Mean Income: $111,790 Top 10%: $139,500
An optometrist is the only person who can look deeply into your eyes and not make you feel awkward. Those doctors help bespectacled and soon-to-be-bespectacled see the world better. They have a set of tools and machines to test patients’ eyesight and eye condition.
Optometrists start out as mere college students and then move on to study for four years for a doctor of optometry degree. The annual tuition for such a program could fall anywhere between $18,000 and $55,000, but it could take less than a year’s work to earn all of that money back.
Mathematician
Mean Income: $101,900 Top 10%: $109,975
You know how you were little and your math teacher warned you that you won't always have a calculator at your side? Well, the joke's on them because your cellphone does all of your calculations for you. But, as it happens, some people's intelligence stretches beyond that of your cellphone's calculating skills. Those people are mathematicians.
Those superhumans. They take numbers that would give most people anaphylactic shock and use them for the greater good (the greater good being more money for businesses and government agencies). Those people normally have a bachelor's degree, and oftentimes a master’s degree or doctorates.
Physician Assistant
Mean Income: $108,610 Top 10%: $128,504
Physician assistants work with doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to take better care of patients. They perform tests, diagnose patients, write prescriptions and treat patients however they can.
PAs would learn their profession at an accredited program. They will learn all there is to know about anatomy, clinical rotations, and medical ethics. Getting into such a program would cost tens of thousands of dollars per year, but the salary you get paid once you get a job would make it all worth it.
Podiatrist
Mean Income: $129,550 Top 10%: $272,692
Apparently, there are more things to do with a foot fetish other than selling shoes. Podiatrists (or 'feet doctors' as the people would call them) deliver medical treatment to poor people's feet. Be it bone spurs, ingrown toenails, arthritis, or sports injuries, they know what to do.
In order to become such a doctor, one would have to complete a college education followed by a podiatric medicine degree. There are nine official institutions that teach this program. It's not cheap, but it turns out as a great long-term investment.
Art, Drama, Music Teachers
Teachers who teach some of the more artistic subjects such as music, dance, and drama teachers have a real opportunity to affect the younger generation and help them develop. Rather than being limited to a specific curriculum, like in most subjects, art teachers usually get to create their own.
In order to become a teacher of the arts, you’ll need some sort of an arts degree. This isn’t really an issue, as it’s likely that you’ve already studied at least one thing that interests you, such as art, drama, or music. You’ll also need to be quite patient, as kids today have a lot of trouble bringing out their artistic side.