Confused about your way ahead? Looking for top highest paid jobs? Trying to figure out what career choice will ensure future-proof skills that will help you land such high salary jobs in a changing world of work?
With our cross-industry analysis, discover the top highest paid jobs in India and top performing industries in our post here along with a sneak peek into the world of work and its dynamics too.
Today, we are witness to Industry 4.0 or the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Developments in nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, plastics & polymers (+ other advanced materials), biofuels, genetics, robotics, 3D printing and biotechnology, to name just a few, are all building on and amplifying one another.
Illustrations of now well-recognized and remarkable automation-based augmentation technology range from creative computer-aided modelling & design software used by engineers, architects, & designers, to intelligent robotic medical tools used by surgeons and doctors, to smart search engine technology that helps researchers find more relevant information.
Topics covered
Uncovering Top Highest Paid Jobs in India & The World Over – The Status Quo
Smart systems (IoT & IIoT) in homes, farms, factories, grids or cities will help tackle problems ranging from supply chain management to climate change.
- As entire industries adjust, most occupations & job roles are undergoing a fundamental transformation.
- Existing jobs sets are going through a change in the skill sets required. While some jobs remain threatened by redundancy, some others grow rapidly. Some of these transformations also foresee massive dislocation of jobs.
- This can be expected to result in talent shortages, mass unemployment and growing inequality. Hence, reskilling and upskilling of today’s workers stands critical.
- Students must prepare for future opportunities & challenges in a rapidly changing labour market. Today, there are multiple roles in diverse industrial structures that can provide a financially secure future and the high salary jobs.
- Reinforcement of existing jobs through technology is expected to create wholly new tasks. This includes a variety of roles from remotely monitoring patient health to piloting drones to app development to certified care workers. We can expect opportunities to open up for an entirely new range of livelihoods for workers.
- The GICS sectors, Automobile & Auto Ancillary, Consumer Durables, Retail and Start-ups are performing well on the hiring front. We’ve focused on them.
Psst..What are GICS sectors?
- GICS (the Global Industry Classification Standard) include 11 major industrial sectors:
- Communication services
- Consumer discretionary
- Consumer staples
- Energy
- Financials
- Health care
- Industrials
- Information Technology
- Materials
- Real estate
- Utilities
For detailed information on GICS, refer to link in Conclusions section
The graphic below will give you a faint picture of the top high salary paid jobs. Their salaries are also given after the figure.
Salary ranges indicated in the following list are monthly entry-level salaries only. The years of education/ experience obviously differs in each case. For example, you may practice as a Software Engineer for a few years and then specialize in Machine Learning, in which case, though you will have some work experience to back you, it will not be entirely relevant for ML, so you will be offered entry level salary for ML expert which is much higher than entry level salary of a software engineer.
- Commercial Pilot –Rs. 90,000 to 150,000
- Medical Professionals (after MD, varies with specialty too) – Rs 100000 to 200000
- Machine Learning Experts – Rs. 70,000 to 1,50,000
- Chartered Accountants – Rs 50000 to 90000
- Architects & Planners – Rs 65000 to 100000
- Actuaries – Rs 70000 to 120000
- Investment Bankers – Rs 50000 to 150000
- Interior Designers – Rs 50000 to Rs 80000
- Full Stack Software Developers – Rs 80000 to 135000
- Management Consultants – Rs 100000 to 350000
- Blockchain Developers – Rs 80000 to 125000
- Cognitive Scientists – Rs 70000 to 100000
- Merchant Navy Officers – Rs 75000 to 120000
- Data Analysts – Rs 72000 to 200000
- Intelligence Officers (audit/enquiry/investigation etc.) – Rs 80000 to 120000
But wait, this isn’t the end of story.
The figure just gives a very, very feeble picture of the vastness of the industry and the job roles it offers. There can be many more roles among top highest paid jobs in India. To know them, you have to swim through the full evaluation done in this post!
The reality is very different as salaries depend on a number of parameters (college, degree, location and company) and hence a commercial pilot may be paid way more than a young Financial Mathematician in the early years but the situation reverses as time flies. A more detailed cross-industry analysis follows. You should get a hang of it once this post clocks in (as soon as you finish reading and reach conclusions, silly!)
