians and surgeons and well ahead of lawyers and engineers.
That income, plus a few smart real estate deals, could bring millionaire status in less time than it can be achieved in most other career fields.
7. Insurance Broker or Agent
Insurance agents earn a median income of $57,860, but as with real estate agents, top performers can make much more. Insurance brokers – including independent brokers and those who typically own the insurance agencies that insurance agents are employed with – earn a median annual income of $130,350.
Insurance brokers and agents have more in common with engineers regarding income stability. Though they are often self-employed or working as independent contractors, the income in the field is unusually stable, especially considering that it involves commissions primarily.
The insurance field has an advantage that other sales fields, particularly real estate, lack. Insurance sales generate residual income.
When an agent or broker has an established “book of business,” they will earn an income flow from clients signed up years earlier. This allows the insurance agent and broker to create a near-permanent income flow.
That flow provides income stability and allows the agent or broker to build steadily to ever higher income.
How to Find Millionaire Jobs
There is no exact formula for finding millionaire jobs. Each person’s path is different, but the good news is that you can find high-paying jobs in just about any profession.
To increase your odds of landing the brass ring, consider these strategies:
- Choose a high-paying profession. Law, real estate, and medical professions pay much more than teachers or public service jobs.
- Pursue relevant education. Invest in yourself by getting the degrees you’ll need to be admitted to the highest-income circles. Degrees alone aren’t always relevant, but they increase your odds of climbing the pay scale. How you use the education you get often determines your success and your paycheck.
- Gain industry-specific skills. You don’t need to be good at everything, you need to be better than anyone else at one or two things. Do this, and you will be financially rewarded.
- Always think about how you can advance. Have a short-term and a long-term strategy that will lead you to your next station. Don’t wallow in dead-end jobs or with career-limiting companies.
- Do not settle. Be aggressive because that’s what other ambitious people are doing, and often you compete with them.
- Invest wisely. Don’t squander your hard-earned dollars. You can turn a high-paying job into a millionaire job by taking a good salary and combining it with intelligent investments over time will lead you to the riches you seek.
Also, look for jobs that pay well and offer benefits such as bonuses, commissions, and stock options.
Top 15 Careers That Can Make You a Billionaire
Want to aim a lot higher than being a millionaire? There are several paths you can take to become a billionaire.
According to Career Addict, here’s where you should focus your attention.
- Investment banker
- Author
- Athlete
- Entrepreneur
- Lawyer
- Real estate developer
- Surgeon
- Inventor
- Hedge fund manager
- Accountant
- Professional entertainer
- Investor
- Chief executive
- Insurance agent
- Engineer
Other Ways to Get Rich
Don’t think of your career as the only path to getting rich. It’s important, but you should develop strategies to enhance your finances.
Understand that nobody gets rich overnight. Getting rich is a long-term game for most people. So, you must practice compounding and let small financial victories build over time.
Also, determine how much of your portfolio should go to conservative investments and how much should go to more aggressive but riskier vehicles.
Consider taking a second job if you can. This will help you live below your means, which is the only true way to become a millionaire. It’s not what you make, it’s what you keep that counts.
Develop other forms of passive income that work for you even when you don’t actively manage them. Real estate investing is one type of outstanding option you can pursue.
Also, find a mentor. Somebody who has already made it is the best teacher in the world.
And finally, avoid debt at all costs. Credit card and installment debt is a killer, and the interest you must pay will make the climb much harder.
Summary
You don’t need to work in one of these careers to get rich. Many people write their tickets and become wealthy through business ownership, being outstanding performers in their current careers, or through years of hard work, saving, and investing. In short, there is no single path to wealth.
If you are just starting, you can research the highest-paying college degrees and examine the value of a college degree compared to not having one. Even then, it’s not always the degree that leads to success, but how one applies their knowledge and energies.
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K Store says
Good information was shared, thanks for this.
James says
No “entrepreneur”? *gasp* – of course, not many people would consider that a career, I suppose.
Being a lawyer is definitely one of the best fast tracks to becoming a millionaire but it involves a lot of work. I currently hold my life and health insurance licenses, and while I don’t actively sell insurance, I can tell you that you hit the nail on the head about insurance sales. They certainly do get a nice residual income! But only 5% or so of all people that get started in insurance will make it to the big time.
Great article!