Best jobs with salaries under $60K
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Overall Rank |
Occupation | % Growth in # of employees (2006-2011) |
Median annual salary (2011) | % Change in salary (2006-2011) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ironworker | 50 | 59,010 | 16 |
2 | Construction supervisor | 38 | 58,240 | 25 |
3 | Public relations specialist | 36 | 57,990 | 29 |
4 | Refrigeration & air conditioning mechanic | 46 | 56,160 | 18 |
5 | Translator | 86 | 54,080 | 16 |
6 | Heavy construction contractor | 42 | 56,659 | 15 |
7 | Immigration & revenue officer | 73 | 56,160 | 10 |
8 | Geological technician | 36 | 56,160 | 17 |
9 | Physician (GP) | 37 | 53,997 | 20 |
10 | Correctional service officer | 41 | 56,160 | 13 |
11 | Laboratory technician | 49 | 49,462 | 25 |
11 | Paramedic | 40 | 54,974 | 16 |
13 | Construction estimator | 63 | 53,331 | 11 |
14 | Electrician | 28 | 56,493 | 23 |
15 | Transit supervisor | 26 | 56,160 | 37 |
16 | Miner | 24 | 58,240 | 17 |
17 | Paralegal | 35 | 49,920 | 15 |
18 | Financial officer | 30 | 55,474 | 11 |
19 | Plumber | 23 | 52,000 | 26 |
20 | Computer network technician | 18 | 58,656 | 16 |
21 | Personnel clerk | 49 | 43,680 | 9 |
22 | Systems testing technician | 19 | 58,240 | 11 |
23 | Marriage counsellor | 34 | 48,006 | 12 |
24 | Oil and gas drilling worker | 13 | 58,240 | 23 |
25 | Interior designer | 27 | 45,760 | 22 |
26 | Administrative officer | 35 | 43,680 | 14 |
27 | Petroleum supervisor | 21 | 57,200 | 6 |
28 | Recording supervisor | 47 | 41,662 | 11 |
29 | Editor | 27 | 51,438 | 12 |
30 | Recruitment officer | 31 | 49,067 | 10 |
31 | Web designer | 21 | 52,624 | 12 |
32 | Heavy-duty equipment mechanic | 15 | 53,456 | 22 |
33 | Dental assistant | 36 | 41,080 | 16 |
34 | Mechanic supervisor | 11 | 58,698 | 15 |
35 | Maintenance equipment operator | 26 | 43,680 | 14 |
36 | Library supervisor | 24 | 43,430 | 21 |
37 | Roofer | 32 | 41,600 | 11 |
38 | Civil engineering technician | 18 | 51,501 | 5 |
39 | Insurance adjuster | 16 | 52,270 | 9 |
40 | Pet groomer | 36 | 23,920 | 27 |
41 | Event planner | 35 | 39,520 | 3 |
42 | Wholesale buyer | 33 | 38,688 | 13 |
43 | Insurance underwriter | 10 | 51,438 | 25 |
44 | Labourer | 30 | 33,280 | 27 |
45 | Cleaning supervisor | 28 | 40,248 | 14 |
46 | Crane operator | 5 | 58,240 | 22 |
47 | Babysitter | 48 | 21,320 | 18 |
48 | Recreation supervisor | 15 | 44,720 | 19 |
49 | Health services assistant | 34 | 35,256 | 13 |
50 | Insurance clerk | 20 | 45,760 | 9 |
Methodology: We obtained Statistics Canada data on employment and wage levels for more than 600 occupations. From those, we selected jobs with at least 10,000 employed individuals and ones that experienced employment growth between 2006 and 2011. For this list, we eliminated jobs with median salaries over $60,000, and ranked the rest based on three criteria: job growth from 2006 to 2011, median compensation (based on a 40-hour work week) in 2011, and the change in median compensation from 2006 to 2011. The final rank is based on a weighting of 50% to job growth, 40% to median compensation and 10% to change in compensation.