Originally published on 10 June 2018. Last updated on 11th September 2019.

With the opening and growth of the Indian economy, professional opportunities have seen a similar growth trajectory. Today, it is no longer just engineers or doctors who start out with well-paying jobs. Here is a list of the top 10 highest paying jobs in India, along with the qualifications required. For most of the courses, good colleges come with campus recruitments and fat packages.

1. Lawyer:

Law is a profession for which there will always be a demand, irrespective of the state of the economy. However, the law is a blanket term encompassing different fields like criminal, litigation, corporate, etc. Corporate law is the arm that encompasses law requirements in a company, leading to better packages.

Educational qualification required:

Most lawyers have a BA LLB degree to their name, which is either a 5-year course straight out of school or a 3-year course after graduation. If you want to specialize further in a particular stream of law, then you can also go in for MA LLB.

What package can you expect?

As per, Payscale, a corporate lawyer earns almost Rs. 7 Lakh per year on an average. When you graduate from good law schools, packages are much higher.

As per this Quora thread where average packages for Symbiosis Law School, Pune were in the range of Rs. 7-10 Lakh back in 2009. Add in inflation and the figure is sure to make it to one of the highest salary jobs in India.

2. Commercial Pilot:

One of the highest paying jobs in India and at a young age, the job of a commercial pilot is glamorous for sure. The only drawback? The job can be tiring and you might need to be in the air a LOT. Also, you need a lot of money to get a commercial pilot license. Read this drill down from an Indigo pilot on a Quora thread.

Educational qualification required:

The training is intense with a requirement to have ground training as well as 200 hours of flying time, after having passed Class 12 with Maths and Physics.

What package can you expect?

The starting salary itself is anywhere between Rs. 1.5-2 Lakh per month.

3. Management Professional:

Another wide category, management professional encompasses roles in all areas of business like Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, Operations, and Logistics, which get unlocked through an MBA degree.

Educational qualification required:

Today, there are umpteen business schools in the country offering MBA post-graduation, but the best schools are the ones where all the students are placed through campus recruitments.

The good news is that today companies do recruit graduates in corporate roles too. However, this recruitment happens only at the top few colleges and in selected courses like BBA, B.Com, B.A. (H) Economics to name a few.

What package can you expect?

Often, the highest salaries offered to business graduates end up making news. For instance, this year’s story of a tailor’s son getting a package of Rs. 19 Lakhs after graduating from IIM Nagpur.

 

4. Doctor:

Indians have been obsessed with getting their children into the medical profession for generations. The reason, like that time, remains true even now. The demand for doctors is only going to increase as the need for health care keeps increasing, making it one of the best jobs in India.

Educational qualification required:

You need to slog to get through a good medical college, work hard during MBBS. Most specialized doctors also have an MD degree to their name.

What package can you expect?

At good MBBS colleges, expect high paying and well-respected jobs paying at least Rs. 6 Lakh annually. Check out this quora thread to know the monetary heights that you can touch as a doctor, be it through association with hospitals or private clinics.

5. Management Consultant:

Management consultancies are employed by companies or institutions when they are looking to resolve a business challenge. Since the challenge can be in any industry, a lot of domain specialists are hired by management consultancies and MBA is not the only degree that can get you into one.

Consultancies also do a lot of research, for which they look at diverse skills. Keep in mind that the lucrative client-facing roles in the industry are very demanding and often require you to live out of a suitcase. 

Educational qualification required:

Considering the diverse nature of the business challenges consultancies resolve, there is no specific educational route to the job per se. With ample experience or in-depth knowledge of a specific field, you can be a candidate for a job in this sector.

What package can you expect?

An entry-level job at a management consultancy can easily roll in a high salary package of Rs. 8-10 Lakh a year, starting off at quite a level in one of the highest-paid jobs in India.

6. Civil Services:

The civil services examination is probably the oldest entrance examination in India, started by the British to inculcate an administrative class in the country. Even today it remains extremely prestigious, and the 7^th Pay Commission has made it financially lucrative as well, with high paying salaries from the start.

Within Civil Services, Indian Foreign Services are considered crème-de-la-crème with exotic location postings along with very high Foreign Allowances, as mentioned on this Quora thread.

Educational qualification required:

Like with anything worth having, this too comes only after a lot of hard work and effort after graduation to crack the UPSC exam, for which 8 Lakh candidates appeared in 2019.

What package can you expect?

Today a starting civil services officer gets about Rs. 80,000-85,000 gross per month. With power and money, today civil services are one of the best jobs in India.

7. Chartered Accountant:

Chartered Accountants are another evergreen class of professionals who will always be in demand, considering their accounting skills are required by every company, from a startup to a multi-national.

Educational qualification required:

Apart from clearing three levels of exams, you also need to undergo a 3-year articleship to earn the degree of being a Chartered Accountant.

What package can you expect?

As per Exam Update, those who clear CA Final in a single attempt are generally offered a high-paying salary package of Rs. 11-15 Lakh, which makes it one of the highest salary jobs in India today.

8. Merchant Navy:

If your parents almost had to drag you away from the beach, then this job might just be for you. Merchant Navy refers to the crew of people managing commercial shipping operations. The job can be socially demanding and physically challenging with 6-9 months at sea. However, that also makes it one of the highest paying jobs in India.

Educational qualification required:

There are quite a few courses you can look at doing to enter the merchant navy, once you have passed Class 12 with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics.

What package can you expect?

With a starting salary of Rs. 30,000 a month for a junior engineer, with free board and food while on the ship, it is one of the best jobs in India. As per Oceanic Venture, one can be promoted to Chief Engineer in about 6-7 years where the salary is Rs. 1.5 Lakh per month, along with the usual perks of freeboard and food while on the ship.

9. Company Secretary:

As per Wikipedia, “the company secretary is responsible for the efficient administration of a company, particularly with regard to ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements and for ensuring that decisions of the board of directors are implemented”.

Educational qualification required:

There is a specialized course that trains people to reach the right level of expertise. You can find the details here at the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

What package can you expect?

The starting salary for a Company Secretary ranges from Rs. 28,000 to Rs. 40,000 a month, with increments every year.

10. Computer Science Engineering:

Yes, this still remains one of the highest paying jobs in India. Considering the pace of technological advancements today and the number of unicorns in the tech space which are growing at explosive speeds, the future for this space of engineering still looks bright.

Today a lot of digital MNCs like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook have major operations in India for which they are always on the hunt for local talent.

Educational qualification required:

Today, in India, you can almost throw a stone and hit an engineering college where they teach a course for computer science engineering. However, be sure to get into a well-reputed college which has a trend of good campus recruitments to its name.

What package can you expect?

The package in this field can vary widely. However, today, the sky is your limit when it comes to starting salary for a software engineer as evidenced by this Economic Times article. This job salary could possibly answer your question of which job has the highest salary in India.

So, there you have it, the list of the top 10 highest paying jobs in India. Today, the list of the highest-paying jobs is pretty diverse and has something for almost every interest that you can think of. So, what are you aiming for today?

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