fizkes // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $98,780
- Median hourly wage: $47.49
- Total employment: 1,420 people (4.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Bakersfield 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 Bakersfield, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $98,900
- Median hourly wage: $47.55
- Total employment: 210 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $98,920
- Median hourly wage: $47.56
- Total employment: 470 people (1.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $99,120
- Median hourly wage: $47.65
- Total employment: 140 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
B Brown // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $99,370
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 3,540 people (10.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Adult basic education, adult secondary education, and english as a second language instructors
- Median annual wage: $99,500
- Median hourly wage: $47.84
- Total employment: 50 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $100,340
- Median hourly wage: $48.24
- Total employment: 480 people (1.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $100,950
- Median hourly wage: $48.53
- Total employment: 560 people (1.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $100,970
- Median hourly wage: $48.54
- Total employment: 1,400 people (4.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Csomos Attila // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Hydrologists
- Median annual wage: $101,090
- Median hourly wage: $48.60
- Total employment: 30 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Operations research analysts
- Median annual wage: $101,390
- Median hourly wage: $48.74
- Total employment: 110 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $102,490
- Median hourly wage: $49.27
- Total employment: 120 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $102,510
- Median hourly wage: $49.28
- Total employment: 3,960 people (11.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,160
- Median hourly wage: $49.60
- Total employment: 40 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $103,750
- Median hourly wage: $49.88
- Total employment: 240 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $105,180
- Median hourly wage: $50.57
- Total employment: 110 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $106,790
- Median hourly wage: $51.34
- Total employment: 1,070 people (3.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Education administrators, all other
- Median annual wage: $111,960
- Median hourly wage: $53.83
- Total employment: 90 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $112,600
- Median hourly wage: $54.14
- Total employment: 300 people (0.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $112,640
- Median hourly wage: $54.16
- Total employment: 130 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $116,460
- Median hourly wage: $55.99
- Total employment: 560 people (1.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $118,560
- Median hourly wage: $57.00
- Total employment: 60 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $119,470
- Median hourly wage: $57.44
- Total employment: 310 people (0.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Csomos Attila // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers
- Median annual wage: $120,550
- Median hourly wage: $57.96
- Total employment: 120 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $121,010
- Median hourly wage: $58.18
- Total employment: 50 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $121,430
- Median hourly wage: $58.38
- Total employment: 420 people (1.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors
- Median annual wage: $122,310
- Median hourly wage: $58.80
- Total employment: 60 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $123,810
- Median hourly wage: $59.52
- Total employment: 80 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $124,910
- Median hourly wage: $60.05
- Total employment: 600 people (1.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Halfpoint // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Materials engineers
- Median annual wage: $125,580
- Median hourly wage: $60.38
- Total employment: 40 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $126,010
- Median hourly wage: $60.58
- Total employment: 190 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $127,510
- Median hourly wage: $61.30
- Total employment: 5,410 people (16.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
aappp // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Aerospace engineers
- Median annual wage: $127,900
- Median hourly wage: $61.49
- Total employment: 630 people (1.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $128,360
- Median hourly wage: $61.71
- Total employment: 1,110 people (3.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $128,640
- Median hourly wage: $61.85
- Total employment: 760 people (2.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $131,490
- Median hourly wage: $63.22
- Total employment: 220 people (0.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Physical scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $132,270
- Median hourly wage: $63.59
- Total employment: 30 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $132,590
- Median hourly wage: $63.75
- Total employment: 740 people (2.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
eldar nurkovic // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Chemical engineers
- Median annual wage: $135,820
- Median hourly wage: $65.30
- Total employment: 70 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $135,980
- Median hourly wage: $65.38
- Total employment: 250 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Fundraising managers
- Median annual wage: $136,670
- Median hourly wage: $65.71
- Total employment: 70 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Another77 // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Petroleum engineers
- Median annual wage: $139,940
- Median hourly wage: $67.28
- Total employment: 280 people (0.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $142,400
- Median hourly wage: $68.46
- Total employment: 620 people (1.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $142,890
- Median hourly wage: $68.70
- Total employment: 860 people (2.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $143,430
- Median hourly wage: $68.96
- Total employment: 750 people (2.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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46 / 50#5. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $144,070
- Median hourly wage: $69.27
- Total employment: 50 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $159,210
- Median hourly wage: $76.54
- Total employment: 460 people (1.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $160,300
- Median hourly wage: $77.07
- Total employment: 50 people (0.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $173,450
- Median hourly wage: $83.39
- Total employment: 250 people (0.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $193,970
- Median hourly wage: $93.25
- Total employment: 420 people (1.26 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.
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