Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs in India
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 7th 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?
informative☺
The data about merchant navy salary is incorrect. For a marine trainee to become chief engineer it takes 12 years avg and his salary is average 7 lakhs per month upto 11 lakh per month.
What about the salary of Pvt. doctors who get Rs2-4k every day from 3-4 hospitals and pvt. clinics( where they never make a bill), that way they are making 50~60Lakhs per annum.But by far the most lucrative job is that of a filmstar,a crickter and a Politician, getting salaries in crores per annum.All public money!
True man…but captain draws the highest salary onboard…
Correct…bt captain draws the highest salary on board….average 6-10 l
akhs per month
Really helpful ????
Thanks Aman
Civil services is most prestigious jobs.It is dream job to be IAS or IPS so it should be at top.Also it provides beacon car and enormous respect which money cannot give..#1civil services
But the title was ‘Highest Paying job’ , and IAS and IPS doesn’t come in even top 5.
Dear Alka,
You can get Civil job by Reservation but Not CA..
so how should be at TOP?
very informative.
Civil services is most prestigious jobs.It is dream job to be IAS or IPS so it should be at top.Also it provides beacon car and enormous respect which money cannot give..#1civil services recyarment
Your point is right. But the focus of this article was on top paying jobs.
Exactly
Helpful
I think today,politicians receive highest paying per month and also actors
Both are professions with a lot of uncertainty.
Yes and both are jobs with a lot of risks and low certainty.
CA salary is good
Yes, CAs do earn well.
It’s true
Apart from the fact that now a days actors and TV artists are being highly paid, Computer Science Engineers and IT professionals stand not less when comes to handsome packages. I think they should lie in the top 5 of the highest paid jobs in India as per the list.
You have a point there, Manisha. But not all actors and TV artistes will make a lot, only a handful of successful ones do.
I dont agree that IT jobs are high paid now a days!! Its now saturated industry and growth is very slow!
No Mechanical Engineering..
I wish I got a chance to go past & change my decision of opting Mechanical Engineering.
Mechanical Engineering is actually the true engineering field(no offence),The word engineering is actually apt for this branch,One of very fist engineering field .Though the job is not very high paying,there is need for mechanical engineers in lot of fields like-Aviation,Automobile,product manufacturing,space exploration,power generation,communications,defense(weapons),petroleum,Chemical(yes…true),shipping,mining,literally any field dealing with machines.Same goes for Civil engineering also.And we’ve also got chances in IT companies (with coding knowledge…of course),Teaching, Civil service.
You can also do GME(graduate marine engineering ) and become marine engineer and thus you can get into merchant navy as an engineer.
………..List never ends
Which is best nift or BCA ?
I want to become a commercial pilot
Anytime you search on the internet the most stressful jobs in the world you’ll find commercial pilot to be always mentioned. You’ll also have to spend 80 lakh+ for completing all the required courses. But of course if you can pull it off and dont mind the stress then go ahead.
Nice
1.5 lkhs per month is the starting salary for a junior officer/engineer in merchant navy. Capt / CE earns about 8 to 13 lakhs per month
You facts about Merchant Navy js incorrect. An intern or in our line called as a cadet gets pain 30,000Rs. A junior Engineet as u mention or a 4th Engineer gets around 1Lakh. A Chief Enginner gets a minimum of 6.5 to 7 Lakhs. And thats minimum wage im talking about. Meanwhile the Captain gets around minimum 9 lakhs. And mind you these are Taxless as long as NRI days are completed in a fiscale year.
Amazing….gave me a lot of information about the wages, training, lifestyle…????
IIT JEE neet teaching is no.1 job in India without any doubt in terms of salary…some teachers earns in crores while avg. salary is around 15-18 lakhs in kota.
Thanks for the update. My personal opinion is Company Secretary earns higher package
I think choosing a career must be based on your own interests and hobbies. Not on thinking about which is high paying.
Good info…… and Thanks Aparna……
Thanks from the MV team.
Yeees! Absolutely correct
Absolutely !! There is no second thought about it !!
Good Information……
informative
Dear Aparna,
In a merchant Vessel, a captain Or a chief engineer easily gets $9000-$10000 a month onboard. Onboard gas tankers or LNG carriers it goes upwards of $15000 a month. Also, seafarers are exempted from paying all sort of existing taxes so they money goes into their account uncut. A 4th engineer Usually gets $2500-$3000 a month( the amount you mentioned in your post for a chief eng.) Of course, the challenges faced out at sea are far greater than the lure of money.
Very helpful article ii think these are the best highest paying jobs in india
Good Information to provide us
Nicely told all the information thanks
This is really helpful….but according to me now a days the situation has changed alot there is a confusion in students about their careers…..and these jobs still do not satisfy the needs of students
i want become Civil services is most prestigious jobs.It is dream job to be IAS or IPS so it should be at top.Also it provides beacon car and enormous respect which money cannot give..#1civil services recyarment we will also get great respect in the socity
Super,good
This is really good information I appreciate your work for providing us such a useful information thank you so much.
Really informative 😊
it was really good content. thank you for provide this information.
What about architecture career in india?