Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Special education teachers, middle school
- Median annual wage: $61,570
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 80 people (0.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Macon 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 Macon, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Buyers and purchasing agents
- Median annual wage: $61,940
- Median hourly wage: $29.78
- Total employment: 200 people (2.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $61,950
- Median hourly wage: $29.78
- Total employment: 50 people (0.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
anyaivanova // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians
- Median annual wage: $62,400
- Median hourly wage: $30.00
- Total employment: 280 people (2.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kzenon // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Training and development specialists
- Median annual wage: $62,450
- Median hourly wage: $30.03
- Total employment: 350 people (3.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $62,650
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 470 people (4.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
boonchoke // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $63,810
- Median hourly wage: $30.68
- Total employment: 1,190 people (12.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Iam_Anupong // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Kindergarten teachers, except special education
- Median annual wage: $64,940
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 160 people (1.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Mongta Studio // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $64,990
- Median hourly wage: $31.25
- Total employment: 120 people (1.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
AlesiaKan // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Health education specialists
- Median annual wage: $65,740
- Median hourly wage: $31.61
- Total employment: 40 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $68,960
- Median hourly wage: $33.16
- Total employment: 140 people (1.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $70,100
- Median hourly wage: $33.70
- Total employment: 30 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $70,130
- Median hourly wage: $33.72
- Total employment: 80 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ermolaev Alexander // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Special education teachers, all other
- Median annual wage: $71,770
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 30 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $72,070
- Median hourly wage: $34.65
- Total employment: 680 people (7.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Ground Picture // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Dietitians and nutritionists
- Median annual wage: $72,280
- Median hourly wage: $34.75
- Total employment: 70 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $73,390
- Median hourly wage: $35.29
- Total employment: 100 people (1.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $75,000
- Median hourly wage: $36.06
- Total employment: 70 people (0.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $76,710
- Median hourly wage: $36.88
- Total employment: 110 people (1.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $77,430
- Median hourly wage: $37.22
- Total employment: 80 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $80,210
- Median hourly wage: $38.56
- Total employment: 30 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $81,150
- Median hourly wage: $39.01
- Total employment: 90 people (0.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $81,710
- Median hourly wage: $39.28
- Total employment: 1,940 people (20.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $82,160
- Median hourly wage: $39.50
- Total employment: 2,950 people (31.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $85,490
- Median hourly wage: $41.10
- Total employment: 170 people (1.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $85,920
- Median hourly wage: $41.31
- Total employment: 240 people (2.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $87,350
- Median hourly wage: $42.00
- Total employment: 40 people (0.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $88,350
- Median hourly wage: $42.48
- Total employment: 70 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $89,170
- Median hourly wage: $42.87
- Total employment: 60 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $90,600
- Median hourly wage: $43.56
- Total employment: 50 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $95,140
- Median hourly wage: $45.74
- Total employment: 40 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $96,320
- Median hourly wage: $46.31
- Total employment: 120 people (1.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $97,170
- Median hourly wage: $46.71
- Total employment: 150 people (1.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $98,780
- Median hourly wage: $47.49
- Total employment: 630 people (6.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Education administrators, all other
- Median annual wage: $98,940
- Median hourly wage: $47.57
- Total employment: 30 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $104,760
- Median hourly wage: $50.37
- Total employment: 40 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $106,080
- Median hourly wage: $51.00
- Total employment: 60 people (0.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $108,930
- Median hourly wage: $52.37
- Total employment: 160 people (1.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $109,580
- Median hourly wage: $52.68
- Total employment: 50 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $110,280
- Median hourly wage: $53.02
- Total employment: 60 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $112,990
- Median hourly wage: $54.32
- Total employment: 90 people (0.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $113,650
- Median hourly wage: $54.64
- Total employment: 60 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $113,680
- Median hourly wage: $54.65
- Total employment: 310 people (3.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $113,840
- Median hourly wage: $54.73
- Total employment: 250 people (2.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $129,290
- Median hourly wage: $62.16
- Total employment: 110 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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GaudiLab // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $131,420
- Median hourly wage: $63.18
- Total employment: 110 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $131,790
- Median hourly wage: $63.36
- Total employment: 80 people (0.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $132,790
- Median hourly wage: $63.84
- Total employment: 300 people (3.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $138,840
- Median hourly wage: $66.75
- Total employment: 360 people (3.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $147,570
- Median hourly wage: $70.95
- Total employment: 160 people (1.69 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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