Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
1 / 47#47. Substitute teachers, short-term
- Median annual wage: $30,210
- Median hourly wage: $14.52
- Total employment: 170 people (3.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Brunswick that require a bachelor's degree
Between rising tuition and a tight job market, getting a bachelor's degree is an increasingly daunting prospect these days. Per a May 2024 Pew Research Center survey, just 1 in 4 adults believe a college degree is necessary to secure a high-paying job.
Many second-guess the value of college because of the cost. For the 2024-2025 school year, annual tuition and fees averaged more than $11,600 at in-state public universities, a nearly 3% increase from the previous year. Tuition at private schools increased by roughly 4% in the same time period.
Besides financial concerns, there are career opportunities to consider. Though the job market in the United States shifts from month to month, the unemployment rate for recent college graduates aged 22 to 27 reached 5.8% in March 2025, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. For context, that's more than double the unemployment rate of all college graduates.
These factors all contribute to the belief that college may not be the answer for everyone. However, research shows that a bachelor's degree still pays off in the long run. As of 2024, the most recent year with available data, the $60,000 median salary for a recent college graduate is $20,000 more than the median earnings for someone with only a high school diploma.
Although high school grads can make a decent salary without taking on student loan debt, lifetime earnings range between $630,000 and $900,000 more for those with a bachelor's degree. Graduate degree holders, meanwhile, may earn $1.1 million to $1.5 million more than high school graduates.
With this in mind, many different jobs make a degree worth the cost of tuition. Stacker ranked the highest-paying jobs that require a bachelor's degree in Brunswick, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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DGLimages // Shutterstock
2 / 47#46. Community and social service specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $37,750
- Median hourly wage: $18.15
- Total employment: 40 people (0.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
3 / 47#45. Property appraisers and assessors
- Median annual wage: $41,810
- Median hourly wage: $20.10
- Total employment: 50 people (1.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
tilialucida // Shutterstock
4 / 47#44. Biological technicians
- Median annual wage: $42,570
- Median hourly wage: $20.47
- Total employment: 40 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
5 / 47#43. Public relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $43,050
- Median hourly wage: $20.70
- Total employment: 60 people (1.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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VH-studio // Shutterstock
6 / 47#42. Child, family, and school social workers
- Median annual wage: $43,640
- Median hourly wage: $20.98
- Total employment: 80 people (1.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
7 / 47#41. Graphic designers
- Median annual wage: $45,590
- Median hourly wage: $21.92
- Total employment: 30 people (0.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PanuShot // Shutterstock
8 / 47#40. Financial specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $47,940
- Median hourly wage: $23.05
- Total employment: 50 people (1.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
9 / 47#39. Market research analysts and marketing specialists
- Median annual wage: $48,840
- Median hourly wage: $23.48
- Total employment: 130 people (2.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
10 / 47#38. Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents
- Median annual wage: $50,760
- Median hourly wage: $24.41
- Total employment: 110 people (2.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kzenon // Shutterstock
11 / 47#37. Training and development specialists
- Median annual wage: $55,930
- Median hourly wage: $26.89
- Total employment: 60 people (1.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dragon Images // Shutterstock
12 / 47#36. Meeting, convention, and event planners
- Median annual wage: $60,200
- Median hourly wage: $28.94
- Total employment: 60 people (1.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
comzeal images // Shutterstock
13 / 47#35. Loan officers
- Median annual wage: $60,300
- Median hourly wage: $28.99
- Total employment: 50 people (0.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rido // Shutterstock
14 / 47#34. Human resources specialists
- Median annual wage: $60,720
- Median hourly wage: $29.19
- Total employment: 200 people (4.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
15 / 47#33. Teachers and instructors, all other
- Median annual wage: $62,670
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 230 people (5.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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GLRL // Shutterstock
16 / 47#32. Buyers and purchasing agents
- Median annual wage: $64,740
- Median hourly wage: $31.13
- Total employment: 100 people (2.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
boonchoke // Shutterstock
17 / 47#31. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $65,870
- Median hourly wage: $31.67
- Total employment: 570 people (12.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
18 / 47#30. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $65,960
- Median hourly wage: $31.71
- Total employment: 40 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
19 / 47#29. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $67,640
- Median hourly wage: $32.52
- Total employment: 270 people (5.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
20 / 47#28. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $67,780
- Median hourly wage: $32.59
- Total employment: 40 people (0.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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anyaivanova // Shutterstock
21 / 47#27. Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians
- Median annual wage: $69,810
- Median hourly wage: $33.56
- Total employment: 110 people (2.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
22 / 47#26. Elementary school teachers, except special education
- Median annual wage: $74,160
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 580 people (12.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
23 / 47#25. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $76,090
- Median hourly wage: $36.58
- Total employment: 1,060 people (23.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Lopolo // Shutterstock
24 / 47#24. Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $76,390
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 340 people (7.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
25 / 47#23. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $77,000
- Median hourly wage: $37.02
- Total employment: 40 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
26 / 47#22. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $77,450
- Median hourly wage: $37.23
- Total employment: 100 people (2.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
27 / 47#21. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $77,570
- Median hourly wage: $37.29
- Total employment: 40 people (0.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
28 / 47#20. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $77,930
- Median hourly wage: $37.46
- Total employment: 50 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
29 / 47#19. Special education teachers, middle school
- Median annual wage: $79,270
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 60 people (1.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
30 / 47#18. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $82,710
- Median hourly wage: $39.76
- Total employment: 50 people (1.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
31 / 47#17. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $84,690
- Median hourly wage: $40.72
- Total employment: 990 people (21.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
32 / 47#16. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $89,010
- Median hourly wage: $42.79
- Total employment: 70 people (1.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
33 / 47#15. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $91,320
- Median hourly wage: $43.90
- Total employment: 50 people (0.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
34 / 47#14. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $96,200
- Median hourly wage: $46.25
- Total employment: 80 people (1.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
35 / 47#13. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $96,440
- Median hourly wage: $46.36
- Total employment: 40 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
36 / 47#12. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $97,000
- Median hourly wage: $46.63
- Total employment: 40 people (0.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
37 / 47#11. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $101,270
- Median hourly wage: $48.69
- Total employment: 50 people (1.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
38 / 47#10. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $101,560
- Median hourly wage: $48.83
- Total employment: 80 people (1.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
39 / 47#9. Education administrators, all other
- Median annual wage: $103,400
- Median hourly wage: $49.71
- Total employment: 100 people (2.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
40 / 47#8. Compliance officers
- Median annual wage: $104,330
- Median hourly wage: $50.16
- Total employment: 640 people (13.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
41 / 47#7. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $113,290
- Median hourly wage: $54.47
- Total employment: 30 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
42 / 47#6. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $114,670
- Median hourly wage: $55.13
- Total employment: 40 people (0.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
43 / 47#5. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $117,190
- Median hourly wage: $56.34
- Total employment: 500 people (10.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
44 / 47#4. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $119,230
- Median hourly wage: $57.32
- Total employment: 30 people (0.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
45 / 47#3. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $119,370
- Median hourly wage: $57.39
- Total employment: 70 people (1.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
46 / 47#2. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $124,860
- Median hourly wage: $60.03
- Total employment: 30 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
47 / 47#1. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $134,410
- Median hourly wage: $64.62
- Total employment: 100 people (2.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 364 metros.
