Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $87,530
- Median hourly wage: $42.08
- Total employment: 230 people (0.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Portland, Maine 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 Portland, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Compliance officers
- Median annual wage: $88,250
- Median hourly wage: $42.43
- Total employment: 760 people (2.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Web and digital interface designers
- Median annual wage: $88,770
- Median hourly wage: $42.68
- Total employment: 80 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $88,850
- Median hourly wage: $42.72
- Total employment: 210 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Teachers and instructors, all other
- Median annual wage: $90,150
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 190 people (0.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $90,320
- Median hourly wage: $43.42
- Total employment: 350 people (1.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PR Image Factory // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Operations research analysts
- Median annual wage: $91,330
- Median hourly wage: $43.91
- Total employment: 190 people (0.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $92,880
- Median hourly wage: $44.66
- Total employment: 120 people (0.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $95,200
- Median hourly wage: $45.77
- Total employment: 1,180 people (4.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors
- Median annual wage: $95,420
- Median hourly wage: $45.87
- Total employment: 40 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $95,730
- Median hourly wage: $46.03
- Total employment: 100 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $96,170
- Median hourly wage: $46.24
- Total employment: 110 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $97,440
- Median hourly wage: $46.85
- Total employment: Not available
TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $99,020
- Median hourly wage: $47.61
- Total employment: Not available
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $99,330
- Median hourly wage: $47.75
- Total employment: 560 people (1.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $99,680
- Median hourly wage: $47.92
- Total employment: 790 people (2.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $101,060
- Median hourly wage: $48.59
- Total employment: 530 people (1.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kardasov Films // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Marine engineers and naval architects
- Median annual wage: $101,460
- Median hourly wage: $48.78
- Total employment: 270 people (0.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $101,570
- Median hourly wage: $48.83
- Total employment: 680 people (2.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $101,820
- Median hourly wage: $48.95
- Total employment: 640 people (2.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $101,990
- Median hourly wage: $49.04
- Total employment: 310 people (1.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $103,400
- Median hourly wage: $49.71
- Total employment: 870 people (3.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $103,450
- Median hourly wage: $49.73
- Total employment: 530 people (1.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $104,180
- Median hourly wage: $50.09
- Total employment: 6,920 people (24.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $104,950
- Median hourly wage: $50.46
- Total employment: 270 people (0.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $107,730
- Median hourly wage: $51.79
- Total employment: 450 people (1.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Biological scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $108,060
- Median hourly wage: $51.95
- Total employment: 50 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $110,730
- Median hourly wage: $53.23
- Total employment: 490 people (1.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
THICHA SATAPITANON // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Financial risk specialists
- Median annual wage: $112,730
- Median hourly wage: $54.20
- Total employment: 70 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $114,490
- Median hourly wage: $55.04
- Total employment: 1,010 people (3.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $114,610
- Median hourly wage: $55.10
- Total employment: 590 people (2.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $115,170
- Median hourly wage: $55.37
- Total employment: 80 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $117,870
- Median hourly wage: $56.67
- Total employment: 580 people (2.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $119,240
- Median hourly wage: $57.33
- Total employment: 210 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $119,990
- Median hourly wage: $57.69
- Total employment: 1,050 people (3.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $121,310
- Median hourly wage: $58.32
- Total employment: 80 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $123,710
- Median hourly wage: $59.48
- Total employment: Not available
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $124,680
- Median hourly wage: $59.94
- Total employment: 1,430 people (5.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Fundraising managers
- Median annual wage: $125,350
- Median hourly wage: $60.26
- Total employment: 120 people (0.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dragon Images // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Meeting, convention, and event planners
- Median annual wage: $127,160
- Median hourly wage: $61.14
- Total employment: Not available
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Pressmaster // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $128,820
- Median hourly wage: $61.93
- Total employment: 200 people (0.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $129,020
- Median hourly wage: $62.03
- Total employment: 340 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $131,580
- Median hourly wage: $63.26
- Total employment: 890 people (3.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $132,630
- Median hourly wage: $63.76
- Total employment: 130 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Actuaries
- Median annual wage: $134,330
- Median hourly wage: $64.58
- Total employment: 60 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $143,390
- Median hourly wage: $68.94
- Total employment: 760 people (2.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $148,790
- Median hourly wage: $71.54
- Total employment: 1,480 people (5.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $153,740
- Median hourly wage: $73.91
- Total employment: 230 people (0.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $154,690
- Median hourly wage: $74.37
- Total employment: 570 people (2.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $156,440
- Median hourly wage: $75.21
- Total employment: 490 people (1.72 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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