The highest paying jobs in Australia have been revealed, and once again, surgeons are topping the list.
According to the latest figures from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), released in June this year and based on reported incomes from the 2023-24 financial year, surgeons had the highest taxable incoming in Australia, at just over half a million ($519,998) on average.
In fact, five of the 10 highest paid jobs were medical professionals: surgeons, anaesthetists ($475,455), internal medicine specialists ($362,120), psychiatrists ($305,282), and other medical practitioners ($277,728). Turns out saving lives does indeed bring the big bucks.
However, before you choose to study medicine as a get rich quick scheme, further analysis by Aussie Clinicians shows there's a vast difference in salaries across medical specialties, training levels, and private vs public practice. It also notes that some very highly paid doctors pull the "average" salary up, and that the median salary — a.k.a. the exact middle value in a set of numbers — is a more accurate representation.
For example, neurosurgeons have the highest average taxable incomes in Australia (at $678,611), but when you're looking at median taxable incomes, ENT surgeons are actually the highest earners (at $539,017). As for junior doctors, they're earning between $80,000 and $106,000 base salary, depending on the state.
The 10 highest salaries in Australia for 2023-24
- Surgeon ($519,998)
- Anaesthetist ($475,455)
- Internal medicine specialist ($362,120)
- Financial dealer ($347,375)
- Psychiatrist ($305,282)
- Other medical practitioners ($277,728)
- Judicial or other legal professionals ($217,127)
- Mining engineer ($216,080)
- Financial investment advisor or manager ($202,840)
- Chief executive officer or managing director ($200,418)
How to find a high paying job
We get it: cost of living is real, and entry level jobs can feel out of reach when you first start looking — let alone put you on a career track to earn a high salary.
While there's no "one size fits all" approach, generally a salary in the private sector is affected by three things: complexity of the role, experience, and market demand. If you choose a field requiring multiple qualifications and years of training, such as medicine, the complexity of your job increases. As you develop in your career, you'll gain experience. And if the market requires a certain skill or role, higher salaries often reflect the demand.
However, it's okay if you don't know what you want to do right now. In fact, it's completely normal. Recent research by Anyway (that's us!) found that 25% of Aussies aged 14 to 22 had no idea what they wanted to do, while 34% were neither clear nor unclear about their future career.
And while we wouldn't advocate for choosing a career based solely on future earnings, it's okay to want a decent salary. That same research found that the number one concern of young Aussies when choosing a future career was not earning enough money (12%), followed by choosing the wrong pathway (11%) and not finding work that gives you a sense of purpose (also 11%).
That's where we come in.
How to figure out your next step
Anyway is all about helping you figure out what you want to do and how to get there. It's for people who haven't got it all figured out yet (same), and lets you road test different jobs and figure out where your skills could take you.
Try asking Blinky (our personalised AI-powered career coach) where you might fit, and take the next step into your future.