The highest paying jobs in the UK revealed

If you want to know what the highest paying jobs in the UK are, then look no further. Air traffic controllers receive one of the highest salaries, earning an average of £80,000 per annum, but if you’d prefer to sidestep the responsibility of preventing planes from colliding mid-air, then you’re in luck.

The UK’s buoyant business sector means there is an ever-growing number of well-paid jobs, and employers are willing to pay for the best talent. As well as traditional jobs in finance and at director/executive level – where experience and career history is all important – there are a number of ‘New World’ roles that are emerging in the data and tech sectors, where specialist skills and niche knowledge are highly valuable.

If you’re working your way up the career ladder and want to know where to aim or are determined to increase your pay prospects, Bond Williams has analysed the latest surveys and statistics to bring you some of the UK’s highest paying jobs across: Accounting & Finance; Human Resources; IT & Software Solutions; Office & Commercial, and Engineering, Science & Space.

Salaries: a guide not a guarantee

It’s worth noting there is a myriad of research figures in existence, compiled using different methodology and from different sources. Below is a rough guide as to the average annual income or potential to earn – all figures should be read as a guide, and they will be influenced by candidate experience, industry averages and individual company pay scales.

Traditional roles

There are still handsome rewards for being the boss or sitting at the very top of the career ladder. Job titles that end in officer, executive and director perform very well in the traditional wage scale.

1. Brokers – £133,170
2. Senior HR Managers, Insurance – £99,000
3. Chief Executives & Senior Officials – £97,083
4. Financial Officers – £95,000
5. Sales and Marketing Directors – £87,890
6. Financial Institution Managers & Directors – £75,169

New World roles

Our reliance on computers, software and digital communications has seen an explosion of tech-related roles. As there are so many emerging sectors, the talent pool is small and therefore the wages can be attractively high.

1. IT & Telecommunications Directors – £117,759
2. Cloud Architects – £98,000
3. Data Modeller – £94,000
4. Agile Coach – £94,000
5. Security Architect – £90,000
6. Java Architect – £85,000

Engineering roles

According to the Engineer Salary Survey 2018, engineers in the oil and gas sector are the highest paid in the UK, with an average salary of £53,913; followed by engineers in the energy, renewables and nuclear sector, who earn an average of £52,653.

1. Oil and gas engineers – £53,913
2. Energy, renewables & nuclear engineers – £52,653
3. Chemicals, pharmaceuticals and medical engineers – £50,890

Science-sector roles

According to the 2017 Salary Survey from SRG (Science Recruitment Group), the average salary for a career in science in the UK is £38,170, significantly higher than the average UK salary of £27,600 (Office for National Statistics).

1. Microbiologist – earn up to £99,000
2. Petroleum Engineer – earn up to £95,000
3. Actuary – earn up to £70,000
4. Physicist – earn up to £70,000

Don’t forget, it’s worth remembering that any job you see advertised with ‘OTE’ after the salary stands for ‘on track earnings’ or ‘on target earnings’ – and the top-end figure will usually depend on sales success and commission paid. The final salary will depend on personal performance and will not be guaranteed, so be sure to clarify with the employer if there is a guaranteed or base wage.