Lets start off today’s blog with an article I found in its entirety.  I feel that this is relevant because there are a few jobs I potentially could be interested in and might be helpful in pushing me to make some kind of decision as to what to do with my life.  So, settle in this is a long one!

10 Jobs That Pay $90,000

By Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com writer

The more money you earn, the more you spend — or so goes the old saying. The cautionary advice warns cash-strapped dreamers that earning more money won’t solve all your problems and you’ll actually find yourself just as broke as before you were raking in the dough.
While that may be true for many people, you probably wouldn’t brush away the chance to receive a bigger paycheck. The extra income could give you more mad money, be a chance to boost your savings account, or keep you from living paycheck to paycheck. With a national median income of $42,504 a salary more than double that amount would be a big financial boost for many Americans.

To give you an overview of who’s earning these salaries, we put together a list of 10 jobs with salaries in the $90,000* range. In addition to their salaries, you’ll find the prerequisites necessary to obtain these jobs and the industries that employ the most of each occupation.

Here are 10 jobs that earn between $90,000 and $99,999:

1. Computer hardware engineers are invested in the research, conception and manufacturing of computer hardware, which includes computer monitors, keyboards, chips and other similar items.**

Requirements: Computer hardware engineers should have at least an undergraduate engineering degree with course work pertaining to their field.***

Top industries: Computer systems design and related services; semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing; computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing.

Annual median salary: $91,860

2. Post-secondary health specialties teachers specialize in a variety of medical fields, including veterinary medicine, dentistry, therapy, pharmacy and others.

Requirements: Most universities require a Ph.D. for permanent positions, but a master’s degree is often acceptable for part-time or temporary teachers.

Top industries: Colleges, universities and professional schools; junior colleges; general medical and surgical hospitals.

Annual median salary: $98,234

3. Post-secondary business teachers teach courses on business administration, finance, marketing and other related topics at colleges, universities and vocational schools.

Requirements: To obtain a full-time, permanent position, business teachers should have a master’s degree with the right combination of experience or a Ph.D.

Top industries: Colleges, universities and professional schools; junior colleges; business schools and computer and management training.

Annual median salary: $98,096

4. Computer and information research scientists use their research to address new problems in computer software and hardware. Research scientists working in universities might focus on theory more than those working for other employers.

Requirements: Research scientists need a Ph.D. (most likely in computer science), though you can find some lower-level jobs with a bachelor’s or master’s.

Top industries: Computer systems design and related services; federal executive branch (OES designation); scientific research and development services.

Annual median salary: $97,970

5. Physicists study the principles of motion, energy, structure and matter. Whether they concentrate on applied sciences or take a more theoretical route, all physicists work toward understanding how the laws of physics impact the universe.

Requirements: A Ph.D. in physics and related work and research experience are necessary for teaching and research work.

Top industries: Scientific research and development services; federal executive branch (OES designation); colleges, universities and professional schools.

Annual median salary: $96,850

6. Marketing managers formulate a marketing firm’s strategy by targeting customers and appropriate markets and responding to competition. They work with other marketing professionals to publicize via radio, TV, the Internet and other outlets.

Requirements: Many employers require a four-year or graduate degree in business administration with course work related to your specific industry.

Top industries: Management of companies and enterprises; computer systems design and related services; management, scientific and technical consulting services.

Annual median salary: $95,320

7. Sales managers oversee a company’s sales strategy, which can mean training salespeople and assigning territories to cover. They help the company reach its sales goals as well as maintain good relationships with vendors and distributors.

Requirements: A college or graduate degree and a relevant internship or experience in your industry.

Top industries: Management of companies and enterprises; automobile dealers; wholesale electronic markets and agents and brokers.

Annual median salary: $94,910

8. Petroleum engineers look for drilling locations that contain natural gas or oil. They study the geographic traits of the sites and work with other specialists to find the most efficient way to pump out the oil or gas.

Requirements: Entry-level engineering positions require at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering, though academic work in other sciences can be helpful.

Top industries: Oil and gas extraction; support activities for mining; petroleum and coal products manufacturing.

Annual median salary: $94,330

9. Optometrists provide eye care to patients who need exams, glasses, contact lenses or other vision-related services. They test and treat patients for vision problems and diseases, such as color blindness and glaucoma.

Requirements: A doctorate in optometry is required to be a practicing optometrist, and a residency can boost your chances of landing a job.

Top industries: Offices of other health practitioners; offices of physicians; health and personal care stores.

Annual median salary: $93,800

10. Post-secondary atmospheric, earth, marine and space sciences teachers teach courses on various physical sciences, excluding chemistry and physics. They divide their time between the teaching in the classroom and researching their specialty.

Requirements: Post-secondary teachers will need at least a master’s degree in order to teach, part time or temporarily, while full-time, tenure-track positions require a Ph.D.

Top industries: Colleges, universities and professional schools; junior colleges.

Annual median salary: $93,606

*Salary data according to the most recent National Compensation Survey, December 2006 - January 2008, provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
**Job descriptions based on data from CBSalary.com and the BLS.
***Job requirements and top industry information based on data from the BLS.

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OK, so out of that list of jobs there are a few that I potentially am interested in…

1) Teaching at the collegiate level in Pharmacy could be really interesting.  I love to learn, I have taught in the past and enjoyed it, plus the people you would be teaching would want to learn so you wouldn’t have as much grief to deal with as say the high school level.  Getting to the degree level needed for this type of position also opens up the opportunity to just be a Pharmacist too and in reality that experience probably would be needed in order to land a job teaching.   Lets talk educationally what this would take to make happen - prerequisite course work (probably the redo of things talked about yesterday), take the PCAT and get a great score, get accepted to a program, then about 3 to 4 years to complete the program once accepted.

2) Teaching at the collegiate level in one of the above mentioned sciences appeals to me for many of the same reasons, so we wont go into those again.  Obviously I love science or my other degrees wouldn’t be a B.S in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Physical education, and a M.Ed. in Exercise Physiology.  Also, the bulk of my “real” jobs have been science jobs like R&D for a flavor and essence company, Microbiological quality control for a pharmaceutical company, running a DNA sequencing core lab facility for a university, and doing research science for the USDA to just name a few.  Again lets talk educationally what this would take to make happen - some sort of standardized test most likely, then figure out the area and get accepted to a program, probably some prerequisite course work again at the bachelors level,  do a M.S., Ph.D. combined program in the area taking about 5 to 6 years.

So, time wise it looks like Pharmacy is the way to go at least between these two.  It also appears to be the higher paying of the two.  Plus it gives you the fall back of not teaching and just working as a Pharmacist.

Funny story but way back when I was finishing up my B.S. I took the PCAT and scored very very highly.  I had a company willing to pay for my entire secondary schooling for pharmacy if I agreed to work for them for a few years after graduation.  And stupid me turned it down…

Another funny story is that right after I finished my M.Ed. I studied for and took the MCAT and got a good score.  I started talking to the Air Force and was granted basically a full ride to the Armed Forces Medical School to which I had been accepted.  In return I had to give them ROTC while in the program and then 4 more years of service after that.  Yeah and again stupid me turned it down…

Beginning to see a pattern?  I think that I might be afraid of success…