The Best and Highest-Paying Jobs in Arizona

Do you feel compelled to make the Grand Canyon state your home and are looking for the highest-paying jobs in Arizona? Though the area is exceptionally arid, it is rich with job opportunities in fields such as engineering, medical care, financial services, technical services, customer services, restaurants, and equipment-related services.

In this article, we will share the best jobs in Arizona at various educational levels and experience requirements. Read below to discover more about the employment outlook of Arizona and the roles you can access living in this state.

Arizona Economic Outlook

The Arizona economic outlook is looking promising. Although Arizona’s unemployment rate is two-tenths of a percent above the national average of roughly four percent, its rate has improved greatly since June 2021, according to Arizona’s Economic and Research Business Center.

It is projected that Arizona will have 650,500 more jobs over the next decade and that job gains will rise from 2021’s 92,300 to 134,300 in 2022, but then fall to 94,700 then to 69,000 in 2023 and 2024.

Industries that have grown since February 2020 include transportation, trade, and utilities most significantly, with moderate increases in education, health services, business services, manufacturing, construction, and mining. By contrast, information, leisure and hospitality, and government jobs have decreased since February 2020.

The Highest-Paying Jobs in Arizona

The Best Jobs in Arizona: Explained

Now that we’ve listed the best jobs in Arizona with the highest salaries let’s delve into the day-to-day duties of each of these employment options in the job market. Most of these jobs require a high education level and experience in the field.

1. Psychiatrist

Psychiatrists are medical doctors who examine their patients’ mental health to determine the most effective treatment plan to increase their quality of life. Upon assessing a patient’s symptoms, psychiatrists determine if the patient falls under specific criteria for diagnosis of a mental illness. From there, a psychiatrist’s primary responsibility is to prescribe medications and recommend other treatment plans, such as therapy.

If you are wondering how to become a psychiatrist, consider that you would need to complete twelve years of schooling since you are training to become a doctor. This involves a four-year bachelor’s degree, four years of medical school, and four years of residency training. However, when you finish your studies, you can earn a six-figure salary.

2. Physician

While people use doctor and physician interchangeably, there is a difference between the two terms. A doctor is someone who received a doctorate degree, but that could be in any number of fields, such as those in the fine arts. By contrast, a physician is a type of doctor that can care for medical patients by performing examinations, making diagnoses, and prescribing medications or other recommended forms of treatment.

Like the psychiatrists mentioned above, physicians also require extensive education, a college degree, a four- to six-year medical school degree, and a three- to seven-year residency program to pursue a career in healthcare and work in medical facilities.

3. Dentist

Dentists are doctors who work specifically in oral health alongside their dental technicians to clean patients’ teeth, treat oral diseases, and repair tooth damage. In addition, dentists are trained to perform certain oral surgery procedures such as tooth extractions. After completing a bachelor’s degree, dentists must attend either a four-year dental school or participate in an accelerated three-year program.

4. Chief Executive

Chief executive officers (CEO) oversee the entire workings of a company as the highest position of a corporation, acting as the face of the brand. They possess the most power and responsibility within a business and must make key decisions affecting the future trajectory of a company, taking into consideration input from shareholders and their board of directors.

While becoming a CEO may only require a bachelor’s degree as the entry-level education requirement, since they are at the pinnacle of the corporate world with the highest annual salaries, exhaustive previous experience is a prerequisite for employment.

5. Nuclear Engineer

Specializing in radiation and nuclear energy, these engineers devise, through research and calculations, devices and instruments to best harness this volatile form of energy. These engineers don’t work solely in power plants alongside auxiliary equipment operators but often attempt to discover ways of using nuclear power in other fields or industrial processes. These include manufacturing, healthcare, waste management, and agriculture.

Being a nuclear engineer requires an entry-level education requirement of a bachelor’s degree, but some also advise obtaining a master’s degree, the costs of which can be mitigated by obtaining engineering scholarships.

6. Computer and Information Systems Manager

Working within various firms, a computer and information systems manager is responsible for keeping up-to-date on the latest developments in technology and finding the best ways to incorporate them into their company. Those that work in information technology (IT), for example, ensure their fellow employees have workable, state-of-the-art electronic devices to maximize productivity.

