The 25 best high-paying jobs in America for 2018

Median annual salary: $96,540

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 19.8%

Medical and health services managers are the planners, directors and coordinators who work behind the scenes to keep hospitals, nursing homes, group practices, and other health care facilities running efficiently.

Median annual salary: $114,290

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 2.1%

Political scientists look back at history and monitor current affairs to understand how the policies and laws affect government, business, and people and to forecast trends. Their employers range from the federal government to nonprofits.

Median annual salary: $100,610

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 22.5%

Actuaries use mathematics, statistics, and financial theory to measure, manage, and mitigate financial risk and uncertainty. They're essential to the insurance industry, and they're increasingly finding niches in other businesses.

Median annual salary: $106,140

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 17.3%

Optometrists perform different tests on patients to determine common eyesight issues like near- or farsightedness, for which they can prescribe glasses or contacts, or eye diseases like glaucoma, for which they can prescribe medicines.

Median annual salary: $122,230

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 5.6%

Imperative to the healthcare industry, pharmacists not only fill prescriptions, but also educate patients on the potential side effects of their medications, teach them how to handle side effects, and monitor which prescriptions each patient is taking to prevent mixing incompatible drugs.

Median annual salary: $99,310

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 9.1%

Business-operations managers take care of the details that are vital to keeping a business running, including hiring new talent, negotiating contracts, making strategy decisions, and building and leading effective teams.

Median annual salary: $90,530

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 14.4%

Financial advisors meet with clients and counsel them on their finances. This could mean sitting down and creating budgets, firming up retirement plans, giving advice about investing, and investing a client's funds on their behalf.

Median annual salary: $117,960

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 7.4%

Sales managers get their company's product into customers' hands. This requires managers to establish client relationships and sales territory, guide sales teams, develop training programs for new hires, outline team strategies, and set short- and long-term goals.

Sales managers typically hold either a bachelor's or master's degree in business administration and have expertise in marketing.

Median annual salary: $121,750

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 18.7%

Financial managers are integral to their companies because they advise and control the checkbook. Individuals in this position produce profit projections, oversee the cash flow of projects, and coordinate accounting practices. The job is incredibly detail-oriented and requires finesse in handling numbers and communicating complicated financial statements to other employees.

Median annual salary: $118,160

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 9.4%

There are quite a few different career paths and specializations lawyers can take, from working at a private firm to a public position as a district attorney. But one thing holds across the many different iterations: Being a lawyer requires long, committed hours in the office.

Median annual salary: $124,830

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 9.7%

Podiatrists specialize in feet and ankles, treating conditions that range from ingrown toenails and bunions to fractures and sprains. It's no easy task to become a podiatrist, however. After completing a bachelor's degree, individuals must attend a podiatric medical school, complete a three-year residency program, and pass the American Podiatric Medical Licensing Exam.

Median annual salary: $131,180

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 10%

Median annual salary: $135,800

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 11.9%

IT managers supervise software and hardware upgrades, protect office networks from hackers and malware, and coordinate technology issues with top executives. The position isn't industry-specific, either. As technology becomes increasingly integral to day-to-day business operations, IT managers have become necessary across all sectors.

Median annual salary: $128,230

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 14.5%

Petroleum engineers create new technology or create new ways to apply existing technology to help untap oil. Because the industry and the federal government want to encourage engineering breakthroughs and more environmentally friendly extraction techniques, most university students can expect to get their studies fully underwritten and even receive a stipend.

Median annual salary: $160,270

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 16%

Nurse anesthetists help doctors complete painful procedures by administering anesthesia through intravenous drugs or inhaled gases. To become a nurse anesthetist, registered nurses must complete at least one year of critical-care experience and earn a master's degree from an accredited nurse-anesthesia program.

Median annual salary: $126,050

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 17.2%

Different from an orthodontist, prosthodontists are dental specialists who build oral prostheses that replace missing teeth. These replacements can help patients in a number of ways, from improving appearances to restoring the ability to speak and eat.

Median annual salary: $159,770

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 17.2%

Dentists help maintain the health of patients' mouths, gums, and teeth by filling cavities, diagnosing oral diseases, and extracting teeth when needed.

Median annual salary: $168,990

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 17.8%

Pediatricians focus on the physical and mental health of children, from infancy to adolescence. Specialties range from oncology and hematology to developmental behavior and psychiatry, but at the end of the day, it's all about advocating the best course of care and communicating it to parents and patients.

Median annual salary: $194,740

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 13.1%

Unlike podiatrists and surgeons, who deal with physical afflictions, psychiatrists tend to patients' mental health. They diagnose and treat complex conditions like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety. Psychiatrists use a combination of methods to treat these disorders and write prescriptions when necessary.

Mean annual salary: $201,840

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 14.9%

The term "physician" encompasses everything from primary-care doctors to gynecologists to cardiologists to dermatologists — and every niche in between.

Mean annual salary: $228,780

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 17.3%

Orthodontists are tasked with constructing beautiful smiles by fixing irregular bites and realigning crooked teeth. This is most often done through braces, but they also use retainers and other appliances to create an optimized plan for each patient.

Mean annual salary: $232,870

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 17.2%

Unlike a regular dentist, oral and maxillofacial surgeons go through an additional four years of surgical training to be able to perform surgical procedures pertaining to the face, mouth, and jaw, such as fixing a cleft lip or administering a face-lift. These doctors are also able to administer anesthesia and diagnose cancer.

Mean annual salary: $234,310

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 17.9%

Obstetricians and gynecologists help maintain women's reproductive health, though the positions differ. Gynecologists screen for HPV and other STDs, help manage contraceptives, and assist patients with issues like abnormal bleeding. Those who are also obstetricians, often referred to as OB-GYNs, deliver babies and monitor mothers-to-be throughout pregnancy.

Mean annual salary: $252,910

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 16.8%

Surgeons undertake a heavy job: opening up people's bodies to correct injuries, diseases, or deformities. Surgeons are rigorously trained for the serious nature of the job, however. After completing a bachelor's degree and four years of medical school, they must enter a surgical residency program, which takes a minimum of five years to finish.

Mean annual salary: $269,600

Projected growth (2016 to 2026): 17.8%

Anesthesiologists are responsible for administering the drugs that allow surgeons to complete painful, invasive procedures without discomforting patients. They also closely monitor a patient's vital signs and critical life functions before, during, and after a surgery.