Ten of the most desirable jobs in America were recently revealed by Business.CenturyLink.com, which compiled geotagged Twitter data mentioning the terms "dream jobs" or "dream career" alongside specific job titles. This data was gathered over a five-year period between 2016 and 2021.
From doctors and nurses to school teachers and sales professionals, you might be pleasantly surprised to learn that your job makes the round-up. So, whether you’re currently working in one of these "dream" professions or thinking about switching up your career, read on to discover what these seemingly coveted roles actually pay around the world. All salary information from PayScale unless otherwise stated.
With ample opportunity for making a lucrative commission as well as base pay, it’s not surprising that the role of a sales professional would be a desirable career for the gifted conversationalist.
In America, the median pre-tax pay for a sales associate is $46,056 (£37.4k) per annum, though determined employees who climb the ladder to the rank of sales director can earn an average of $102,744 (£83.6k) each year. But how much does an average sales associate earn elsewhere?
The US offers the most generous salary for a sales associate, but coming in second place is neighbouring Canada, where the median annual gross salary is CA$45,305 ($35k/£28.5k).
Canada is closely followed by Australia, where the salary is AU$49.775 ($34.6k/£28k). Meanwhile, in New Zealand, it’s NZ$50,639 ($32/£26k). And in the United Kingdom, it’s a reasonable £22,323 ($27.5k) per annum on average.
In China, the average annual pay for a sales associate declines dramatically to ¥156,000 ($23.3k/£18.9k). It’s even lower in Japan at just ¥3,050,000 ($22.6k/£18.4k).
When saving lives is all in a day's work, it’s easy to see why many dream of becoming a doctor. And in America, a career in the medical field is as lucrative as it is rewarding.
A family physician earns an average gross salary of $196,952 (£160.6k) per year in the US. Meanwhile, in Canada, someone in the same position pulls in an average annual salary of CA$153,232 ($118.6k/£96.5k).
A career in medicine is also financially rewarding in New Zealand and Australia, where family physicians earn NZ$162,917 ($102.9k/£83.7k) and AU$112,875 ($81.7k/£66.5k), respectively.
Unfortunately, in the United Kingdom, Japan, and China, the pay for comparable roles drops dramatically. In fact, both China and the UK have faced doctor staffing shortages as medical professionals grow tired of tedious working hours and poor pay.
A family physician in the UK earns an average annual gross salary of £53,236 ($65.3k). Meanwhile, someone working in a similar role in Japan earns ¥8 million ($59.2k/£48.1k).
In China, the average annual salary for a doctor is an appalling ¥120,000 ($17.9k/£14.6k).
If you’re a "people person" or a good judge of character, you might consider the role of a recruiter to be your ideal career.
In America, the average annual salary for a recruiter is a healthy $54,330 (£44.3k). The median gross salary in Australia is also lucrative, clocking in at AU$64,951($45.1k/£36.7k).
The average annual salary in the recruitment field in Canada and New Zealand is on a similar scale, with a recruiter earning CA$48,840 ($37.8k/£30.8k) and NZ$59,388 ($37.5k/£30.5k), respectively in these nations.
In Japan, a recruiter banks an annual average of ¥4.7 million ($34.8k/£28.3k). Meanwhile, in the UK, it’s £25,939 ($31.9k).
Pay is much lower in China, where the median gross salary for someone working in recruitment is ¥192,000 ($28.7k/£23.3k).
Something of an academic whiz? Then becoming a professor may be the perfect career for you – and a profitable one at that!
In America, the average gross salary for a higher education professor is an impressive $88,030 (£71.8k) annually.
Salaries for higher education professors in Australia, the UK and New Zealand are even more impressive, coming in at AU$189,574 ($131.7k/£107.2k), £75,167 ($92.1k) and NZ$140,300 ($88.7k/£72.1k), respectively.
Salaries for professors in Japan and China are slightly less compared to the aforementioned nations, but still nothing to be sniffed at.
The average annual pay in China is ¥400,000 ($59.8k/£48.7k), while it’s a slightly lower sum of ¥7.6 million ($56.4k/£45.9k) in Japan.
While the pay is great, becoming a higher education professor requires lots of hard work. To land the coveted job, you must have a graduate degree and be regarded as an expert in your field to boot.
Realistically, not every aspiring artist can be the next Picasso or Van Gogh, but there are still plenty of profitable careers out there for people with art degrees. One popular career path in the art industry is that of a graphic designer.
The median annual gross income for those in this field in the US is $47,532 (£38.8k).
Meanwhile, average salaries for graphic designers working in Australia, Canada and New Zealand are a similar scale coming in at AU$55,615 ($38.7k/£31.5k), CA$46,058 ($35.7k/£29k) and NZ$54,088 ($34.2k/£27.8k), respectively.
