GaudiLab // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Technical writers
- Median annual wage: $86,340
- Median hourly wage: $41.51
- Total employment: 90 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Memphis 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 Memphis, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $86,940
- Median hourly wage: $41.80
- Total employment: 1,780 people (2.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
THICHA SATAPITANON // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Financial risk specialists
- Median annual wage: $87,920
- Median hourly wage: $42.27
- Total employment: 110 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Education administrators, all other
- Median annual wage: $87,960
- Median hourly wage: $42.29
- Total employment: 110 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors
- Median annual wage: $88,140
- Median hourly wage: $42.37
- Total employment: 30 people (0.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Budget analysts
- Median annual wage: $88,300
- Median hourly wage: $42.45
- Total employment: 250 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $90,920
- Median hourly wage: $43.71
- Total employment: 810 people (1.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Natee K Jindakum // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Financial examiners
- Median annual wage: $92,170
- Median hourly wage: $44.31
- Total employment: 100 people (0.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Social scientists and related workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $92,750
- Median hourly wage: $44.59
- Total employment: 50 people (0.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $94,510
- Median hourly wage: $45.44
- Total employment: 90 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Fundraising managers
- Median annual wage: $95,850
- Median hourly wage: $46.08
- Total employment: 50 people (0.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $96,240
- Median hourly wage: $46.27
- Total employment: 380 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $97,160
- Median hourly wage: $46.71
- Total employment: 830 people (1.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $97,330
- Median hourly wage: $46.79
- Total employment: 210 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $97,490
- Median hourly wage: $46.87
- Total employment: 1,490 people (2.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $98,260
- Median hourly wage: $47.24
- Total employment: 870 people (1.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $98,590
- Median hourly wage: $47.40
- Total employment: 740 people (1.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $99,990
- Median hourly wage: $48.07
- Total employment: 1,430 people (2.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $100,760
- Median hourly wage: $48.44
- Total employment: 10,580 people (17.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $101,070
- Median hourly wage: $48.59
- Total employment: 2,680 people (4.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $101,100
- Median hourly wage: $48.60
- Total employment: 350 people (0.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
eldar nurkovic // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Chemical engineers
- Median annual wage: $101,600
- Median hourly wage: $48.85
- Total employment: 40 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $101,760
- Median hourly wage: $48.92
- Total employment: 250 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $102,610
- Median hourly wage: $49.33
- Total employment: 960 people (1.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Tonhom1009 // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Bioengineers and biomedical engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,020
- Median hourly wage: $49.53
- Total employment: 180 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Atmospheric and space scientists
- Median annual wage: $103,400
- Median hourly wage: $49.71
- Total employment: 40 people (0.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $105,050
- Median hourly wage: $50.51
- Total employment: 400 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $106,620
- Median hourly wage: $51.26
- Total employment: 2,310 people (3.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $106,800
- Median hourly wage: $51.35
- Total employment: 280 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
angellodeco // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Microbiologists
- Median annual wage: $108,970
- Median hourly wage: $52.39
- Total employment: 60 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Materials engineers
- Median annual wage: $111,470
- Median hourly wage: $53.59
- Total employment: 60 people (0.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $114,550
- Median hourly wage: $55.07
- Total employment: 80 people (0.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $116,470
- Median hourly wage: $56.00
- Total employment: 2,500 people (4.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $123,140
- Median hourly wage: $59.20
- Total employment: 2,140 people (3.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $124,170
- Median hourly wage: $59.70
- Total employment: 130 people (0.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $124,370
- Median hourly wage: $59.79
- Total employment: 610 people (0.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $128,530
- Median hourly wage: $61.79
- Total employment: 70 people (0.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $129,440
- Median hourly wage: $62.23
- Total employment: 100 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $129,510
- Median hourly wage: $62.27
- Total employment: 200 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $129,650
- Median hourly wage: $62.33
- Total employment: 790 people (1.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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creativemarc // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $130,310
- Median hourly wage: $62.65
- Total employment: 1,540 people (2.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $130,960
- Median hourly wage: $62.96
- Total employment: 1,220 people (1.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Compensation and benefits managers
- Median annual wage: $131,560
- Median hourly wage: $63.25
- Total employment: 110 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $134,480
- Median hourly wage: $64.66
- Total employment: 3,110 people (5.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
aappp // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Aerospace engineers
- Median annual wage: $135,350
- Median hourly wage: $65.07
- Total employment: Not available
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $144,480
- Median hourly wage: $69.46
- Total employment: 260 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $152,110
- Median hourly wage: $73.13
- Total employment: 1,690 people (2.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $166,330
- Median hourly wage: $79.97
- Total employment: 170 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $173,990
- Median hourly wage: $83.65
- Total employment: Not available
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $178,340
- Median hourly wage: $85.74
- Total employment: 710 people (1.15 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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