According to a recent survey from salary data company Glassdoor, employees at highly successful consulting, legal and technology firms in the U.S. earn the highest salaries on average.
According to Glassdoor’s Chief Economist Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, salaries are high in these areas because of a chronic shortage of highly-skilled employees and major barriers to entry.
“Salaries are high (in the tech industry) largely because of shortages of the highest skilled employees needed to advance business into new realms. Booming demand for software engineers, database administrators and data scientists has far outpaced the supply of these skilled, hard-to-find employees. In the legal and consulting industries, high salaries are largely the result of what economists call ‘barriers to entry…’ Many clients stay with the same attorney or consultant for decades at a time. As a result, these employees are even more valuable to their employers.”
Top 10 highest paying companies in the U.S in 2015
- Skadden Arps — Legal firm Skadden Arps came in first place on Glassdoor’s 2015 highest paid employees list. The median total compensation for a Skadden Arps employee was $182,000, with the median base salary coming out to $170,000.
- Netflix — Video streaming giant Netflix placed second on this year’s highest paying companies list. The median total compensation for a Netflix employee was $180,000, with the median base salary totaling to $180,000.
- Booz and Company / Strategy& — The newly renamed consulting firm was ranked third on Glassdoor’s list. The median total compensation for a Strategy& employee was $162,000, with the median base salary came to $135,000.
- McKinsey & Company — The well-known consulting business Mckinsey & Company placed fourth. The median total compensation for a McKinsey & Co employee was $160,000, with the median base salary totaling to $135,000.
- A.T. Kierney — This consulting firm virtually tied with McKinsey & Co., with a $160,000 median total compensation and a $135,000 median base salary.
- Sidley Austin — Law firm Sidley Austin came in 6th place on Glassdoor’s list. The median total compensation for a Sidley Austin employee was $160,000, with the median base salary totaling to $160,000.
- Boston Consulting Group — BCG was 7th on the highest paying companies list. The median total compensation for a BCG employee was $158,463, with the median base salary totaling to $140,000.
- Mozilla — Mozilla, maker of the Mozilla Firefox open source Web browser, showed up in 8th place. The median total compensation for a Mozilla employee was $147,556, with the median base salary totaling to $112,737.
- Good Technology — Tech industry business Good Technology was ranked in 9th place. The median total compensation for a Good Technology employee was $147,500, with the median base salary totaling to $136,250.
- Altera — Tech firm Altera managed a 10th place finish on 2015’s list. The median total compensation for an Altera employee was $147,200, with the median base salary totaling to $133,250.