Top Highest Paid Jobs – Key Opinions
Nine specific technological advances & socio-economic factors are set to dominate as drivers positively affecting business growth:
- Ubiquitous high-speed mobile internet
- Artificial intelligence
- Widespread adoption of big data analytics
- Cloud technology
- Accelerated technology adoption
- Internet of things and app- and web-enabled markets, machine learning and augmented & virtual reality
- Trends in robotization and high robot adoption rates depending on industry + investment ratios
- Stationary robots, non-humanoid land robots, underwater robots and fully automated aerial drones
- Changing geography of production, distribution and value chains
- Modified geographical bases of operations depending on availability of skilled local talent, flexibility of local labour laws, industry agglomeration effects or proximity of raw materials
- Changing employment types
- Automation resulting in reduction in full-time workforce
- A new human-machine frontier within existing tasks
- In terms of %age of total task hours performed by humans and machines.
- For example, the percentage of information & data processing and information search & transmission tasks performed by machines will rise from 46% today to 62% by 2022.
There are complexities between new technology, jobs and skills. Although new technologies can drive business growth, job creation & demand for specialist skills, they can also displace entire roles across industries when certain tasks become obsolete or automated.
Source: Future of Jobs Survey, World Economic Forum
Examples of Stable, New and Redundant Roles, All Industries
Source: Future of Jobs Survey, World Economic Forum
Statistics of The Labour Market and Wages Landscape of 10 Nations
Source: Good Jobs for All in a Changing World of Work: The OECD Jobs Strategy
Top Highest Paid Jobs: Range of Roles That Are Set To Experience Max Demand
Roles that are substantially based on and augmented by the use of technology:
- Data Analysts and Scientists
- Software & Applications Developers
- Ecommerce & Social Media Specialists
Wholly new specialist roles that requires understanding and leveraging latest emerging technologies:
- AI and Machine Learning Specialists
- Big Data Specialists
- Process Automation Experts
- Information Security Analysts
- User Experience and Human-Machine Interaction Designers
- Robotics Engineers
- Blockchain Specialists
Roles that leverage distinctively ‘human’ skills:
- Innovation Managers – People & Culture/ Training & Development/ Organizational Development Specialists
- Customer Service Workers
- Sales and Marketing Professionals
- Teaching – from preschool to higher education
- Mental Health Professionals, particularly Clinical Psychologists
Source: Global Wage Report, International Labour Organization
Top Highest Paid Jobs in India and The World Over – The Most Promising & Massive Industries
The following list will give you the names of the broad industrial sectors, which are the ones expected to witness stability in the coming years. This means that the availability of jobs in these industrial sectors will see little or no disruptions and is most likely to have their business growth impacted positively, in terms of:
- New energy supplies and technologies
- Increasing adoption of new technology
- Increasing availability of big data
- Increase of cyber threats
- Advances in mobile internet
- Advances in artificial intelligence
- Advances in cloud technology
- Climate change, natural resources
- Changing nature of work, flexible work
- Employment outlook
- Skills stability (technical, social, cognitive, resource management, process, content, & systems skills)
- Ease of recruitment
| Also please note, the following listing does not consider any short-term industrial “shock” circumstances, whatsoever, resulting from the prevalent COVID-19 situation. These are listed in terms of long-term impact considering the above parameters. |
| This is not a priority listing of any order, all have equal priority in the following listing. |
| I have also mentioned the promising job families (occupations) with respect to each broad industrial sector in the following listing. |
| Among the promising ones, you may find some overlapping occupations in few broad sectors. This is because, for example, you may be a working Software & Applications Developers / Analyst, but engaged in the Telecommunications sector or in Media & Entertainment or in BFSI sector (Banking, Financial Services, Insurance). So wherever you work, your role is a promising one, hence classified as a “Promising” job family. |