They also assist clients in making information about the company more accessible to them. Those seeking employment in the field would do well with a bachelor’s of science college degree.

7. Sales Engineer

Sales engineers are professionals with excellent marketing skills and technical know-how that sell high-end technical, technological, and scientific products and services to prospective clients. If you want to become a sales engineer, you can expect to hold numerous business meetings with potential clients, businessmen, financial managers, and marketing managers, after your entry-level education requirement of a bachelor’s degree, of course.

8. Astronomer

These scientists learn about the universe and study planets, stars, galaxies, and the cosmos at-large. Astronomers either work in observational astronomy, where they discover how the universe works by looking into space with special instruments, or they work in theoretical astronomy.

Those astronomers devise theories based on past knowledge of math and chemistry to explain the space surrounding our world. This field, which requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree as the entry-level education requirement, has a positive career outlook of eight percent over the next decade.

9. Lawyer

While there are many different specialties within the field, lawyers generally represent the interest of and advise their clients on legal matters. Some popular areas of law include criminal law, where lawyers act as either the prosecution or defense for suspects on trial. They can also focus on immigration law, in which they seek to naturalize clients within a specific country, and they can also practice corporate law, in which they represent the interest of a business in financial matters.

Becoming a lawyer requires a minimum of seven years of education after high school, with a four-year bachelor’s degree followed by law school and often a clerkship.

10. Electro-Mechanical Technician

These employees work in the engineering industry and provide technical services in testing and operating electro-mechanical equipment and electrical systems in submarines, aircraft, or unmanned devices such as observation tools.

They are also responsible for maintaining and adjusting components of this heavy equipment, such as their engines. While this position does not require a bachelor’s degree as its entry-level education requirement, it often necessitates you at least having an associate degree or postsecondary non-degree award.

Highest-Paying Jobs in Arizona Without a Degree

• Airline Pilot | $164,990. While some job descriptions these days say they prefer a college education as an entry-level education requirement, you can become an airline pilot without one, as bachelor’s degrees don’t cover the knowledge required for the job. All of your training would be completed in flight school, which might only take a few months, depending on your ideal type of piloting.
• Real Estate Manager | $62,530. These property managers are responsible for supervisory duties on houses, such as scheduling maintenance and repairs. They often work in teams with real estate agents and pursue real estate acquisition opportunities together. Job seekers without a college education looking for a decent annual wage would do well to look into this field, as they can earn $100k without a degree.
• Media and Communication Worker | $69,530. Media and communication workers create, manipulate, and handle information across multimedia platforms. They can play the role of film editors, video editors, broadcasters, sound technicians, announcers, and more. In these jobs, you can gain different types of skills to include in your resume for a lucrative career in communications or media.
• Home Appliance Repairer | $59,760. These employees work in shops or perform their jobs at clients’ homes, acting as specialists such as a cable technician to install, repair, and maintain electronic home appliances and devices. These generally include appliances such as washers, dryers, refrigerators, deep freezers, and ovens.
• Travel Agent | $54,550. Travel agents make plans and arrangements for the vacations of their clients. In addition to getting clients to and from locations, they can make recommendations for experiences in between, such as fine restaurants or fun activities. They are well-versed in multiculturalism and can advise clients on other countries’ cultural differences and practices.

What Is the Cost of Living in Arizona?

The cost of living in Arizona is approximately $38,684 in expenditures on average, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This should cover you for housing or renting accommodations, healthcare, and some recreational activities. Arizona is an affordable place to live, with relatively cheaper food expenses and personal insurance than other states. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual expenditure on housing in the Phoenix metro area is $21,094, which is marginally higher than the overall national average of $21,043.

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Is Arizona a Good Place to Work?

Arizona is a good place to work if you are thinking about moving to Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson, Tempe, Chandler, or Maricopa County or Pima County at-large. According to the Governor of Arizona’s office, the state is economically recovering from the pandemic faster than the rest of the country, as back in November 2021, it regained its pre-pandemic peak.

Before entering the workforce, if you are dreaming of a career requiring a degree, there are several prestigious universities in the state that you can attend. With our list above, you have a great jumping-off point to landing a high-paying job with or without a degree.

Highest-Paying Jobs in Arizona FAQ