Surgeons, physicians top CareerCast list of 10 best-paying jobs

The occupations deemed to be the top 10 best-paying professions by job search website CareerCast have a few things in common: Most require extensive training or education and many are intensely stressful.

Seven of the 10 – including physicians, psychiatrists and orthodontists – are in the healthcare sector.

Surgeons are the best paid, earning an average annual salary of $233,150 nationwide, with job openings projected to grow 18% by 2022. In California, surgeons earn $222,550 a year and can look forward to a forecast 19% boost in jobs by 2020.

The list features a few occupations without a medical bent. Petroleum engineers earn $130,280 on average nationally; attorneys pull in $113,530. Air traffic controllers expect $122,530 on average, all while working in high-pressure situations.

CareerCast said it drew its wage data and growth outlooks from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the California Employment Development Department. Researchers considered 200 occupations and measured them on criteria including work environment, income, hiring outlook and stress levels.

Within those categories, CareerCast said it investigated factors such as competitiveness, physical demands, growth potential, unemployment levels, deadlines and more.