| Another example, say suppose, you are a HR Specialist and working in the BFSI sector, or core IT sector or in Mining/ Construction sector etc. or a Financial Advisor working in field of Law (considered under Professional Services below) |
- Energy
- Energy Utilities and Technology
- Oil and Gas
- Renewable Energy
- “Promising” job families:
- Architecture & Engineering – Energy & Petroleum Engineers, Renewable Energy Engineers, Electrotechnology Engineers, Green Technologists, Data Analysts and Scientists, Digital Transformation Specialists, Big Data Specialists, Software and Applications Developers and Analysts, Process Automation Specialists, Robotics Specialists and Engineers, New Technology Specialists, Scrum Masters
- Management – Managing Directors & Chief Executives, General & Operations Managers, Business Services & Administration Managers, Innovation Professionals, Organisational Development Specialists
- Financial Services & Investors
- Banking and Capital Markets
- Insurance and Asset Management
- Private Investors
- Institutional Investors, Sovereign Funds, Family Offices
- “Promising” job families:
- Technical – Data Analysts and Scientists, AI and Machine Learning Specialists, Digital Transformation Specialists, Client Information and Customer Service Workers, Information Security Analysts, Database & Network Professionals, Finance Advisor, Finance Officer, User Experience and Human-Machine Interaction Designers
- Management – General & Operations Managers, Business Services & Administration Managers, Innovation Professionals
- Information and Communication Technology
- Electronics
- Core IT
- Telecommunications
- “Promising” job families:
- Technical – Database & Network Professionals,Information Security Analysts, Data Analysts and Scientists, UX Designer, Customer Experience Specialist, AI and Machine Learning Specialists, Big Data Specialists, Blockchain Specialists, User Experience and Human-Machine Interaction Designers, New Technology Specialists
- Engineering – Software & Applications Developers / Analysts, Electrotechnology Engineers
- Media, Entertainment and Information
- Arts, Design, Entertainment
- Sports and Media
- “Promising” job families:
- Technical – Advertising & Public Relations Professionals, Data Analysts, Software & Applications Developers / Analysts, Financial Auditor
- Management – General & Operations Managers, Business Services & Administration Managers, Organisational Development Specialists, General and Operations Managers
- Professional Services
- Business and Financial Operations
- Computer and Mathematical
- Management
- “Promising” job families:
- Technical – Mathematicians, Actuaries & Statisticians, Geospatial Information Scientists & Technologists, Management and Organisation Analysts, Human Resources Specialists, Data Analysts, Software & Applications Developers / Analysts, Digital Transformation Specialists, Process Automation Specialists
- Regulatory & Management – General & Operations Managers, Business Services & Administration Managers, Regulatory and Government Associate Professionals, Contract-Workforce Managers, Training and Development Specialists
- Automotive, Aerospace, Supply Chain and Transport
- Automotive
- Aerospace
- Supply Chain and Transport
- “Promising” job families:
- Data Analysts and Scientists
- AI and Machine Learning Specialists
- Process Automation Specialists
- Software and Applications Developers and Analysts
- Innovation Professionals
- Sales and Marketing Professionals
- Service and Solutions Designers
- Product Managers
- Industrial and Production Engineers
- Supply Chain and Logistics Specialists
- Chemistry, Advanced Materials and Biotechnology
- Research & Development
- Marketing
- “Promising” job families:
- General and Operations Managers
- AI and Machine Learning Specialists
- Sales and Marketing Professionals
- Organisational Development Specialists
- Mechanical Engineers
- Data Analysts and Scientists
- Research and Development Officers
- New Technology Specialists
- Innovation Professionals
- Basic and Infrastructure
- Chemicals
- Infrastructure and Urban Development
- Mining and Metals
- Architecture and Engineering
- Chemical Engineers
- Civil Engineers
- Architects & Surveyors
- Planners
- “Promising” job families:
- Technical – Robotics Specialists and Engineers, Systems Engineers, Product Managers, Information Security Analysts, Big Data Specialists, User Experience and Human-Machine Interaction Designers, Process Automation Specialists, Supply Chain and Logistics Specialists
