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22 Nov 2018

The 20 Highest Paying Jobs In Your State (Updated)


Adele Cochrane
Browse Courses Today!


So, you want to make your career in the industry with the best earning potential?

You’re probably wondering,
‘What is the highest paying job in Australia?’


It depends on where you live… however, that’s not the whole story.

If you’re planning a career move based on earning potential, both location and industry are essential. For job seekers, knowing which industries are in high demand in their area can be helpful.

Not in the right industry at the moment? You can make a strategic move by leveraging your transferable skills or going back to study.




TASMANIA
$0k
average salary

A.C.T.
$0k
average salary


Salaries Depend on Industry and Location


Don’t just look at overall averages when it comes to salary, because your industry and state can make a big difference.

For instance, the mining industry is the clear winner when it comes to average salary in Australia, and it’s true that in South Australia and Queensland, the highest earners work in mining. However, in Sydney and Melbourne, they’re in the IT, legal or engineering industries.

You’ll be best positioned to make the big bucks in engineering and insurance if you live in Western Australia.

Highest Average Salary vs. Typical Salary


Just looking at the average can be misleading, as it doesn’t reflect what typical full-time workers earn in any industry. The average is found by adding together all the salaries, and then dividing that figure by the number of jobs. Because of this, the jobs at each end of the scale, highest and lowest paid, can skew the numbers. 

They also don’t reflect where you can expect to find the jobs that pay the most. For instance, a higher number of mid-to-average salaried workers in a state can push the numbers up. States which have fewer yet higher-earning jobs may end up with a lower average overall.

You’ll find the highest average salary in the ACT, and the highest paying individual jobs in the Northern Territory.

Management or supervision is usually involved in jobs with the highest salaries. However, what you do day-to-day can look very different depending on location. If you live in the Northern Territory, you’re more likely to be working in the field than behind a desk. If management sounds appealing, you’ll find some of the highest paying management jobs in Melbourne, Victoria.

So, What Are the Highest Paying Jobs in Your State?


