Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $82,070
- Median hourly wage: $39.46
- Total employment: 1,120 people (7.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Eugene 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 Eugene, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $82,160
- Median hourly wage: $39.50
- Total employment: 100 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
industryviews // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Career/technical education teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $82,440
- Median hourly wage: $39.63
- Total employment: 40 people (0.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists
- Median annual wage: $82,970
- Median hourly wage: $39.89
- Total employment: 90 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $84,370
- Median hourly wage: $40.56
- Total employment: 110 people (0.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Web and digital interface designers
- Median annual wage: $85,430
- Median hourly wage: $41.07
- Total employment: 70 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $88,000
- Median hourly wage: $42.31
- Total employment: 3,320 people (21.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PR Image Factory // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Operations research analysts
- Median annual wage: $88,380
- Median hourly wage: $42.49
- Total employment: 100 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $89,160
- Median hourly wage: $42.87
- Total employment: 130 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Social scientists and related workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $89,460
- Median hourly wage: $43.01
- Total employment: 40 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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GaudiLab // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $90,480
- Median hourly wage: $43.50
- Total employment: 210 people (1.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $91,610
- Median hourly wage: $44.05
- Total employment: 60 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Patrizio Martorana // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health
- Median annual wage: $93,290
- Median hourly wage: $44.85
- Total employment: 100 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Education administrators, all other
- Median annual wage: $93,400
- Median hourly wage: $44.90
- Total employment: 40 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $93,830
- Median hourly wage: $45.11
- Total employment: 610 people (3.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $95,870
- Median hourly wage: $46.09
- Total employment: 130 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $96,320
- Median hourly wage: $46.31
- Total employment: 80 people (0.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $96,370
- Median hourly wage: $46.33
- Total employment: 190 people (1.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $96,690
- Median hourly wage: $46.49
- Total employment: 590 people (3.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $97,680
- Median hourly wage: $46.96
- Total employment: 350 people (2.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $97,690
- Median hourly wage: $46.96
- Total employment: 80 people (0.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $98,230
- Median hourly wage: $47.23
- Total employment: 270 people (1.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $98,970
- Median hourly wage: $47.58
- Total employment: 190 people (1.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $100,470
- Median hourly wage: $48.30
- Total employment: 110 people (0.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
luchschenF // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Chemists
- Median annual wage: $100,810
- Median hourly wage: $48.47
- Total employment: 80 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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creativemarc // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $100,990
- Median hourly wage: $48.55
- Total employment: 330 people (2.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
luchschenF // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Life scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $101,650
- Median hourly wage: $48.87
- Total employment: 30 people (0.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Art directors
- Median annual wage: $102,510
- Median hourly wage: $49.29
- Total employment: 40 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $103,090
- Median hourly wage: $49.56
- Total employment: 120 people (0.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $103,320
- Median hourly wage: $49.67
- Total employment: 50 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Undrey // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $103,930
- Median hourly wage: $49.97
- Total employment: 140 people (0.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $104,620
- Median hourly wage: $50.30
- Total employment: 270 people (1.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $104,850
- Median hourly wage: $50.41
- Total employment: 190 people (1.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $106,530
- Median hourly wage: $51.22
- Total employment: 3,390 people (21.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $107,310
- Median hourly wage: $51.59
- Total employment: 60 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $109,990
- Median hourly wage: $52.88
- Total employment: 60 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $110,280
- Median hourly wage: $53.02
- Total employment: 310 people (1.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $110,460
- Median hourly wage: $53.11
- Total employment: 60 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $111,250
- Median hourly wage: $53.49
- Total employment: 40 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $112,340
- Median hourly wage: $54.01
- Total employment: 420 people (2.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $114,810
- Median hourly wage: $55.20
- Total employment: 60 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $118,930
- Median hourly wage: $57.18
- Total employment: 40 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $120,790
- Median hourly wage: $58.07
- Total employment: 820 people (5.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $125,590
- Median hourly wage: $60.38
- Total employment: 80 people (0.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $126,450
- Median hourly wage: $60.79
- Total employment: 330 people (2.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $129,690
- Median hourly wage: $62.35
- Total employment: 570 people (3.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $129,890
- Median hourly wage: $62.45
- Total employment: 100 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $132,660
- Median hourly wage: $63.78
- Total employment: 480 people (3.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $165,100
- Median hourly wage: $79.38
- Total employment: 410 people (2.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 60 people (0.39 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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