- Business & Financial Operations – Human Resources Specialists, Accountants and Auditors, Investment Fund Managers, Organisational Development Specialists
- Marketing Manager, Sales Executive, Account Manager, Civil Engineer, Marketing Specialist, Real Estate Broker, Real Estate Consultant, Real Estate Agent
- Core Healthcare
- Manufacturing and Production
- Life, Physical, and Social Sciences
- “Promising” job families ():
- Core health – Biologists and Geneticists, Environmental and Occupational Health and Hygiene Professionals, Specialist Medical Practitioners, Nutritionist, Rehabilitation Therapist, Mental Health Practitioner, Nursing professionals
- Administration, Regulatory & Government – Marketing Professionals, Compliance Professionals, Supply Chain & Logistics Specialists
- Technical – Data Analyst and Scientists, Mental Health Technician, Software Engineer, AI and Machine Learning Specialists, Big Data Specialists
- Mobility
- Aviation and Travel
- Tourism
- “Promising” job families:
- Engineering & Technical – Industrial & Production Engineers, Software and Applications Developers, Electrotechnology Engineers, Supply Chain & Logistics Specialists, Transportation Engineers, Commercial and Industrial Designers, Data Analysts and Scientists, User Experience and Human-Machine Interaction Designers, AI and Machine Learning Specialists, Information Security Analysts
- General and Operations Managers
- Sales and Marketing Professionals
- Product Managers
- Innovation Professionals
- Brand and Communication Specialists
- Consumer
- Agriculture, Food and Beverage
- Retail, Consumer Goods and Lifestyle
- “Promising” job families:
- Biochemical Engineers, Materials Engineers, Mechanical/ Mechatronics Engineers, Ergonomists, Bioengineers, Food Technologists
- Ecommerce and Social Media Specialists
- Organisational Development Specialists
- New Technology Specialists
- Information Technology Services
- User Experience and Human-Machine Interaction Designers
- Training and Development Specialists
Comparing Skills Demand
The following table will give you an idea with respect to the skills that are in demand today, are likely to be in high demand and those that have a declining demand.
Source: Future of Jobs Survey, World Economic Forum
Technologies That are Expected to be Adopted by Different Industries
Top highest paid jobs and truly high salary jobs can be expected to be somehow associated with the adoption of these technologies.
- User and entity big data analytics
- App- and web-enabled markets
- Internet of things
- Machine learning
- Cloud computing
- Digital trade
- Augmented and virtual reality
- Encryption
- New materials
- Wearable electronics
- Distributed ledger (blockchain)
- 3D printing
- Autonomous transport
- Stationary robots
- Quantum computing
- Non-humanoid land robots
- Biotechnology
- Humanoid robots
- Aerial and underwater robots
Top Highest Paid Jobs: List of Job Roles With Respect to Skills Used and Specific Industries
Salaries for these top highest paid jobs vary a lot depending on your college, degree, location and company. So, we will not over burden this post with multiple salary figures. There are various dimensions to it. So, here we give you the job roles or particular specialized roles that are among the most-popular top highest paid jobs in India.
| Engineering |
| Computer/Computational Engineer |
| Electrical / Instrumentation Engineer |
| Human Systems Engineer (HSE) |
| Mechanical / Electrical / Instrumentation / Civil Engineer |
| Process Engineers |
| Civil & Structural Engineers |
| Rotating / Static Equipment Engineers |
| Structural Design Engineers |
| CAE (Computer-aided engineering) Analyst |
| Design Engineer |
| Purchase Engineer |
| Quality Engineer |
| Maintenance Engineer |
| Service Engineer |
| Electronics & Communications Engineer |
| Information Technology (Mostly with BE/B Tech/ MCA) |
| SalesForce Developer |
| Android Developers |
| iPhone Developers |
| Java Developer |
| .NET Developer |
| Supply Chain Management Specialist |
| Bigdata(Hadoop) Administrator |
| RPA (Robotic process automation) Engineer |
| SAS Programmer |
| Hyperion Consultant |
| Machine Learning Engineer |
| Full Stack Developer |
| DevOps Engineer |
| Data Scientist |
| Data Warewhouse / Business Intelligence Executive/ SQL Analyst |
| ITES (Bachelors and Masters in Mathematics & Statistics/ Commerce graduates , MBA finance, Semi qualified & qualified CA/ICWA) |
| Risk Analytics / Credit Risk Analytics / Quantitative Researcher or Functional Experts |
