Is your job is among the best paid in the UK? The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released its Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2015, so we have gathered together top tips for anyone aspiring to do one of the top 10 highest paid jobs, and asked people who do them why they are worth their high salaries.

CEOs and marketing directors seemed happy to talk about salaries, but getting comment from people doing some of the other top 10 occupations – notably, bankers, stockbrokers and in-house lawyers – was considerably more tricky. The British Bankers’ Association, for example, said it couldn’t find “anyone appropriate” to comment on why bankers are worth their salaries, while others declined to comment “due to sensitivities around the questions”.



So which jobs are in the top 10 this year? Who thinks they deserve a high salary because they do a “lonely job”? Who thinks they are “worth every penny” of their £82,565 average salary – and who needs to remember that “it’s not all about making money”?

1. Brokers



‘The best stockbrokers help their clients avoid expensive mistakes.’ Photograph: Philip Toscano/PA

Includes: Stockbrokers, shipping brokers, foreign exchange dealers, insurance brokers, investment administrators and traders.

Average pay before tax: £128,231.



Pay range: £40,668 (20th percentile). Data about the middle and upper pay range was not available.



Annual change: -15.8%.



Why are stockbrokers worth their salary? “Ultimately, market forces decide that, but the best stockbrokers help their clients avoid expensive mistakes, build their wealth and improve their financial security,” says Danny Cox, spokesman for investment service Hargreaves Lansdown. “The most important feature of any pay structure is to have a clear link to performance. The better the stockbroker, the better their earnings.”



Minimum qualification for a stockbroker: It depends on the firm, but you typically need a degree. You will then need to get a relevant investment or wealth management qualification approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), such as the investment advice diploma from the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment.



2. Chief executives and senior officials

Includes: Vice-presidents, chief medical officers and civil servants (grade 5 and above).



Average pay before tax: £122,967.



The job never really ends – it’s 24/7, seven days a week, and you have to be an expert in every part of your business

Pay range: £38,686 (10th percentile) to £155,802 (80th percentile). Median is £87,562.



Annual change: +7.2%.



Why are CEOs worth their salary? “I am absolutely accountable for the success and failure of the business – it can be a very lonely job on occasions [with] a swift and painful exit for failure,” says Jason Downes, CEO of conference calls service provider Powwownow. “The job never really ends – it’s 24/7, seven days a week, and you have to be an expert in every part of your business,” says Neil Everatt, CEO of Software Europe.



Minimum qualification for a CEO: None. However, financial qualifications and an MBA can be useful.



3. Marketing directors

Includes: Sales directors.



Average pay before tax: £89,933.



Pay range: £35,378 (10th percentile) to £100,000 (75th percentile). Median is £73,255.

Annual change: -0.1%.



Why are marketing directors worth their salary? “Quite simply, a marketer can make the company,” says Sara Jones, marketing director at Swigflasks.com, which sells personalised hip flasks. “You can have the best product in all the world – it means nothing if the marketing team can’t communicate it.”



“A strong marketing function is central to achieving income targets, and the 2,500 people who work here rely on that income for their jobs,” says Russ Langley, director of marketing at the University of Derby.



Minimum qualification for a marketing director: A degree, usually, but this doesn’t have to be in marketing or business. The Chartered Institute of Marketing offers a wide range of training courses.



4. Aircraft pilots

Helicopter pilots are among the highest paid in the country. Photograph: Alamy

Includes: Flight engineers, first officers, flying instructors and helicopter pilots.



Average pay before tax: £87,474.



Pay range: £64,250 (20th percentile) to £96,778 (70th percentile). Median is £84,867.

Annual change: -7.1%.



Why are pilots worth their salary? “Initial training costs aspiring pilots up to £130,000 with no guarantee of a job at the end,” says Steven Draper, spokesman for the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa). “When they do find a job, the consequence of an error can have immediate and devastating consequences to hundreds of lives, so a pilot’s performance is under constant scrutiny through regular simulator assessments.”



Minimum qualification for a pilot: An airline transport pilot licence. To help with this, “join Balpa for free as a trainee ‘nextGen’ member”, says Draper. “That membership entitles you to career preparation and training courses, and an advisory service run by senior pilots.”



“Get your head in the books and either take yourself to flying school or apply to a sponsored scheme like the British Airways Future Pilot programme, which trains inexperienced pilots from scratch,” says British Airways first officer Aoife Duggan.



5. Financial managers and directors

Includes: Investment bankers and treasury managers.



Average pay before tax: £82,565.

Pay range: £27,492 (10th percentile) to £104,071 (80th percentile). Median is £62,678.

Financial directors play a critical role in helping a business manage risk and therefore ensure its survival

Annual change: -2.3%.



Why are finance directors worth their salary? “Finance directors not only ensure compliance with financial regulations, but also influence the future direction of the company by providing financial leadership – we are worth every penny,” says Adnan Zaheer, finance director for IT company Smart Pension.



“Financial directors play a critical role in helping a business manage risk and therefore ensure its survival,” agrees Jamie Lyon, spokesman for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).



Minimum qualification for a finance director: Qualify as a professional accountant from a recognised accountancy body, such as ACCA or the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.



6. Financial institution managers and directors

Includes: Bank managers and insurance managers.