For those with caring and compassionate characters, a career in nursing is the dream.
The median annual gross salary for a registered nurse in America is $68,237 (£55.7k). Meanwhile, in Japan it’s ¥4.7 million ($34.8k/£28.3k)
In the UK, the average annual salary for a registered nurse is £25,861 ($31.7k). This drops to just CA$35.18 ($27.3k/£22.2k) in Canada.
Australia and New Zealand pay AU$34.04 ($23.6k/£19k) and NZ$30.51 ($19.3k/£15.7k) respectively. China pays the lowest of all at a pitiful ¥63,000 ($9.4k/£7.6k).
Abysmal pay coupled with a high-pressure working environment has caused a nursing staffing crisis across the UK, even before COVID-19 hit. A survey by the Royal College of Nursing revealed that 73% of nurses polled felt that staffing levels were insufficient in January 2020.
Working as an engineer gives you the opportunity to do a lot of good in the world: helping the environment, creating clean and efficient transport systems, discovering new sources of energy, and even helping to combat world hunger and improve the standard of living in developing countries. With that in mind, it’s no wonder many consider engineering to be the dream job. But how does it pay?
Well, in the US, the average annual salary for a civil engineer is an agreeable $69,380 (£56.5k).
Pay for a civil engineer in Canada and Australia is also juicy, coming in at CA$69,140 ($53.6k/£43.7k) and AU$75,394 ($52.2k/£42.5k) respectively.
In New Zealand, the median gross pay for a civil engineer is NZ$71,533 ($45.1k/£36.7k). Meanwhile, it’s £31,769 ($39k) in the UK.
Japan pays around ¥3.2 million ($23.6k/£19.2k), while in China it’s a shocking ¥33,000 ($4.9k/£4k).
Every film school student strives to become the next Steven Spielberg or Martin Scorsese. And if that dream comes true, the earning potential is sky-high. Spielberg's net worth currently sits at a staggering $3.7 billion (£3bn).
Realistically, though, very few of those who set out to become a movie maker are going to achieve such enviable heights of fame and fortune. Still, directing in America is a lucrative gig, with the average annual gross salary coming in at $71,857 (£58.6k).
In Australia, the median gross pay for a film director is AU$92,665 ($64.2k/£52.2k). It's £45,000 ($55.2k) in the United Kingdom and CA$70,254 ($54.5k/£44.3k) in Canada.
PayScale doesn’t have the salary information for a film director in New Zealand, but those in the similar role of film editor make NZ$57,366 ($36.2k/£29.5k). Meanwhile, film and TV producers in the country make NZ$67,476 ($42.6k/£34.6k).
PayScale doesn’t have any information about what those working in Japan or China earn as a film director, though Salary Experts claims a Japanese filmmaker banks a whopping ¥19.4 million ($143.6k/£116.9k) on average annually. Meanwhile, in China it’s ¥642,865 ($96k/£78.2k).
Teaching offers people the opportunity to make a real difference in someone’s life. So it comes as little surprise that this rewarding profession is a popular career choice.
Though fulfilling, the pay pales in comparison to some of the other occupations listed, with US elementary schoolteachers in the US clocking in at $48,504 (£39.5k) annually, and their UK counterparts earning £29,958 ($36.8k).
But what about across the rest of the world?
In Australia elementary teachers are paid a very generous AU$73,701 ($51k/£41.6k) per year on average. Meanwhile, in Canada it’s CA$59,453 ($46.1k/£37.5k).
New Zealand boasts an average salary of NZ$61,537 ($38.9k/£31.6k) and China also pays surprisingly well at ¥264,230 ($39.5k/£32.1k).
Japan has the lowest average salary at ¥3.4 million ($25.2k/£20.5k).
Writer clinched the top spot as the most desired job in America. Sure, it’s fun to daydream about crafting the next Harry Potter, but realistically not every author out there is going to publish the next bestseller.
That being said, in America, the average annual gross salary for a writer/author is a decent $50,128 (£40.9k). Meanwhile, in the UK, the average annual salary is on a similar scale at £36,270 ($44.5k).
In Australia, a writer/author pulls in a healthy average salary of AU$74,160 ($51.4k/£41.8k). And it’s a decent CA$40,957 ($31.8k/£25.8k) in Canada. PayScale doesn’t have salary information for a writer/author in New Zealand, but those working in a similar role as a copywriter bank an average of NZ$59,759 ($37.7k/£30.7k).
According to Salary Expert, writers in China earn an average of ¥208,559 ($31.2k/£25.4k) per annum. Meanwhile, it's ¥3.2 million ($23.7k/£19.3k) in Japan.
Ultimately, how much you can earn as a writer depends on your success. Who knows what the next great American novel might be…
But enough of dream jobs – here are the worst.