luchschenF // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Chemists
- Median annual wage: $78,260
- Median hourly wage: $37.63
- Total employment: 70 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Augusta 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 Augusta, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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AlesiaKan // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Health education specialists
- Median annual wage: $80,470
- Median hourly wage: $38.69
- Total employment: 100 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $81,800
- Median hourly wage: $39.33
- Total employment: 220 people (0.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $81,900
- Median hourly wage: $39.37
- Total employment: 150 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Patrizio Martorana // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health
- Median annual wage: $83,920
- Median hourly wage: $40.35
- Total employment: 80 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $84,070
- Median hourly wage: $40.42
- Total employment: 60 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $84,130
- Median hourly wage: $40.45
- Total employment: 7,010 people (30.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $86,080
- Median hourly wage: $41.39
- Total employment: 320 people (1.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $86,640
- Median hourly wage: $41.65
- Total employment: 50 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $86,940
- Median hourly wage: $41.80
- Total employment: 270 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $89,860
- Median hourly wage: $43.20
- Total employment: 1,130 people (4.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
sabthai // Shutterstock
12 / 50#38. Budget analysts (tie)
- Median annual wage: $92,750
- Median hourly wage: $44.59
- Total employment: 160 people (0.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rido // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Social workers, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: $92,750
- Median hourly wage: $44.59
- Total employment: 160 people (0.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $94,570
- Median hourly wage: $45.47
- Total employment: 320 people (1.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $94,730
- Median hourly wage: $45.54
- Total employment: 140 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $97,010
- Median hourly wage: $46.64
- Total employment: 4,440 people (19.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Technical writers
- Median annual wage: $98,010
- Median hourly wage: $47.12
- Total employment: 150 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $98,590
- Median hourly wage: $47.40
- Total employment: 330 people (1.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $99,680
- Median hourly wage: $47.92
- Total employment: 1,760 people (7.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $100,950
- Median hourly wage: $48.53
- Total employment: 1,090 people (4.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $102,560
- Median hourly wage: $49.31
- Total employment: 1,010 people (4.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $104,550
- Median hourly wage: $50.26
- Total employment: 670 people (2.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $104,590
- Median hourly wage: $50.29
- Total employment: 780 people (3.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $105,100
- Median hourly wage: $50.53
- Total employment: 180 people (0.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $105,160
- Median hourly wage: $50.56
- Total employment: 670 people (2.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $106,870
- Median hourly wage: $51.38
- Total employment: 100 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $106,960
- Median hourly wage: $51.42
- Total employment: 160 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Education administrators, all other
- Median annual wage: $111,400
- Median hourly wage: $53.56
- Total employment: 100 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $113,290
- Median hourly wage: $54.47
- Total employment: 50 people (0.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
30 / 50#20. Social scientists and related workers, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: $113,730
- Median hourly wage: $54.68
- Total employment: 270 people (1.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Managers, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: $113,730
- Median hourly wage: $54.68
- Total employment: 980 people (4.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $115,840
- Median hourly wage: $55.69
- Total employment: 40 people (0.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $117,170
- Median hourly wage: $56.33
- Total employment: 460 people (1.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $119,100
- Median hourly wage: $57.26
- Total employment: 680 people (2.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $120,210
- Median hourly wage: $57.79
- Total employment: 170 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $122,760
- Median hourly wage: $59.02
- Total employment: 100 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $122,900
- Median hourly wage: $59.09
- Total employment: 480 people (2.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $122,920
- Median hourly wage: $59.10
- Total employment: 610 people (2.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors
- Median annual wage: $123,120
- Median hourly wage: $59.19
- Total employment: 70 people (0.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $124,090
- Median hourly wage: $59.66
- Total employment: 160 people (0.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $125,930
- Median hourly wage: $60.54
- Total employment: 610 people (2.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $126,260
- Median hourly wage: $60.70
- Total employment: 260 people (1.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $128,390
- Median hourly wage: $61.73
- Total employment: 160 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $130,850
- Median hourly wage: $62.91
- Total employment: 370 people (1.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $131,810
- Median hourly wage: $63.37
- Total employment: 90 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $132,440
- Median hourly wage: $63.67
- Total employment: 210 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $132,710
- Median hourly wage: $63.80
- Total employment: 170 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $148,120
- Median hourly wage: $71.21
- Total employment: 390 people (1.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $149,320
- Median hourly wage: $71.79
- Total employment: 160 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $167,030
- Median hourly wage: $80.30
- Total employment: 460 people (2.02 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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