Average pay before tax: £80,755.

Pay range: £29,318 (10th percentile) to £106,281 (80th percentile). Median is £57,956.

Annual change: -4.0%.



Why are financial institution directors worth their salary? “Salaries are related to successful delivery. It is to the benefit of customers to have talented and well qualified people running the businesses that serve them,” says Hilary McVitty, spokeswoman for the Building Societies Association.



“Financial institution managers have an important responsibility – looking after other people’s money – but many would agree senior salaries in the financial sector have got out of kilter with societal norms,” says Charles Middleton, managing director of ethical bank Triodos.



“I’m not sure financial institution directors are always worth their salaries,” says Paul Ellis, chief executive of Ecology building society. “Yes, they take the regulatory flak and there is always a premium on leadership. But usually this is predicated on the delivery of ever higher financial results, which in too many instances have depended on frankly illegitimate business models.”

Minimum qualification for a financial institution director: No formal qualifications are required but you would need experience in banking or the financial sector. You must also be an “approved person” to be in control of a bank, which means passing the FCA’s “fit and proper” test.



7. Medical practitioners

The pay range for medical professionals is between £33,174 and £113,603. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Includes: Anaesthetists, hospital consultants, doctors, GPs, paediatricians, psychiatrists, radiologists and surgeons.

Average pay before tax: £80,628.



Pay range: £33,174 (10th percentile) to £113,603 (80th percentile). Median is £76,275.

Annual change: +1.5%.



Why are consultants worth their salary? “When you have achieved the level of expertise required to become a consultant, you become a great asset to society and consequently your knowledge becomes valuable. I had to train for around 17 years,” says Dr Adam Friedmann, consultant dermatologist at the Harley Street Dermatology Clinic. “The salary for junior doctors is very poor. I started on around £1.98 per hour. Salary and money never played a role until I had been working in the NHS for around 12 years and realised I was earning approximately the same as an entry-level accountant. I also had great concerns that the NHS was on the verge of collapsing.”



Minimum qualification for a consultant: At least 10 years of postgraduate medical training on top of the five- to six-year medical degree.



8. Legal professionals (except judges, barristers and solicitors)

Includes: Patent attorneys, in-house company lawyers, magistrates’ clerks and advisers at law centres.

Average pay before tax: £80,578.



Senior lawyers' salaries are commensurate with their global risk management and compliance responsibilities

Pay range: No data available.

Annual change: +0.8%.



Why are in-house lawyers worth their salary? “Junior lawyers’ salaries can be moderate, particularly taking into account the qualifications that lawyers need to enter the profession,” says Emily O’Neill, in-house lawyer at Spectris Group. “The higher salaries of senior lawyers, particularly those in-house, are commensurate with the level of global risk management and compliance responsibilities that senior lawyers take on.”

Minimum qualification for an in-house lawyer: A degree, a postgraduate legal qualification and several years of experience as a solicitor.



9. Air traffic controllers

Includes: Flight planners.

Average pay before tax: £77,220.



Pay range: £63,344 (40th percentile) to £87,320 (60th percentile). Median is £77,860.

Annual change: +0.3%.



Why are air traffic controllers worth their salary? “Only a small percentage of the population possesses the specific skill set to become an air traffic controller,” says Steph Kelly, a Nats air traffic controller at Heathrow. “Every airport or section of airspace has a different set of procedures, which can be very complex and often subject to change, and we are responsible for making quick, accurate decisions to provide the safest service to all aircraft under our control.”

Minimum qualification for an air traffic controller: Pass the Nats training course. Fewer than 1% of applicants are accepted onto it each year. “If you can calmly hold a constantly changing 3D picture in your mind of what’s going to happen in five minutes’ time based on what’s happening at the moment, while at the same time talking to pilots on the radio, other air traffic controllers on the phone, and noting everything down on a screen in front of you, then you’ve probably got the aptitude for the job,” says Kevin Edmunds, a Nats watch manager at Manchester Airport.



10. IT directors

‘Top-flight IT directors can be truly transformational and worth every penny they earn.’ Photograph: Pawel Kopczynski/Reuters

Includes: Telecommunications and technical directors.

Average pay before tax: £70,971.



Pay range: £40,549 (20th percentile) to £79,990 (75th percentile). Median is £65,717.

Annual change: -17.0%.



Why are IT directors worth their salary? “We are quite often not worth the money ... but there is a big skills gap for really good IT directors and that pushes up salaries,” says Jos Creese, president of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT. “The value IT directors can bring depends on the organisation’s appetite for risk and IT-enabled innovation, and its culture. Top-flight IT directors can be truly transformational and worth every penny they earn.”



Minimum qualification for an IT director: A relevant degree, and business experience. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the best technologist in the field – if you want to lead your own technology team, it’s vital that you have fantastic communication and people skills,” says Katherine Spice, IT director at jobs website CV-library.co.uk.



The survey shows the average (mean) salary of a sample of full-time employed workers who carry out these occupations and have been in the same job for more than a year. The data is taken from their PAYE record – it includes bonuses, but the figures do not cover the self-employed or celebrities who don’t appear on company payrolls. The pay range stated is the broadest available as reliable data was not consistently collected by the ONS for the 10th and 90th percentiles.

