Which profession has the highest salary in Europe?
Salaries vary widely across sectors and occupations in Europe. While a number of jobs are disappearing, new ones are also emerging. Some roles, such as those in healthcare, continue to be essential. So which sectors offer the highest pay in Europe? And which are the highest-paying jobs? Exploring these questions can help when choosing a career, although salary may not be the main driver for everyone.
This analysis covers four countries (the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Netherlands) and the salary data reflects annual earnings from May 2024 to April 2025. The profession "physicians and surgeons" is excluded from the main data, prompting a separate analysis.
1. Medical and dental professions dominate
Medical consultants, radiologists, medical directors, orthodontists and dentists are consistently among the highest-paid roles across all countries. These jobs appear in categories including: medical technician, medical informatics, nursing and dentistry.
This is particularly true in the UK, where nearly half of the 20 highest-paying jobs fall into these categories. In France, three out of the four highest-paying jobs are also in these categories, particularly dental roles.
2. Executive and managerial roles remain highly rewarding
Titles such as managing director, chief strategy officer, chief project officer, and chief technology officer are well-compensated across all countries. These positions are found in sectors such as sales, banking and finance, technology, and general management, indicating that leadership roles tend to command premium compensation across many industries.
3. Technology and IT professionals see strong salaries
Roles in software development, information design and documentation, and IT operations as software engineer, data engineer, and SAP consultant are well paid, especially in Germany and the Netherlands.
4. Sales and business development offer high salary packages
While entry-level sales roles are less lucrative, senior roles such as sales director, sales manager and enterprise account executive show high earning potential. These roles often come with high salary packages in Germany and the Netherlands, where experienced sales professionals can earn salaries comparable to those seen in technology or management roles.
5. Legal, tax and finance roles are strong contenders
Positions such as tax director, labor lawyer (or employment lawyer), and financial controller are consistently well-paid, especially in Germany and the U.K. These roles fall into the legal, accounting, and banking and finance categories and reward deep regulatory or financial expertise.
The highest paying jobs of the future: Which sectors will be profitable?
As jobs continue to evolve, it's only natural that the highest-paying roles will change as well. Over the next 5-10 years, experts predict that green energy, AI/GenAI, cybersecurity, and biotechnology will produce new, higher-paying job titles.
He explained that roles such as AI ethicists, key sustainability roles, GenAI engineers, and climate data analysts are gaining ground and are likely to move into higher salary brackets as demand for specialized expertise in these areas increases.
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