Physicians hold highest-paying jobs in U.S.; NPs, PAs also on list

Physicians are at the top of the scale when it comes to the largest paychecks in America, according to an annual report from Glassdoor.

With a median base salary of $195,842, physicians top the list of the 25 highest-paying jobs in the U.S. for 2018, according to the report released Thursday by the online job recruiting website.

That’s an almost $8,000 increase—or a 4% bump—from 2017 when Glassdoor reported the average salary for physicians was $187,876.

Doctors are also in demand, with the number of job openings for physicians reaching 3,038, the report said.

Five other healthcare jobs were on the list including:

2. Pharmacy manager: $146,412

3. Pharmacist: $127,120

7. Physician assistant: $108,761

9. Nurse practitioner: $106, 962

That was down from six healthcare positions making the list last year. Medical science liaison, which was in the fourth spot last year, dropped off the list this year.

Meanwhile, nurse practitioners took a major jump on the list. Last year they made the cut for the first time, when they ranked 14 among the top paying jobs with a median base salary of $104,144. They were also the most-in demand job with 14,931 current job openings.

The list was dominated by jobs in the technical and healthcare fields.

“The fact that employers are paying top dollar for many tech and healthcare jobs reinforces how demand for these valuable skillsets continues to outpace the supply of talent with these expertises,” said Amanda Stansell, Glassdoor’s economic research analyst, in an announcement.

Nearly seven in 10 (67%) of job seekers and workers say that salary is a key piece of information when researching jobs, according to a separate Glassdoor survey.

RELATED: Demand continues to push up physician salaries, yet gender and racial pay disparities persist

But money isn’t everything.

“We know that salary matters a lot to job seekers when determining where to work, but it should not be the only factor to consider. We’ve found that company culture and values, career opportunities and trust in senior leadership matter most when it comes to keeping employees satisfied in their jobs long-term,” said Stansell.

Job dissatisfaction is high among doctors, as physicians and other healthcare workers are caught in an epidemic of burnout. Concerns around burnout have reached a point where major national medical organizations—including the Mayo Clinic, the American Medical Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges—recently endorsed a medical charter encouraging stakeholders at all levels to address burnout.