| Marketing Analytics Researcher |
| HR Analytics Researcher |
| Risk Modeling & Analytics Specialist |
| Operations Research Analyst |
| Data Analytics Associate |
| Reporting Analytics Analyst |
| SOX compliance (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) Consultant |
| Financial Planning & Analysis Strategy Consultant |
| Fast-Moving Consumer Goods & Consumer Retail |
| Plant Operations – Environment & Health Safety Specialist (after Graduate/PG with Diploma in Safety ) |
| Category Manager – Gifting/Packaging/Quality (with MBA) |
| Brand Management / Product Management (with MBA) |
| Marketing/ Corporate Communication/ Sales/ Finance/ Infrastructure Specialist (mostly with CA/ICWA/MBA/B Tech) |
| Start-ups & e-commerce (demand for niche skills around AI, Machine Learning , Robotic process automation, NLP, IoT, AoT / Analysis of Things, Data Specialists) |
| Digital Marketing Executive |
| Social Media Marketing Executive |
| Backend Developer |
| Frontend Developer |
| Android Developer |
| iOS Developer |
| UX Designer |
| UI Designer |
| Performance Marketing Expert |
| BFSI (for MBA/ CA/ CFA/ certified professionals) |
| Risk Advisory Expert |
| Compliance Officer |
| HNI Banking Advisor (HNI is a person with more than Rs. 25 lakhs in investable portfolio) |
| Pharmaceuticals / Life Sciences / Healthcare (mosty with M Sc, M Pharma, MBA Marketing, Pharmaceutical Management, MD, MBBS) |
| Regulatory Affairs Specialist |
| Marketing/Brand Management Consultant |
| Medical Services (only MD, MBBS) |
Source: India Salary Guide (Kelly Services, Inc.), Indeed Inc., Dun & Bradstreet, Wolters Kluwer N.V.
Top Highest Paid Jobs in India: More Interesting Options That You Didn’t Know About
Also remember, there are a number of other purely entrepreneurial exercises (passive income ideas) that can take you towards your dream bank balance and not just aforementioned top highest paid job options. These are primary income options for some people too, some of them come from very humble backgrounds like farming etc.
- Online blogging/ vlogging or Tweet consulting (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) – some people also pay money directly to admins to promote their content on Facebook etc.
- Radio jockeying
- Travel blogging
- Stock market trading
- Website renting/ Affiliate marketing (similar to running a retail shop)- signup with retailers like Amazon or Flipkart etc, promote their products on your website and social media to make money.
- Taking online surveys (make money by responding to surveys online, rewards depend on the site) – YouGov, Prolific, Swagbucks, LifePoints, Survey Junkie, and OneOpinion
- Test websites – You don’t need to be a digital expert to test websites. You can get started with these:
Top Highest Paid Jobs: Conclusions
Our analysis indicates several key findings and we have tried to list out most-popular top highest paid jobs in India as well as around the world. This is a highly dynamic scenario where businesses need to recognize human capital investment as an asset rather than a liability.
Today, given the wave of new technologies and trends disrupting business models, there is a changing division of labour between workers and machines. This is leading to transformation of current job profiles, and likely, the skills required to perform most jobs will have shifted significantly in the coming years.
By a popular estimate, we now know that 65% of students entering primary school today will be working for job roles that do not currently exist.
It is of utmost importance that the inherent skills of a child are valued and new skills are properly developed by gauging the existing competencies in a child. Let us join hands to achieve a competitive knowledge-based economy & society that we can prosper in.
Top Highest Paid Jobs: Useful Links
Michael Page India Salary Guide (PDF download link)
With a Master’s in Biophysics-Biostatistics, Sreenanda acquired professional experience in computational proteomics of human molecules. She is currently working with the Research and Data Team at iDreamCareer.
Great examples
You made some few nice points above.
Excellent article.
This is very interesting and informative! The highest paying professions require professionalism, knowledge, and responsibility! I even think this responsibility can be exhausting. But I would certainly like my job to be profitable as well, and I will make every effort to do so.
Excellent write-up. I definitely love this. Keep it up!
Thank you for this interesting article.