THICHA SATAPITANON // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Financial risk specialists
- Median annual wage: $100,500
- Median hourly wage: $48.32
- Total employment: 350 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Austin 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 Austin, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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FrameStockFootages // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Special effects artists and animators
- Median annual wage: $100,630
- Median hourly wage: $48.38
- Total employment: Not available
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $100,970
- Median hourly wage: $48.54
- Total employment: 4,880 people (3.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $101,090
- Median hourly wage: $48.60
- Total employment: 3,570 people (2.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Tonhom1009 // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Bioengineers and biomedical engineers
- Median annual wage: $101,360
- Median hourly wage: $48.73
- Total employment: 210 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $101,550
- Median hourly wage: $48.82
- Total employment: 8,310 people (6.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $102,530
- Median hourly wage: $49.30
- Total employment: 8,130 people (6.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $102,540
- Median hourly wage: $49.30
- Total employment: 5,740 people (4.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $102,990
- Median hourly wage: $49.51
- Total employment: 3,110 people (2.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Halfpoint // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Materials engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,190
- Median hourly wage: $49.61
- Total employment: 220 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Food scientists and technologists
- Median annual wage: $103,810
- Median hourly wage: $49.91
- Total employment: 50 people (0.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $104,080
- Median hourly wage: $50.04
- Total employment: 140 people (0.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Social scientists and related workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $104,190
- Median hourly wage: $50.09
- Total employment: 170 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $106,270
- Median hourly wage: $51.09
- Total employment: 4,800 people (3.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $106,880
- Median hourly wage: $51.39
- Total employment: 980 people (0.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $108,940
- Median hourly wage: $52.38
- Total employment: 44,460 people (35.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $110,410
- Median hourly wage: $53.08
- Total employment: 1,570 people (1.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PanuShot // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Advertising and promotions managers
- Median annual wage: $111,460
- Median hourly wage: $53.59
- Total employment: 380 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $114,050
- Median hourly wage: $54.83
- Total employment: 1,130 people (0.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors
- Median annual wage: $116,820
- Median hourly wage: $56.16
- Total employment: 150 people (0.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $117,420
- Median hourly wage: $56.45
- Total employment: 1,850 people (1.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $117,990
- Median hourly wage: $56.73
- Total employment: 4,730 people (3.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
aappp // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Aerospace engineers
- Median annual wage: $121,800
- Median hourly wage: $58.56
- Total employment: 450 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $121,880
- Median hourly wage: $58.60
- Total employment: 1,870 people (1.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $122,390
- Median hourly wage: $58.84
- Total employment: 590 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $122,440
- Median hourly wage: $58.86
- Total employment: 3,100 people (2.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $124,150
- Median hourly wage: $59.69
- Total employment: 10,170 people (8.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $124,220
- Median hourly wage: $59.72
- Total employment: 770 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $127,990
- Median hourly wage: $61.54
- Total employment: 1,150 people (0.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $129,360
- Median hourly wage: $62.19
- Total employment: 1,760 people (1.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $130,110
- Median hourly wage: $62.55
- Total employment: 1,390 people (1.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $132,310
- Median hourly wage: $63.61
- Total employment: 2,750 people (2.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $132,790
- Median hourly wage: $63.84
- Total employment: 1,930 people (1.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $133,070
- Median hourly wage: $63.98
- Total employment: 28,210 people (22.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
H_Ko // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Materials scientists
- Median annual wage: $133,530
- Median hourly wage: $64.20
- Total employment: 30 people (0.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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eldar nurkovic // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Chemical engineers
- Median annual wage: $135,860
- Median hourly wage: $65.32
- Total employment: 70 people (0.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $136,130
- Median hourly wage: $65.45
- Total employment: 690 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $136,610
- Median hourly wage: $65.68
- Total employment: 5,440 people (4.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $136,740
- Median hourly wage: $65.74
- Total employment: 770 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $137,210
- Median hourly wage: $65.97
- Total employment: 1,200 people (0.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $139,010
- Median hourly wage: $66.83
- Total employment: 920 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $141,430
- Median hourly wage: $68.00
- Total employment: 8,730 people (6.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SeventyFour // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $150,630
- Median hourly wage: $72.42
- Total employment: 720 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Compensation and benefits managers
- Median annual wage: $151,050
- Median hourly wage: $72.62
- Total employment: 260 people (0.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $162,150
- Median hourly wage: $77.96
- Total employment: 6,310 people (5.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $168,100
- Median hourly wage: $80.82
- Total employment: 6,910 people (5.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $173,300
- Median hourly wage: $83.32
- Total employment: 10,650 people (8.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $175,940
- Median hourly wage: $84.59
- Total employment: 2,150 people (1.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Another77 // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Petroleum engineers
- Median annual wage: $184,250
- Median hourly wage: $88.58
- Total employment: 260 people (0.21 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: 1,040 people (0.82 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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