Source: SEEK

New South Wales
Industry Role type Salary
1 Information & Communication Technology Architects $139,883
2 Legal Generalists – In-house $135,264
3 Information & Communication Technology Management $134,639
4 Engineering Management $134,479
5 Accounting Financial Managers & Controllers $131,993
6 Mining, Resources & Energy Management $130,697
7 Construction Project Management $130,207
8 Accounting Strategy & Planning $129,238
9 Accounting Company Secretaries $128,641
10 Construction Management $128,073
11 Legal Construction Law $127,484
12 Information & Communication Technology Security $127,235
13 Consulting & Strategy Management & Change Consulting $126,016
14 Insurance & Superannuation Management $124,480
15 Information & Communication Technology Programme & Project Management $123,875
16 Information & Communication Technology Product Management & Development $123,292
17 Real Estate & Property Retail & Property Development $122,570
18 Construction Foreperson/Supervisors $122,547
19 Information & Communication Technology Team Leaders $122,210
20 Engineering Project Management $121,665
Victoria
Industry Role type Salary
1 Information & Communication Technology Architects $141,687
2 Information & Communication Technology Management $134,835
3 Engineering Management $133,211
4 Construction Management $129,416
5 Accounting Strategy & Planning $129,198
6 Mining, Resources & Energy Management $127,735
7 Accounting Financial Managers & Controllers $126,421
8 Information & Communication Technology Security $125,317
9 Insurance & Superannuation Management $124,013
10 Legal Generalists – In-house $123,786
11 Legal Tax Law $122,172
12 Information & Communication Technology Team Leaders $122,128
13 Information & Communication Technology Programme & Project Management $122,126
14 Information & Communication Technology Product Management & Development $121,299
15 Consulting & Strategy Corporate Development $121,176
16 Legal Construction Law $121,110
17 Engineering Systems Engineering $120,925
18 Legal Industrial Relations & Employment Law $120,894
19 Construction Project Management $120,806
20 Consulting & Strategy Management & Change Consulting $120,605
Australian Capital Territory
Industry Role type Salary
1 Accounting Strategy & Planning $133,437
2 Information & Communication Technology Architects $130,185
3 Engineering Management $127,343
4 Engineering Supervisors $127,000
5 Construction Project Management $126,559
6 Construction Management $124,770
7 Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics Import/Export & Customs $123,333
8 Information & Communication Technology Management $122,956
9 Mining, Resources & Energy Power Generation & Distribution $122,857
10 Consulting & Strategy Corporate Development $121,666
11 Information & Communication Technology Product Management & Development $121,406
12 Information & Communication Technology Sales – Pre & Post $120,807
13 Engineering Project Management $118,633
14 Consulting & Strategy Strategy & Planning $118,448
15 Construction Foreperson/Supervisors $118,419
16 Banking & Financial Services Management $117,625
17 Mining, Resources & Energy Management $116,875
18 Information & Communication Technology Team Leaders $116,636
19 Real Estate & Property Retail & Property Development $116,355
20 Legal Corporate & Commercial Law $116,200
Northern Territory
Industry Role type Salary
1 Construction Quality Assurance & Control $144,121
2 Engineering Field Engineering $139,000
3 Engineering Water & Waste Engineering $138,333
4 Mining, Resources & Energy Management $132,410
5 Construction Foreperson/Supervisors $132,219
6 Construction Contracts Management $131,287
7 Engineering Project Engineering $129,642
8 Mining, Resources & Energy Oil & Gas – Engineering & Maintenance $126,764
9 Mining, Resources & Energy Mining – Engineering & Maintenance $126,180
10 Education & Training Management – Schools $126,041
11 Construction Health, Safety & Environment $124,269
12 Mining, Resources & Energy Mining – Operations $123,702
13 Mining, Resources & Energy Analysis & Reporting $123,125
14 Engineering Project Management $122,580
15 Engineering Management $121,607
16 Accounting Cost Accounting $121,071
17 Mining, Resources & Energy Oil & Gas – Operations $120,916
18 Construction Planning & Scheduling $120,735
19 Mining, Resources & Energy Mining – Drill & Blast $120,468
20 Human Resources & Recruitment Management – Internal $120,370
Queensland
Industry Role type Salary
1 Engineering Management $134,955
2 Information & Communication Technology Architects $130,543
3 Mining, Resources & Energy Management $130,323
4 Mining, Resources & Energy Analysis & Reporting $129,986
5 Insurance & Superannuation Management $129,005
6 Information & Communication Technology Management $127,624
7 Mining, Resources & Energy Oil & Gas – Exploration & Geoscience $125,781
8 Mining, Resources & Energy Mining – Engineering & Maintenance $125,097
9 Accounting Strategy & Planning $125,071
10 Engineering Project Management $124,667
11 Mining, Resources & Energy Oil & Gas – Engineering & Maintenance $124,177
12 Legal Construction Law $122,694
13 Mining, Resources & Energy Mining – Exploration & Geoscience $122,385
14 Mining, Resources & Energy Surveying $122,045
15 Construction Project Management $120,819
16 Mining, Resources & Energy Mining – Operations $120,514
17 Banking & Financial Services Corporate Finance & Investment Banking $120,411
18 Healthcare & Medical Medical Specialists $120,345
19 Construction Management $120,071
20 Mining, Resources & Energy Power Generation & Distribution $119,977
South Australia
Industry Role type Salary
1 Mining, Resources & Energy Management $136,126
2 Engineering Management $130,931
3 Information & Communication Technology Management $126,948
4 Legal Generalists – In-house $124,406
5 Information & Communication Technology Architects $123,912
6 Mining, Resources & Energy Mining – Engineering & Maintenance $123,832
7 Construction Management $121,608
8 Engineering Systems Engineering $121,308
9 Legal Construction Law $117,708
10 Engineering Supervisors $117,500
11 Education & Training Management – Schools $117,318
12 Mining, Resources & Energy Analysis & Reporting $116,937
13 Accounting Financial Managers & Controllers $114,213
14 Construction Project Management $113,666
15 Human Resources & Recruitment Management – Internal $113,302
16 Education & Training Teaching – Tertiary $113,133
17 Mining, Resources & Energy Mining – Operations $112,514
18 Banking & Financial Services Management $112,448
19 Consulting & Strategy Corporate Development $112,083
20 Accounting Management $111,902
Tasmania
Industry Role type Salary
1 Engineering Management $133,541
2 Legal Generalists – In-house $129,583
3 Mining, Resources & Energy Mining – Drill & Blast $129,000
4 Information & Communication Technology Programme & Project Management $125,208
5 Mining, Resources & Energy Management $123,437
6 Healthcare & Medical Medical Specialists $122,500
7 Engineering Project Management $118,828
8 Education & Training Teaching – Tertiary $115,320
9 Education & Training Management – Universities $113,854
10 Information & Communication Technology Sales – Pre & Post $113,333
11 Human Resources & Recruitment Organisational Development $112,954
12 Information & Communication Technology Security $112,321
13 Mining, Resources & Energy Mining – Engineering & Maintenance $111,500
14 Legal Corporate & Commercial Law $110,666
15 Engineering Project Engineering $109,196
16 Construction Management $108,800
17 Healthcare & Medical Sales $108,560
18 Education & Training Management – Schools $108,175
19 Human Resources & Recruitment Management – Internal $108,166
20 Consulting & Strategy Policy $107,500
Western Australia
Industry Role type Salary
1 Engineering Management $137,719
2 Insurance & Superannuation Management $137,205
3 Legal Generalists – In-house $136,004
4 Mining, Resources & Energy Management $133,686
5 Information & Communication Technology Architects $133,611
6 Legal Corporate & Commercial Law $127,706
7 Information & Communication Technology Management $127,298
8 Legal Construction Law $126,685
9 Legal Banking & Finance Law $125,978
10 Accounting Financial Managers & Controllers $124,001
11 Mining, Resources & Energy Mining – Engineering & Maintenance $122,323
12 Engineering Project Management $122,206
13 Legal Insurance & Superannuation Law $122,133
14 Mining, Resources & Energy Oil & Gas – Engineering & Maintenance $121,250
15 Construction Management $120,446
16 Real Estate & Property Retail & Property Development $120,352
17 Construction Project Management $119,985
18 Education & Training Management – Schools $119,722
19 Engineering Project Engineering $119,334
20 Consulting & Strategy Management & Change Consulting $118,991

Having looked at the numbers, are you thinking of a move into a different field? Or perhaps relocation to a place where your skillset has more earning power?


Career change can be daunting.
Sometimes the right course is all you need to get a leg up.
What are you waiting for?

Browse Courses Today!

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Adele Cochrane

Adele writes about education and careers, giving you the tools to get unstuck, find your path, and make it happen. Studying as a mature-age student and changing careers showed her the unique challenges  — and rewards — of finding the right information and inspiration along the way.

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