20 Best-Paying Jobs For People Persons
Are you a people person? Are you good at working with others, empathizing, teaching or persuading others to agree with you? If so, you’re in luck. According to jobs expert Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D., author of just-released 150 Best Jobs for Your Skills, social skills now rank No. 1 among job skills in highest demand.
While many may assume that people skills—unlike science, math or technical abilities—are innate, Shatkin defines any skill as a learned capability rather than a talent, and notes that most people prefer to do what they’re good at and have a natural aptitude for. Accurately matching your skills to your job, he says, will radically boost your chances of both career success and satisfaction. Oh, and a fat paycheck is bound to help too.
To determine the 20 best-paying jobs for people with social skills, Shatkin pulled out all jobs in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Information Network (O*NET) that were labeled as requiring skills of persuasion, negotiation, social perceptiveness, instructing others, coordinating efforts and service orientation. He then ranked them by median annual earnings for full-time workers in 2010, based on occupational and wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The result? From management to law and health care, these are the jobs where people persons earn the most.
At the top of the list, marketing manager is the best-paying job for people with social skills. The occupation features an annual median salary of $112,800, with a high earnings growth potential of 48.8%. It’s also growing by 12.5% and has nearly 6,000 openings each year. Shatkin says the most important skills for the job are social, management and thought-processing skills, and that it best suits an “enterprising” personality type that is good at developing projects.
“Marketing managers have to understand how to relate to others, and they need the power of persuasion,” says Shatkin. “Additionally, you’re in a managerial role, so will need to coordinate and instruct a team.”
In fact, quite a few managers made the top-20 list: Sales mangers (No. 3) earn a median of $98,530; managers, all other, (No. 4) earn $96,450; general and operations managers (No. 5) earn $94,400; construction managers (No. 8) earn $83,860; administrative services managers (No. 9) earn $77,890; and social and community service managers (No. 20) earn $57,950.
Shatkin notes that most managers will need a high level of social skills to be successful because most deal directly with people on a daily basis. Some others however, like financial managers, work more closely with a product, so are not featured on the list. Meanwhile, the increased responsibility demands higher earnings, making it one of the highest-paying functions.
Lawyers come in at a close second place, earning $112,760 each year, with a very high earnings growth potential of 52%. Annually, there are 24,000 job openings, and the occupation is growing at 13%. Being a successful lawyer requires social, communication and thought-processing skills, and a personality type that is “enterprising” and “investigative.”
Shatkin says that while the law is very conceptual, in practice it requires constantly dealing with other people, from clients and peers to law enforcement officers and businesses. Plus, they must be particularly adept at negotiation with and persuasion of others.
Similarly, sales representatives must be masters of winning people over and, if in the right sector, have very high earnings prospects. Sales reps of wholesale and manufacturing technical and scientific products (No. 11) need just two years of post-secondary education and earn a median of $73,710. And with a bachelor’s degree, securities, commodities and financial services sales agents (No. 13) make $70,190 annually.
Shatkin notes that while social skills are often undervalued by the market, they are increasingly in demand as the economy moves towards services and technology. And unlike technical skills, which are quickly outdated and need constant maintenance, social skills have a long shelf life. What’s more, it shouldn’t be too hard to convince hiring managers you’ve got the goods, says Shatkin.
“Have a flawless resume that shows you’ve done the work, and then use that interview to charm them,” Shatkin says. “Social skills are a big part of what’s being evaluated in today’s interview.”
And the top jobs in order are:
1: Marketing Managers - Annual Earnings: $112,800
2: Lawyers - Annual Earnings: $112,760
3: Sales Managers - Annual Earnings: $98,530
4: Managers, All Other - Annual Earnings: $96,450
5: General and Operations Managers - Annual Earnings: $94,400
6: Education Administrators, Elementary and Secondary School - Annual Earnings: $86,970
7: Physician Assistants - Annual Earnings: $86,410
8: Construction Managers - Annual Earnings: $83,860
9: Administrative Services Managers - Annual Earnings: $77,890
10: Physical Therapists - Annual Earnings: $76,310
11: Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products -Annual Earnings: $73,710
12: Occupational Therapists - Annual Earnings: $72,320
13: Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents - Annual Earnings: $70,190
14: Detectives and Criminal Investigators - Annual Earnings: $68,820
15: Dental Hygienists - Annual Earnings: $68,250
16: Registered Nurses - Annual Earnings: $64,690
17: Instructional Coordinators - Annual Earnings: $58,830
18: Compliance Officers - Annual Earnings: $58,720
19: Supervisors of Construction and Extraction Workers - Annual Earnings: $58,680
20: Social and Community Service Managers - Annual Earnings: $57,950
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