Doctors have the hardest, and highest-paid, jobs in America

Doctors have the hardest, and highest-paid, jobs in AmericaDoctors have the hardest, and highest-paid, jobs in AmericaIf you want to make money, start reading those medical textbooks, because physicians have the highest-paid job in the U.S. for a third year in a row. Their median salary? $187,876, according to Glassdoors listof the best-paid jobs in America.In fact, the medical industry has a lock on rich salaries Out of the five top high-paying jobs, health-care-related careers- physician, pharmacy manager ($149,064), medical science liaison ($132,842), and pharmacist ($125,847)- take up four of the slots. That supports data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that shows healthcare jobs to be among the fastest-growing in the U.S.That includes home health aides, nurse practitioners and even phlebotomists - the people who draw your blood at the doctors office.Isnt tech supposed to be the biggest driver of growth in the U.S.? Apparently not.Although tech jobs like software engineerin g manager ($109,350) andscrum master ($95,167) accounted for 11 of the top 25 jobs, none were in the top five.The high pay for both industries, however, makes sense. Healthcare and tech jobs demand many years to learn difficult, specific skills and the ability to make sense of complex systems from computer networks to the human body.In the U.S., becoming a physician can take about four years of college, four years of medical school, and 3-8 years of residency, and additional fellowships.High pay continues to be tied to demand skills, higher education and working in jobs that are protected from competition or automation,Glassdoor chief economist Andrew Chamberlain said.Money matters, but its not the only factorSalary matters a lot for job seekers. Glassdoor said that almostseven in ten people believethat salary and compensation are two of the most important factors when deciding whether or not to take a job. But as we all know, money doesnt always lead to happiness. In Glassdoors2017 list of best jobs in America, best takes job openings and overall job-satisfaction into account, not just salary, and with theseadded factors, tech jobs and their candyland of perks dominated thelist. The top three jobs were data scientist, DevOps engineer and data engineer.Why doctors make money but arent always happyIn his memoir Doctored The Disillusionment of an American Physician,Dr. Sandeep Jauhar examined the collective malaise of what its like to practice medicine in the U.S. In his book, hecited a 2008 survey of 12,000 physicians where only 6% said they had a positive morale. Other surveys showed similar conclusions whereup to 40% of practicing physicians wouldnt become doctors if they could it all over again, and an even higher percentage wouldnt encourage their children to pursue it either.Whats causing this bad diagnosis is increasing bureaucracy where insurance companies dont give doctors time to fully examine patients, among other factors. Doctors also work in high-pr essure environments in which they can forfeit sleep for days at a time and are responsible for life-and-death decisions. A 2015study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)reported that almost 30% ofphysicians-in-training have symptoms or a diagnosis of depression.So for all prospective physicianslooking to care for patientsand make that impressive money manage your expectations and go in with eyes wide open.